As Israel frees some Gaza medical staff, a prominent hospital chief remains imprisoned

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FILE - A woman holds a sign with a photo of Palestinian Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya during a protest calling for his release in front of the Shin Bet offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

CAIRO – Under Gaza’s ceasefire deal, Israel freed dozens of doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical personnel seized during raids on hospitals. But more than 100 remain in Israeli prisons, including Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, a hospital director who became the face of the struggle to keep treating patients under Israeli siege and bombardment.

Despite widespread calls for his release, Abu Safiya was not among the hundreds of Palestinian detainees and prisoners freed Monday in exchange for 20 hostages he