A prisoner of conscience is dying, and the world is silent

Fr John Heagle, coordinator of Priests Against Genocide USA, writes: Silence is not always golden. Often, it is simply complicity with injustice. This is certainly the case for Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a prisoner of conscience near death in an Israeli prison. Tragically, in the face of this war crime, most international government and religious leaders have chosen to remain silent. With this reflection, I want to join others in breaking the silence.

Dr Safiya is the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza and head of its neonatal unit. An outstanding paediatrician, he continued treating patients throughout the roughly 85-day siege by the Israeli military. He is now held in the Rakevet detention centre, an underground section beneath the Ayalon prison complex in Ramla, Israel.

As Israel's war on Gaza marks 1,000 days since it began on October 8, 2023, the health personnel continue to bear the heaviest toll, with medical professionals facing persistent killings and arrests in what many refer to as a "health genocide." Official Palestinian data show that more than 1,700 health care workers - doctors, nurses, pharmacists, paramedics, and other staff - have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023, while 362 others have been detained. According to figures released by Gaza's Health Ministry on April 18, 2026, at least 83 health care workers remain in Israeli prisons.

Throughout the bombing, Dr Safiya continued treating patients without regard for his own safety. He even released videos to plead for help. The IDF has accused him of cooperating with Hamas - a claim his own staff and international aid groups have strongly denied.

On July 2, Dr Safiya's lawyer, Nasser Odeh, was allowed a brief prison visit. He told the press that Safiya was extremely weak and struggled even to sit upright. He has injuries around his head, eyes, ears, and neck and is having difficulty breathing. His attorney has asked that he be transferred to another facility, since the prison holding him is known among international aid organizations as a site of brutal torture. As the attorney was leaving, Dr Safiya's last words were these: "This is the last time you'll see me … they brought me here to kill me."

Erika Guevara Rosas of Amnesty International called the lawyer's testimony an urgent wake-up call for nations around the world, particularly Israel's allies. She said it was reprehensible that a doctor who refused to abandon his patients and who became one of the most prominent voices denouncing the devastation of Gaza's health care system remains arbitrarily and unlawfully detained under Israel's designation of him as an "unlawful combatant." He continues to be deprived of fundamental rights, she said, including protection against torture and ill-treatment, and the rights to a fair trial and due process.

The United States has supported Israel since its founding in 1948. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent US think tank focused on foreign policy and international relations, our support of Israel did not become politically and militarily unrestricted until after the 1967 Six-Day War. Today, this ongoing financial and military support stands in clear contradiction to the Leahy Law (22 U.S.C. - 2378d), which states that Israeli security forces implicated in gross human rights violations - including torture--must not receive US military assistance. So, here's a question: if it is against the law, why is the US still sending Israel massive amounts of weapons and financial aid?

Each Sunday, Doctors Against Genocide hosts a three-hour webinar designed to hear the voices of those experiencing violence or suffering. Doctors Against Genocide is a global coalition of health care professionals standing against atrocities, advocating for justice, and supporting affected communities worldwide. Priests Against Genocide, a grassroots network of more than 2,300 Catholic, Episcopal, and Orthodox clergy across 60 countries - nearly 200 of them in the United States - has recently joined with Doctors Against Genocide. Together, the two organizations denounce the ethnic cleansing in Gaza and advocate for a "disarmed and disarming" peace by standing in solidarity with the victims of ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank and calling for accountability under international law.

On their webinar this past weekend, the Doctors Against Genocide heard from members of Dr Safiya's family, who described - through tears and unspeakable grief - the torture and brutal conditions their father is enduring. Dr Safiya's son, Elias, spoke with passion and anger. He asked: "Where is the international community? Where is the world?"

These are haunting questions, questions that demand and deserve an answer. A dedicated, selfless medical servant is being slowly and cruelly put to death. If the human community and its leaders do not act - if we do not respond - our refusal will be a sentence of condemnation, a cry for justice that we met not with compassion but with complicity.

Fr John Heagle is a member of the Gospel Nonviolence Working Group for the Association of United States Catholic Priests (AUSCP) and coordinator of Priests Against Genocide USA. He is the author of Justice Rising (Orbis 2010).

LINKS

Avaaz petition Fr Dr Abu Safiya : https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/free_dr_abu_safiya_loc/

Amnesty International petition: www.amnesty.org/en/petition/release-dr-hussam-abu-safiya/

Clergy who wish to join Priests Against Genocide click HERE