The lawyer for Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a prominent Palestinian doctor from Gaza detained by Israel without charge for more than 18 months, has told the BBC he fears for his client's life after finding him severely beaten during a prison visit. Nasser Odeh said that when he saw Abu Safiya last Thursday at the Rakefet interrogation facility, the doctor was so badly injured he could barely be recognised, with bruising across his face, eyes, neck and ears. The case draws attention to wider allegations about Israel's treatment of Palestinian detainees, which Israeli authorities deny.

Abu Safiya, former director of Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, was detained in December 2024 when Israeli forces evacuated the hospital, which they described as a "Hamas terrorist stronghold". The IDF says he was held over suspected involvement in terrorist activity and for holding the rank of colonel in the Hamas-run health department, though colleagues and aid groups deny he worked for Hamas. He is being held under the Unlawful Combatants Law, which allows indefinite detention without charge. The Israel Prison Service rejected the abuse allegations as false, while the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has called his detention arbitrary and urged his immediate release. Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the government to respond by Tuesday to a petition seeking the release of Abu Safiya and 13 other Gazan doctors.