• Palestinian hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya is in acute danger while in Israeli detention, with severe injuries and deteriorating health reported by his lawyer and human rights activists.
• Abu Safiya, accused of having links to Hamas, was detained 18 months ago during the Gaza war and is currently held at the Rakefet interrogation facility in Nitzan Prison, where concerns about his well-being have been raised.
• Physicians for Human Rights Israel and Abu Safiya's lawyer are calling for his immediate transfer from the facility and an urgent judicial visit to assess his condition, as they fear for his life due to the observed injuries and psychological distress.

Prominent Palestinian hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya is in acute danger while in Israeli detention, his lawyer and human rights activists said on Saturday.

Abu Safiya, who headed the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was detained around 18 months ago during the Gaza war, with Israel accusing him of links to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

After visiting Abu Safiya on Thursday, his lawyer, Nasser Odeh, said there had been a severe deterioration in his health. The visit took place at the underground Rakefet interrogation facility in Nitzan Prison.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel and Odeh called for Abu Safiya's immediate transfer from the facility and an urgent judicial visit to assess his condition.

The rights group reported that in his affidavit, Odeh said that Abu Safiya had been brought to the meeting with his hands and feet shackled and showing fresh and severe injuries to his head, around his eyes, on his ears and neck - "to the extent that his lawyer initially struggled to recognize him."

Abu Safiya had experienced difficulty breathing and speaking continuously and appeared extremely weak, it said.

"Attorney Odeh noted that he appeared frightened, exhibited severe psychological distress and was reluctant to speak freely due to fear of being targeted. Based on these direct observations, Attorney Odeh concluded that Dr. Abu Safiya's life is in immediate danger," the rights group said.

The Israel Prison Service rejected the allegations as "false and entirely without factual basis."

It said all prisoners are held in accordance with the law and receive medical care based on professional medical judgment and in accordance with Ministry of Health guidelines.