Tag: Hussam Abu Safiya

Congressional Letter Supporting Freedom for Dr. Abu Safiya Sent to Rubio

by Stanley Heller, Administrator, Promoting Enduring Peace

On Sept. 10, Oregon member of Congress Dr. Maxine Dexter published a letter that she sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It was signed by 69 members of Congress and called for him to press Israel to grant freedom for Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. All five members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation signed. The doctor had been the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza until Israeli forces made the hospital close on Dec. 27, 2024. He was seized then, and has only been seen on occasional visits by his lawyer. Sixty-six House members and three senators signed on to the letter to Rubio, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and former top-ranking member of the Judiciary Committee Jamie Rankin.

We are delighted that all five members of the Connecticut delegation signed on to this necessary and vital letter. It’s been 20 months of agony and torture for the doctor. He has not been put on trial for any offense and has not even been formally charged. We strongly urge U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal to sign on to this statement or make their own plea for the abducted doctor’s freedom. Israel takes our billions. It should respect basic human rights. Luke Bronin, who is not a member of Congress but who won the Democratic primary in the first Congressional district (the Hartford area), will hopefully make his own statement.

The Congressional letter begins:

We write with urgent concern about the life-threatening conditions facing Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a Palestinian pediatrician detained by Israel without charge or trial. Israeli authorities have detained him now for nearly two years, reportedly without adequate medical care. As recently as early July, Dr. Abu Safiya’s lawyer warned that his physical condition had deteriorated to the point of near-death.

You can see Congresswoman Dexter’s full letter at FreeDrAbuSafiya.org.
It links to the hand-signed letter and a printed list of signers.

The Campaign to Free Dr. Abu Safiya was formed at a meeting in Woodbridge at the Palestine Museum US in November 2025, where the doctor was given a Courage Award in absentia by one of the coalition member groups.

[The website for Promoting Enduring Peace is pepeace.org, where you can find more information about the struggle to free Dr. Abu Safiya and learn about the other projects that Promoting Enduring Peace is involved with.]

Courage Award to Go to Imprisoned, Tortured Palestinian Doctor

by LouAnn Villani, Middle East Crisis Committee 

The Middle East Crisis Committee (MECC) will give its 2025 Courage Award to Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya of Gaza, Palestine. Dr. Safiya was the Director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza, Palestine when he was arrested on Dec. 27, 2024 by Israeli troops. He has been in their custody ever since. Israeli authorities claim he’s being held under “suspicion of terrorism.” He has not been charged in court with any crime but is held under a cruel legal-like measure the Israelis call “Administrative Detention.”

Dr. Abu Safiya was head of the pediatric department in Kamal Adwan Hospital before becoming its director. While not exclusively a pediatric hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital was particularly known for its specialized pediatric services, including a critical Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Like all Gaza medical facilities, Kamal Adwan performed incredible work despite severe shortage of essential supplies. And like all Gazans, he and his staff were being intentionally starved, often arrested, even as its building endured sieges and bombardment. In December 2024 the hospital was closed at gunpoint.

He has been seen by a lawyer very infrequently. In February, his attorney said Dr. Abu Safiya had suffered torture, including beatings with batons and electric shock sticks. In July his attorney reported that Dr. Abu Safiya had lost nearly 90 pounds while in Israeli custody.

Dr. Abu Safiya stands for all Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers who have done outstanding humanitarian work amid indescribable conditions and constant slander that they are terrorists.

We hope to have a ceremony in late November to honor Dr. Abu Safiya in absentia. MECC’s Courage Award was initiated in 2023. It was bestowed that year to Alaa Abd El-Fattah, an imprisoned activist in Egypt who has very recently been released. In 2024 the award was given to Palestinian journalists and media workers as a whole. Visit TheStruggleVideo.org for future developments.