MedGlobal and Leading NGO Partners Demand Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

June 30, 2025

MEDIA CONTACT:

Lucy Carradine, [email protected] 

MedGlobal and Leading NGO Partners Demand Release of Unlawfully Detained Palestinian Health Workers

Hundreds of Health Workers, Including 6 MedGlobal Staff, Remain Imprisoned Without Charge

MedGlobal, a leading provider of medical services and care in Gaza since 2018, launched a new campaign effort today calling for the release of six of its medical staff detained by Israeli forces in Gaza – including the renowned Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, MedGlobal’s lead physician in Gaza and the director of Kamal Adwan hospital. 

MedGlobal’s staff are among the estimated over 180 civilian health workers from Gaza still held without charge in Israeli prisons. In a new joint statement, 23 civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights and Médecins du Monde International Network, call for the immediate release of these imprisoned health workers. 

In their statement, these organizations make clear that “Israeli authorities have repeatedly and blatantly violated international humanitarian law in repeated detentions of and attacks on health care workers…If health workers can be detained and attacked in one of the world’s most closely watched conflicts with impunity, it sets a dangerous precedent for the treatment of health workers around the world.” 

“These healthcare workers are not combatants, they are not criminals, and they are not mere statistics. They have families and they play life-saving roles in their communities,” said Joseph Belliveau, Executive Director of MedGlobal. “Detaining and harming these dedicated health workers, without justification or explanation, is inhumane and illegal. Every day that my colleagues remain detained without charge or due process sends a reverberating message that civilian medics are legitimate targets. We are urgently appealing to the international community to uphold international humanitarian law and norms and demand the release of these health workers.”

One of the highest-profile cases is Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. On December 27, Dr Abu Safya was detained by Israeli forces without charge. He has been classified by Israel as an “unlawful combatant,” stripping him of due process and prolonging his detention indefinitely. His attorney has reported torture, including beatings, starvation, humiliation, and severe physical abuse resulting in serious injuries.

For more background, MedGlobal has released a fact sheet on its detained staff members. 

MedGlobal spokespeople are available for interview about the plight of these detained medical staff, including:

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MedGlobal is a humanitarian nonprofit organization that provides emergency response and health programs to build resilience among vulnerable communities around the world. The organization’s health programs support victims of crisis and conflict, refugees, internally displaced persons, and marginalized communities in disaster-affected and low-resource settings.