Israel’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal against the detention of Hussam Abu Safiya, a Gaza hospital director who is being held without charge under Israel’s administrative detention law.

Safiya was arrested in December 2024 and has since been moved to solitary confinement. The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, he has also served in the dual role of colonel in the Hamas Medical Military Services, a common tactic for terrorists: terrorist by night, ordinary civilian job by day; then when Israel nabs them, the international community denounces Israel for arresting and/or striking medical workers, journalists and others.

As one would expect, human rights groups have demanded his release, claiming he is merely a physician and not a terrorist. In addition, his lawyer alleged that his client endured severe abuse at the Sdei Teiman military base.

Haaretz, which can reliably be expected to defend terrorists, posted on X a teaser from an editorial: “A doctor belongs in a hospital, not a prison cell: Free Abu Safiyah now.”

Safiya has also published opinion articles in The New York Times in his guise as a Gazan doctor, lending credibility to Hamas propaganda against Israel.

“The rejection of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s appeal and his continued detention without charge represent a profound moral and legal failure,” said Naji Abbas, director of the Prisoners and Detainees Department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel, upon the rejection of the appeal.

“Rather than upholding the fundamental principles of the rule of law and due process, the court has endorsed the indefinite detention of a hospital director who remains in solitary confinement while suffering from medical conditions that are not receiving appropriate treatment,” he added.

Under Israel’s administrative detention law, the authorities can arrest and detain anyone suspected of terrorist activity without charge for six months at a time, and they can renew the detention indefinitely. This allows them to hold potentially dangerous individuals without jeopardizing their intelligence, thwart or prevent future attacks, and hold someone believed to pose a threat without having to meet a heavy burden of proof, among other practical benefits.

Safiya and his lawyer have not been informed of the reason for the rejection of the appeal because the closed-door deliberation was based on classified intelligence.

In a 10-year-old photo, Safiya appears in a Hamas uniform.