A recent United Nations investigation has expressed worry over allegations of mistreatment against a prominent Palestinian physician, Hussam Abu Safiya, who was detained by the Israeli military in Gaza in December 2024 and is currently held in Israel. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, has called for Abu Safiya’s immediate release. Concerns have been raised by rights groups and Abu Safiya’s lawyer regarding his wellbeing and the fact that he is being held without charges, as reported by Physicians for Human Rights Israel.
The UN inquiry stated that the treatment of Palestinian detainees by Israeli Prison Service personnel raises serious concerns about potential violations of international law, possibly amounting to international crimes. The inquiry highlighted that Dr. Abu Safiya’s health condition is a direct consequence of these actions. In response, an Israel Prison Service spokesperson refuted the allegations, labeling them as false and baseless.
Abu Safiya’s legal counsel has claimed that his client’s health is at risk and that he faces daily abuse. During a Supreme Court hearing in Jerusalem via video link in June, Abu Safiya appeared visibly thinner in the face and abdomen. The UN inquiry has linked Israel’s treatment of Abu Safiya to a broader pattern of violations identified in previous reports.
In a separate incident, deadly Israeli airstrikes and gunfire on Wednesday claimed the lives of at least nine Palestinians, including two children aged 10 and six, in the Gaza Strip. Medics reported that an Israeli airstrike near a school in Gaza City resulted in one fatality, with twelve others sustaining injuries in the two incidents. The Israeli military acknowledged targeting militants in Gaza City but claimed ignorance about casualties. Another Israeli airstrike on a tent for displaced individuals in the Khan Younis area killed at least four people, including a 10-year-old child.
Subsequently, a six-year-old boy was reportedly shot and killed by Israeli gunfire in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City. Additional Israeli airstrikes in different parts of Gaza City led to the deaths of three individuals and injuries to several others, bringing the day’s death toll to at least nine.
Israel has conducted numerous strikes in Gaza since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Hamas was established in October, citing the targeting of militants who pose a threat to its forces or were involved in the October 2023 attack on Israel. Hamas has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s appointed Board of Peace envoy to Gaza, Nikolay Mladenov, acknowledging violations by both parties. Since the ceasefire began nine months ago, over 1,070 Palestinians, including many civilians, and four Israeli soldiers have lost their lives in Gaza. Hamas has not disclosed the number of its fighters killed.