MEDIA ADVISORY - EyeWitnessGaza - Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Head of Northern Gaza's last partially functioning hospital, has been detained and tortured by the Israeli military
Over 12,000 North American health workers demand:
- An immediate RELEASE OF DR. HUSSAM ABU SAFIYA
- An immediate END to ISRAEL'S GENOCIDE in GAZA
- An immediate RELEASE of ALL HOSTAGES.
TORONTO, Jan. 6, 2025 /CNW/ - These demands are endorsed by EyeWitnessGaza, Jews Say No to Genocide, Doctors Against Genocide, Canadian Muslim Healthcare Network, Doctors for Humanity, Canadians in Support of Refugees in Dire Need, United for Peace Interfaith Coalition and Independent Jewish Voices.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Head of Northern Gaza's last partially functioning hospital, has been detained and tortured by the Israeli military, following bombing of the hospital and illegal abduction of doctors and wounded patients by the Israeli military. "Dr. Hussam stayed with the last patients in the last open hospital in Northern Gaza, until Israel destroyed it. Now he is no doubt being tortured in Israeli detention like thousands of other Palestinians kidnapped by Israel," explains Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon from California, who has volunteered in Gaza during the genocide. Dr Abu Safiya was arrested by Israeli forces during their raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital on Friday December 27, 2024. Witnesses have already reported him being tortured in a facility that is notoriously known not only for torture but also rape against Palestinian detainees. The WHO states that it has lost communication with Dr Abu Safiya following his arrest.
We demand Israel #FreeDrHussamAbuSafiya immediately.
There are 1000s of Palestinians abducted by Israel and kept in prison without charges or access to lawyers (1,2). Many abducted by Israel have been tortured or killed, including Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh and Dr. Iyad Rantisi. Israel has deliberately bombed hospitals, and abducted and killed over 1000 healthcare workers in Gaza (3-5). Palestinian-American physician Dr. Thael Ahmad, who has volunteered in Gaza, explains "We don't want to live in a world that normalizes the targeting of healthcare workers and ignores the massacring of innocent civilians." Bombing of hospitals and kidnapping, torturing and killing doctors and healthcare workers is illegal according to the Genocide Convention. We demand international leaders immediately and publicly demand Israel stop targeting health workers, and release those illegally abducted by Israel.
We demand #FreeTheHostages immediately.
More than 14 months of indiscriminate carpet bombing of Gaza and blockade of food, water, fuel have killed more than 186,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children (6). Starvation is being used as a weapon of genocide due to the illegal blockade on entry of food, water and medical care into Gaza by the Israeli forces (7). Experts in genocide including The United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Doctors without Borders, and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Doctors Against Genocide (8-12), all conclude that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. "There is consensus amongst human rights organizations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza- the time for debate is over, and the time for action is now. Any leaders with a fragment of humanity must do everything possible to stop this genocide" explains Dr. Ben Thomson, a Canadian physician who's volunteered in Gaza since 2013, including during the ongoing genocide.
We demand #EndTheGenocide immediately.
Anti-Genocide advocates around the world continue to protest against Israel's genocide in Gaza. These efforts coincide with Doctors Against Genocide #SickFromGenocide International day of action for the mental health of health care workers worldwide.
The following demands are presented on behalf of more than 12,000 North American physicians and multiple medical organizations who have endorsed these demands:
- Immediately release Dr Abu Safiya (#FreeDrHussamAbuSafiya)
- Immediately release all people abducted by Israel, who now face torture and death in Israeli prisons (#FreeTheHostages)
- Immediately end the greatest crime of genocide, that Israel is committing in Gaza (#EndTheGenocide)
Contacts:
Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Emergency Medicine Physician, Chicago (USA)
Dr. Dorotea Gucciardo, EyeWitnessGaza co-lead, London (Canada)
Dr. Mark Perlmutter, Orthopedic and Trauma surgeon, North Carolina (USA)
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, General and Trauma surgeon, California (USA)
Dr. Ben Thomson, Physician and EyeWitnessGaza co-lead, Toronto (Canada)
When: Zoom press conference: 2 PM (14:00) Eastern Standard Time, January 6 (2025)
Members of the team will be available to answer questions
Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84359744784?pwd=18MZjaXqnx79fyhrRMeFK1CKTdZN0U.1
Meeting ID: 843 5974 4784
Passcode: 085545
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kejuxmldmZ
SOURCE EyeWitnessGaza
Media Inquiries: Email: [email protected]; WhatsApp: (226) 678-7067; Twitter/IG: @EyeWitnessGaza
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