Six US lawmakers demand release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya

• Six US House members condemned the ‘Israeli’ government’s systematic targeting of Palestinian medical workers.
• The lawmakers called for the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and other detained Palestinian healthcare workers.
• They also urged Congress to block a reported $2.8 billion U.S. bomb sale to ‘Israel’.

Six members of the US House of Representatives have denounced what they describe as ‘Israel's’ systematic persecution of Palestinian medical personnel, demanding the immediate release of detained doctors, nurses and paramedics and calling on Congress to halt a $2.8 billion bomb sale to ‘Israel’.

In a joint statement issued Tuesday, the lawmakers accused the ‘Israeli’ government of deliberately targeting Gaza's healthcare system and those who sustain it. 

The statement was led by Rep. Jesús "Chuy" García of Illinois and signed by Reps. Delia Ramirez, Rashida Tlaib, Summer Lee, Ilhan Omar and Pramila Jayapal.

By their account, at least 1,700 Palestinian doctors, nurses, paramedics and other health workers have been killed over the past three years, and dozens of hospitals have been destroyed. Hundreds more medical workers, they said, have been arrested or detained, among them at least 16 physicians who remain in custody.

The legislators drew particular attention to Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who has been held since 2024. They said that ‘Israeli’ authorities have tortured him, noting that his son was previously killed and his hospital attacked. 

The destruction of medical facilities and the targeting of those who staff them, they argued, should not be dismissed as an unintended consequence of war but understood as part of a deliberate policy toward Palestinians.

Other demands

Beyond the release of Abu Safiya and other detained health workers, the lawmakers called for the freeing of Palestinian political prisoners more broadly.

They also urged an end to American arms transfers to ‘Israel’, pressing Congress to block what they characterized as the Trump administration's latest $2.8 billion bomb sale, and to pass the Block the Bombs Act, which would restrict such shipments.

For years, the Israeli government has systematically destroyed the health system in Palestine, murdering at least 1,700 Palestinian doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other healthcare workers and destroying dozens of hospitals. Proud to join my colleagues in demanding the immediate release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and all other arbitrarily detained healthcare workers and Palestinian prisoners.

— Congressman Chuy García (@RepChuyGarcia) October 6, 2026