The Israeli military is refusing to allow lawyers to meet Dr Hussam Abu Safia, who was arrested during a raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital on December 27, Al Jazeera reports citing an Israeli rights group.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) said in a post on X that it has sent “urgent requests to send an attorney” to meet the detained doctor to “evaluate his state and detention conditions”.

But “the military says he’s barred from lawyer visits until 10.01.2025”, the group said.

Guy Shalev, the executive director of PHRI, told CNN that the Israeli military has refused to reveal where Abu Safia is being held.

“It is important to think about that for a second, because we are getting this response for hundreds of other detainees. They don’t have Abu Safiya’s high profile. We are requesting their location in order to visit them with our lawyers. Sometimes, it takes months until we locate someone. Sometimes people are dying in custody without us knowing,” he told the broadcaster.