More doctors and healthcare professionals are mobilising and calling for action to demand the release of Dr Hussam Abu Safia and at least 94 other Palestinian medics currently held captive by Israeli authorities.
On Monday, in an event organised by Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW) and Amnesty International UK, doctors and healthcare workers protested outside St Thomas ‘ Hospital in central London, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all the detained healthcare workers currently held in appalling conditions in Israel.
The protest comes just days after an Israeli court extended Abu Safia’s arbitrary detention for another six months under the widely condemned Unlawful Combatants Law.
A further five healthcare workers have died or been killed while in Israeli detention, and five more are missing, their whereabouts unknown. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 1, 722 healthcare workers have been killed in Israeli strikes in the past two years.
According to HWW, most healthcare workers were abducted by the Israeli military from their hospitals or ambulances while they were on duty. Testimonies collected by HWW and other organisations catalogue the torture and abuse that Palestinians endure in Israeli detention.
Dr Rebecca Inglis, an intensive care doctor and co-founder of Gaza Medic Voices, says: “Israel’s continued detention of nearly one hundred healthcare workers is in clear contravention of International Humanitarian Law. We are gravely concerned for their welfare given the extensive evidence that Palestinian detainees are being tortured while in Israeli detention”.
Who is Dr Hussam Abu Safia?
Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza, was arrested by Israeli forces on December 27, 2024, after troops raided the hospital, which at the time was one of the last functioning medical facilities in the region.
Amnesty International says that the hospital director has been held without charge or trial under an Israeli security law.
Despite relentless bombardment and the tragic death of his own son in an Israeli air strike, Abu Safia remained on duty, caring for patients and leading his team through unimaginable conditions.
Since his detention, credible reports have emerged of torture, physical abuse and degrading treatment, including suffering significant weight loss and the denial of adequate medical care, hygiene and timely access to legal counsel – in clear violation of international law.
Israel’s systematic attack on Gaza’s health infrastructure
At least 94 percent of hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, with many no longer operational. In addition to this, skilled doctors and healthcare workers have been killed, and paired with the detention of healthcare workers – most of whom were detained while working within hospitals and healthcare facilities – it has added to the immense pressure on Gaza’s vulnerable health system.
Between October 7, 2023, to October 20, 2025, HWW documented a total of 431 cases of detained Palestinian healthcare workers.
As of October 20, 2025:
- 309 of the 431 detained healthcare workers are now confirmed to have been released, of which 67 were released as part of the latest exchange deal on October 13
- Three senior physicians, an UNRWA pharmacist, and a senior physiotherapist are still missing, along with five other senior healthcare workers.
- Five HCWs reportedly died or were killed while being held in Israeli custody, but their bodies have not yet been returned to their loved ones.
HWW claims that it has not yet heard from the families of 22 healthcare workers who are not listed in the “confirmed detained” or “confirmed released” figures.
Who are the other healthcare professionals currently employed?
Healthcare professionals who have been held captive by Israel have spent a total of 511 days in custody, with some still doing so since the start of the conflict.
80 of the 95 prisoners are from Gaza, and the remaining 15 are from the West Bank, which has been occupied.
In addition to the 31 nurses who were detained from Gaza, there are also 17 doctors, 15 hospital staff members who support the management, 14 paramedics, two pharmacists, and one medical technician. Twenty-five were junior healthcare workers, and fifty were in mid-level positions, compared to the 35 that held senior positions. One exception is a male.
36 of the prisoners were from North Gaza, followed by 24 from Khan Younis, 18 from Gaza City, and 3 from Rafah, making up the majority of the healthcare workers.
