Arabic version: نواب أميركيون يحثون إسرائيل على الإفراج عن طبيب من غزة

According to Al Jazeera, six progressive members of the US Congress have called on Israel to release Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safia, who has been held in Israeli detention since 2024. Their statement condemned what it described as Israel’s abuse of Palestinian healthcare workers.

The statement was signed by Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Summer Lee, Pramila Jayapal and Delia Ramirez. It said the Israeli government had systematically destroyed Palestine’s health system, killed at least 1,700 Palestinian doctors, nurses, paramedics and other healthcare workers, and destroyed dozens of hospitals.

The lawmakers said hundreds of Palestinian healthcare workers had been arrested and arbitrarily detained, including at least 16 physicians held in what they called inhumane conditions. Abu Safia’s lawyers say he has faced torture, sleep deprivation and beatings in detention. No charges have been filed against him, and he has not had a trial.

Israeli soldiers arrested Abu Safia in December 2024 after he and other medical workers reportedly refused to evacuate Kamal Adwan Hospital, where they worked. The statement argued that attacks on health infrastructure and medical workers were part of an intentional policy designed to further occupation, apartheid and genocide against Palestinians.

Israeli officials have said hospitals and medical facilities are targeted because Palestinian armed groups allegedly use them to conduct and coordinate operations. Al Jazeera reported that those claims have often failed to withstand scrutiny, citing Israel’s admission that its soldiers killed 15 emergency workers in southern Gaza in March 2025 after initially saying the ambulance convoy had approached soldiers suspiciously.