Hussam Abu Safiya
Has been held in detention for over a year. A pediatrician. No known charge. Held in unknown places, treated in an unknown way.Â
By a regime that is known to detain health workers, a regime that is known to rape prisoners and then insist on the rapists not being charged. A regime that seizes the opportunity of Gaza as a distraction to seize more territory in the West Bank. A regime that refuses foreign journalists access to Gaza, as if they have something to hide. A regime that deliberately targets Palestinian journalists.Â
This man walked with dignity through the rubble of his homeland into the hands of his captors.
And the world remains silent. 12 months on.
His image is the iconographic image of the atrocity of Gaza and the 78-year plight of Palestine. It reminds me of the iconic image of Kim Phuc Phan Thi running naked from a napalm attack in Vietnam. Her image was enough to give the world pause at its moral depravity.
The brutal assassination of Hind Rajab was not enough. Her voice, calling for help, was not enough.
I wonder what it will take for the world to care?Â
Photo Taken June 19th 2025, Article published December 30th 2025
