Media Release: Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2026

 

For more information contact Stanley Heller, Stanley.heller@att.net, 203-444-3578

 

Gaza Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, who has been in Israeli custody since December 2024, was nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.  He was nominated by Carol Gray.  She is Assistant Professor of Public Law, Department of Political Science of the University of Fairbanks in Alaska (Dr. Gray notes that the views expressed in this nomination are her views as an individual and are in no way to be attributed to her department or the university for which she works.)

 

This was her statement to the Norwegian Nobel Institute in support of the nomination:

 

It is my honor to nominate Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya for the Nobel Peace Prize 2026. He was born in Gaza in the Jabalia refugee camp in 1973. Abu Safiya moved to Kazakhstan for higher education where he obtained citizenship. He studied medicine at Ahmet Yassawi University in the Kazakhstan city of Turkistan. After graduating, Abu Safiya and his wife returned to Gaza in 1996, living in Jabalia. Abu Safiya went on to specialize in pediatrics and neonatology, obtaining a master's degree and passing the Palestinian Board exams. He began working as a doctor for the Gaza Health Ministry, going on to become the head of the pediatric department at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, a major hospital serving northern Gaza. In February 2024, Abu Safiya became the director of the hospital replacing Ahmed al-Kahlout who had been seized by Israeli armed forces. In addition to his work at Kamal Adwan Hospital, Abu Safiya also acted as MedGlobal's lead physician for Gaza. Like all Gaza medical facilities, Kamal Adwan performed incredible work despite severe shortage of essential supplies. And like all Gazans, Dr. Abu Safiya and his staff were intentionally starved, often arrested, even as its building endured sieges and bombardment. Kamal Adwan hospital suffered several military attacks starting in December 2023 and continuing until its forced closure at the end of 2024.

In an October 2024 attack all the male staff of the hospital were detained with few being allowed back. Abu Safiya was among those interrogated. During this Israeli assault Dr. Abu Safiya’s 15-year-old son Ibrahim was killed in a drone strike on the entrance to the hospital. A month later, the hospital’s ICU director was killed in a drone strike. Abu Safiya himself was injured in his leg by shrapnel from a drone strike on the hospital while he was returning to his office after performing surgery. He remains unlawfully detained by Israel.

Stanley Heller, Executive Director of Connecticut's Middle East Crisis Committee said, "After Kamal Adwan Hospital had been devastated, Dr. Abu Safiya was video recorded walking alone through rubble to surrender to soldiers in an armored Israeli military vehicle.  He has been detained ever since as an 'unlawful combatant', but no evidence has been produced that he did more than treat patients. In November 2025 Dr. Abu Safiya was given the “Courage Award” in absentia by our organization which was founded 1982."  (It's website is TheStruggleVideo.org).  

Carol Gray remarked, “Choosing Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya would spotlight the horrific genocide in Gaza as well as the incredible courage of the Palestinian people who have endured so much. It might also save his life.”

 

Members of the Media: To reach Carol Gray contact Stanley Heller at the email or phone above