(MENAFN) The Gaza Health Ministry on Friday reiterated its reminder to the global community about the situation of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, as the first anniversary of his arrest by Israel nears.

The ministry urged international actors to take steps to reveal his condition and work toward his freedom.

Dr. Abu Safiya was taken into custody on Dec. 27, 2024, after Israeli forces raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital and detained him at gunpoint.

In October, Amnesty International, referencing a lawyer who had visited Abu Safiya and other detainees, stated that he had been subjected to abuse and additional forms of mistreatment.

“We appeal to the countries of the world to secure the release of Abu Safiya, disclose his fate, and provide him with protection under international law,” said the head of Gaza's Health Ministry, Munir Al-Bursh, on Telegram.

Al-Bursh emphasized that a doctor should never become a target, asserting that anyone who abducts medical professionals is, in effect, seizing the very essence of justice.

He further noted that Abu Safiya “was not detained for carrying a weapon or harming anyone, but because he practiced his humanitarian profession, carried his stethoscope and compassionate heart, and supported the lives of people when the world abandoned them.”

Al-Bursh explained that Abu Safiya was widely recognized in Gaza’s hospitals and operating rooms, consistently standing alongside the wounded during the Israeli assault before he was arrested, prevented from seeing his family, and deprived of the chance to continue his medical duties that contributed to saving lives.

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