A Gaza doctor detained by Israeli forces for 200 days without charge or trial is being starved, tortured and denied medical care, his family said.
Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, was arrested in late December after refusing repeated Israeli orders to leave the medical complex and its patients. He has since been held in an Israeli jail in “extremely harsh and degrading conditions”, said his son, Idrees Abu Safiya.
“The lawyer told us he has been subjected to verbal and physical abuse, humiliation and mistreatment throughout his detention,” the son told The National. “My father now suffers from multiple health issues due to a lack of medical care and continuous torture in Israeli prisons."
The Palestinian paediatrician is being held in solitary confinement, with no sunlight or fresh air, his lawyer said. He is also being starved and has lost more than a third of his weight since being arrested, his son said.
He said Dr Abu Safiyah has sustained severe bruising to his face, head, neck and back from being physically assaulted, but the most pressing health concern he faces is his “irregular and unstable heartbeat, a condition that could become fatal at any moment". His son says the doctor has been denied medical attention.
“The occupation authorities continue to deny him proper medication and refuse to provide the necessary treatment,” he told The National." He has not been examined by any medical specialists to this day."
Dr Abu Safiyah was arrested last year during a prolonged Israeli raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital, featuring ground assaults that left it without basic medical necessities and a siege that left patients and medical teams stranded.
Israeli bombing reduced many of the hospital’s departments to rubble, including the intensive care unit – the only one in northern Gaza – as well as the maternity ward and neonatal unit.
Aside from being a lifeline for injured Gazans, the hospital also sheltered hundreds of displaced families. Anyone who stepped out into the hospital courtyard was “immediately targeted”, Dr Abu Safiyeh told The National in an interview last year.
The Palestinian doctor has been “arbitrarily detained” for seven months, according to Amnesty International. It says he is being held under what it calls Israel’s "repressive Unlawful Combatants Law", which allows indefinite detention without charge based on suspicion alone.
Israel has accused Dr Abu Safiya of being a terrorist and of "holding a rank" in Hamas, a claim his family denies.
“The army claims my father has ties to Hamas, a complete fabrication,” his son told The National. "My father is a doctor, committed solely to serving the Palestinian people through his humanitarian mission in medicine."
Experts have warned the targeted detention of medical workers is part of a wider campaign against Gaza’s health care system.
“We have documented a significant number of arrests and forced disappearances among Gaza’s medical staff,” Ghazi Al Majdalawi, a researcher at the Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared, told The National. “The evidence indicates a deliberate strategy by the Israeli military to dismantle Gaza’s medical infrastructure.
“Doctors are being tortured, humiliated, denied legal counsel and cut off from their families,” he added. “These acts constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law.”
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Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
SPECS
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Company%20Profile
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Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
FA Cup semi-finals
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
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1. Fasting
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4. Shahada
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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The National's picks
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2-litre%204-cylinder%20petrol%20(V%20Class)%3B%20electric%20motor%20with%2060kW%20or%2090kW%20powerpack%20(EQV)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20233hp%20(V%20Class%2C%20best%20option)%3B%20204hp%20(EQV%2C%20best%20option)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20350Nm%20(V%20Class%2C%20best%20option)%3B%20TBA%20(EQV)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMid-2024%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETBA%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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