Advocates to press Congress for release of detained Gaza doctor

Healthcare workers and disability rights advocates will gather Wednesday at Upper Senate Park in Washington, D.C., to demand the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and call for an end to the mass disabling of civilians. The event will be followed by Capitol Hill office visits and delivery of a petition with nearly one million signatures worldwide.

Why it matters: - Advocates say the campaign links the detention of healthcare workers in Gaza with broader attacks on medical care, accessibility and civilian safety. - The event aims to push Congress to act on the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and other detained Palestinian healthcare workers. - Organizers are framing disability as a human rights issue and warning against the use of disability as a weapon of war.

What happened: - Healthcare workers, disability rights advocates and human rights advocates will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 22, at Upper Senate Park in Washington, D.C. - The event is organized by Doctors Against Genocide, disability rights advocates and CODEPINK. - Speakers will call for an end to the mass disabling of civilians and demand the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. - Dr. Abu Safiya is a pediatrician and former director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. - Dr. Abu Safiya has been held in Israeli detention since December 2024. - After the press conference, advocates will visit congressional offices across Capitol Hill. - Advocates will deliver an Avaaz petition calling for Dr. Abu Safiya's release.

The details: - Campaign materials say the petition has nearly one million signatures worldwide. - More than 878,000 signatures are documented in campaign materials to date. - Speakers will also address barriers to healthcare, accessibility and essential services in the United States. - Speakers will connect those domestic barriers to the mass injury and disabling of civilians and the destruction of healthcare systems in war. - Media are invited to attend and interview participating healthcare workers and disability rights advocates. - The event follows a single organizing message: people with disabilities must never be treated as expendable, and healthcare workers must be protected as they care for patients.

Between the lines: - The campaign is broadening a detainee-release push into a wider argument about how war, policy and infrastructure can disable people at scale. - By pairing a Capitol Hill briefing with office visits, organizers are trying to turn public pressure into direct congressional engagement. - The petition total suggests the campaign is trying to show global momentum, not only local activism.

What's next: - Advocates will meet with congressional offices immediately after the press conference. - Organizers will press for protection and release of Dr. Abu Safiya and other detained healthcare workers. - The petition delivery is intended to keep the campaign in front of lawmakers after the event.

The bottom line: - The Capitol Hill action is designed to tie one detained doctor to a larger fight over disability rights, civilian harm and the protection of healthcare workers in conflict.