Fr John Heagle: A prisoner of conscience is dying, and the world is silent

Link to article: https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/55401

Fr John Heagle, coordinator of Priests Against Genocide USA, writes: Silence is not always golden. Often, it is simply complicity with injustice. This is certainly the case for Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a prisoner of conscience near death in an Israeli prison. Tragically, in the face of this war crime, most international government and religious leaders have chosen to remain silent. With this reflection, I want to join others in breaking the silence.

Dr Safiya is the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza and head of its neonatal unit. An outstanding paediatrician, he continued treating patients throughout the roughly 85-day siege by the Israeli military. He is now held in the Rakevet detention centre, an underground section beneath the Ayalon prison complex in Ramla, Israel.

As Israel’s war on Gaza marks 1,000 days since it began on October 8, 2023, the health personnel continue to bear the heaviest toll, with medical professionals facing persistent killings and arrests in what many refer to as a “health genocide.” Official Palestinian data show that more than 1,700 health care workers – doctors, nurses, pharmacists, paramedics, and other staff – have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023, while 362 others have been detained. According to figures released by Gaza’s Health Ministry on April 18, 2026, at least 83 health care workers remain in Israeli prisons.

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