Israel's Supreme Court is deliberating whether to extend the detention of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a prominent Palestinian doctor who was seized by Israeli forces 17 months ago in Gaza.
The doctor appeared via video conference before the judges on Wednesday to challenge his imprisonment. As of Thursday afternoon, the court had not yet released a decision, according to Naji Abbas, director of prisoners and detainees at Physicians for Human Rights — Israel (PHRI), a nonprofit group.
Dr. Abu Safiya, who served as director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, became a symbol of health workers struggling to treat patients during the Israel-Hamas war.
He led the facility through an 85-day siege by the Israeli military, releasing videos in which he pleaded for help. PHRI reported that 14 doctors from Gaza are still being held in Israeli prisons.
During his brief court appearance, a screen grab showed Dr. Abu Safiya, 53, handcuffed and sitting in white prison garb.
His face was pale and gaunt, and he had lash-like marks on both arms. Multiple clips circulating on social media showed Israeli officials quickly turning off the video as people jostled to see the doctor.
His lawyer, Nasser Odeh, can be heard telling Abu Safiya that onlookers cannot see him, as guards turned off the monitor and they were waiting for the judge to decide whether to allow his image back on screen. Odeh said, "Many people are present to show solidarity and support.
The media is also both inside and outside the court."
Journalists' footage of the brittle doctor spread on social media, prompting renewed calls for his release. The Israeli military has said Abu Safiya is being investigated on suspicion of cooperating with or working for Hamas, the group that rules Gaza.
Medical staff and international aid groups that have worked with Abu Safiya have denied those claims. According to PHRI, he was recently placed in solitary confinement, a move his son, Elias Abu Safiya, said in a video was made shortly after his appeal.
Israel has yet to charge Abu Safiya with a crime. "How can a person be punished for seeking to know why he was detained?" the younger Abu Safiya asked.
A son of the doctor was killed earlier in the war. Israel's Justice Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The Israeli Prison Service denied claims that the doctor, a trained pediatrician, was being mistreated. In a statement, it said all detainees receive professional medical care and any allegations of abuse or mistreatment made through official channels are examined.
After the hearing Wednesday, Odeh relayed a message from the doctor: "I am a pediatrician who provides medical care to patients, the wounded, and the most vulnerable in the Strip. I carried out my work in accordance with international law and humanitarian standards.
My detention is unjust and arbitrary."
In the weeks leading up to his imprisonment, Abu Safiya fought to maintain his composure as Israeli forces surrounded the hospital, releasing grainy video dispatches from the facility under siege. When a drone strike killed Abu Safiya's son near the hospital, the doctor spoke with tears in his eyes.
"Everything we have built, they have burned," he said, his voice cracking. "They killed my son.
I buried my son in the hospital yard."
The war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023, after the Gaza-based group led an attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
Since then, nearly 73,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry is staffed by medical professionals, and the United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties.