RAMALLAH, January 2, 2025 (WAFA) - The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) expressed on Thursday increasing concerns over the safety of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamala Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who was detained by Israeli forces during a raid on the hospital on December 27, particularly following the Israeli army's denial of possessing any record of his detention.

In a statement, the PPS stressed that Dr. Abu Safiya's case is one of thousands of Gaza detainees’ cases subjected to the crime of enforced disappearance.

PPS added that despite clear evidence of Dr. Abu Safiya's detention on December 27, 2024, the Israeli occupation denied their previous statements and dismissed the existence of evidence, such as the videos and photos that were shared and the testimonies of detainees who were released.

Physicians for Human Rights, acting on behalf of Dr. Abu Safiya’s family, submitted today a request to allow a lawyer to visit him. However, the Israeli army responded by denying the existence of any record confirming his detention. In response, the organization filed an urgent petition to reveal his fate.

PPS said that Dr. Abu Safiya is one of at least 320 other healthcare workers who have been detained since the onset of the ongoing genocide. It emphasized that the detention of medical personnel and the destruction of hospitals are a crucial aspect of the ongoing genocide.

Three doctors from Gaza, identified as Iyad al-Rantisi, Adnan al-Barsh, and Ziad al-Dalu were killed while in Israeli custody since the Israeli aggression on Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

PPS held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for Dr. Abu Safiya's fate. It reiterated its call for the international human rights system to salvage any remaining credibility of its role in the face of the ongoing genocide.

T.R.