Health workers and activists in Belgium are rallying for the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, abducted by Israeli forces following the siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital

Health workers worldwide are demanding the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was abducted by Israeli armed forces during the recent siege on northern Gaza’s health centers. Doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, and health activists organized rallies in Canada, Europe, and the United States around January 6, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the protection of Palestinian health workers’ fundamental rights.

In Brussels, a rally was organised by Health Workers for Palestine, Viva Salud, and United for Palestine (Unis pour la Palestine, UPP) near the European Parliament. The protesters called for solidarity with medics in occupied Palestine and stronger denunciations of Israeli crimes by European health institutions. The criminalisation of Gaza’s health workers through so-called arrests, which amount to kidnappings, is part of a systematic assault on healthcare and a tactic in the implementation of genocide, they activists stated.

“In Israel’s logic of ethnic cleansing, healthcare has been a target for years,” said Dr. Hanne Bosselaers from Health Workers for Palestine. “On one hand, they are creating the most unhealthy conditions possible, and on the other, they are destroying the health sector as a whole.”

The rally underscored ongoing assaults on hospitals, including Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda, the last barely functioning health center in northern Gaza. Protesters pointed out that the director of Al-Awda Hospital, Dr. Ahmed Muhanna, was also abducted over 380 days ago, with no information on his fate – mirroring in many ways the situation Dr. Abu Safiya today finds himself in.

Also similarly to Dr. Muhanna, Dr. Abu Safiya’s imprisonment has sparked an international campaign for his release. Israeli authorities initially denied holding him but later reneged on this statement without confirming his whereabouts. Witnesses have reported seeing Dr. Abu Safiya abused as he was taken from the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital and later at the Sde Teiman detention camp, where he was subjected to beatings and torture, worsening his health condition.

Despite attempts by human rights groups, he has also been denied legal representation since his imprisonment in December 2024. On January 6, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel warned about Israeli authorities’ frequent evasion of requests for information on prisoners’ status, which result in delays in locating and reaching them. “Sometimes it takes months until we locate someone,” the organisation wrote. “Sometimes people are dying in custody without us knowing.”

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed over 1,000 Palestinian health workers, including through torture in prisons and detention centers. Given Dr. Abu Safiya’s outspoken criticism of the occupation forces’ crimes, fears about his safety remain strong. Despite these concerns, health activists in Europe and other regions are resolute in their efforts to push for his release and demand justice for all Palestinian medics.

“Our Palestinian colleagues are not asking for pity but for concrete solidarity,” Bosselaers said, inviting activists to pressure medical institutions, universities, and governments to stand up against the crimes against humanity the world is witnessing in Palestine. “This genocide cannot be carried out in our name,” she concluded.

“We should not lose hope, because losing hope is the first step of giving up,” said Matilde De Cooman from Viva Salud. “And we will never give up on Palestine. May 2025 be the year that we see a free Palestine.”

This article was written by Ana Vračar for Peoples Dispatch and has been republished under a Creative Commons license