THE UK Government is being urged to help secure the release of a Gaza hospital director who was arrested by Israeli forces.
Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, 51, was arrested following a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya.
Now, his son, Idris Abu Safiya, has issued an urgent appeal for the international community to “intervene and secure his release before it’s too late”.
According to a report from CNN, the doctor is being held at the Sde Teiman detention camp – where there have previously been accusations of torture and sexual violence taking place.
The National previously contacted the Israeli embassy for further comment.
In his message, Idris Abu Safiya said: “We urgently appeal to the international community to act for his release as he is detained by the occupation forces while performing his humanitarian duty.
“He now suffers severe mistreatment in the Sde Teiman detention centre, including humiliation, exposure to freezing cold and denial of medical care.”
He added that his entire family holds Kazakh passports and called on Kazakhstan, as well as the World Health Organisation and all foreign governments, to pressure Israel to release him.
Many doctors on Twitter/X have also shared messages of support for Dr Safiya, sharing a statement which reads: “I am calling for protection of hospitals and medical workers in Gaza. And an end to the genocide.”
Elsewhere, Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns for Medical Aid for Palestinians, called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy to take action.
Writing on Twitter/X, he said: “Our leaders must demand the immediate and safe release of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya and all detained Gaza health workers @Keir_Starmer @David Lammy @HFalconerMP (Hamish Falconer – minister for the Middle East and North Africa).
“Health workers are not a target, and impunity for Israel’s destruction of Palestinian healthcare must end.”
He shared it alongside a graphic which said, “the UK Government must demand his immediate and safe release”.
Many also shared the last image captured of Safiya as he walked towards Israeli tanks during the raid on the hospital.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was among those to share the image on Twitter/X, saying: “In just one image, we see both the power of Palestinian humanity and the moral weakness of all those complicit in genocide.”
Speaking to The National, Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman said that the “widespread destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system is one of the most horrific aspects of the genocide being inflicted on Palestinians by the Israeli state”.
Israel’s bombardment has resulted in the death of more than 45,000 Palestinians, with millions displaced from their homes.
Chapman (below) continued: “The number of doctors and nurses that have been killed by Israeli forces is obscene and criminal. And the impact of these deaths is made worse by the fact that those who are left behind have to work with very limited equipment, in the rubble and remains of their bombed-out hospitals.
“No one should be dying in Gaza. No one should be being detained simply for the work they do. The systematic targeting of healthcare facilities by Israel and the abuses and detention of healthcare workers compounds the war crimes already committed.
“We must see an end to the violence and a lasting ceasefire. Every government has a responsibility to act.
"For Keir Starmer that must mean an end to the arms sales that have fuelled the war and the political and military support that he and his Tory predecessors have given to the apartheid Israeli state.”
The National has approached the UK Government for comment.
It comes as The National revealed that the vast majority of Scots believe the UK Government should end all arms sales to Israel.
A survey from Find Out Now revealed that 70% of Scots think the UK Government should halt all military export licenses to Israel with Starmer having consistently come under pressure on the issue.
