A source in Hamas stated that Israel refused to release two Palestinian doctors, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and Dr. Marwan Al-Hams, as part of the ceasefire agreement.

According to the report, the two doctors are Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a Palestinian pediatrician arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces last December, and Dr. Marwan Al-Hams, director of field hospitals in Gaza, who was arrested in July, according to the Palestinian agency “Ma’an.”

Under the agreement, Hamas is required to release 48 remaining Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip – believed to be 20 still alive – while Israel pledged to release 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, in addition to 1,700 detainees from Gaza arrested after October 2023. However, the two doctors were not included on the list, and a Hamas source confirms that Israel opposes their release for security reasons.

According to CNN, Abu Safiya worked as a pediatrician at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip. According to Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI), he was arrested during an Israeli military raid on the hospital last December after the forces closed it.