AhlulBayt News Agency: Human rights organizations have sounded the alarm over the deteriorating health of Fidaa Assaf, a Palestinian detainee from Kafr Laqif, east of Qalqilya, who has been imprisoned by Israeli authorities for the past seven months.
Sources revealed that Assaf is facing a life-threatening situation due to her battle with leukemia, which has worsened significantly as a result of deliberate medical neglect.
Prisoner advocacy groups reported that Assaf, currently held in Damon Prison, is suffering from a sharp decline in health, with her cancer progressing under the harsh and inhumane conditions faced by female detainees.
During a previous legal consultation, her lawyer confirmed that Assaf’s illness was stable prior to her arrest. However, recent medical tests indicated a dangerous rise in tumor markers, pointing to the prison environment’s direct and harmful impact on her condition.
Assaf also disclosed that female prisoners are denied basic necessities such as hygiene products, personal care items, and sufficient clothing. They are also prohibited from purchasing essentials from the prison canteen.
She added that detainees were recently barred entirely from outdoor recreation (“fura time”), and only in recent days were allowed 20 minutes per day. They remain completely isolated from the outside world amid a declared state of emergency and a continuing ban on legal visits.
Assaf recounted that she was arrested on February 24, 2025, while returning from the Ramallah Medical Complex after undergoing medical tests. During her arrest, she was subjected to multiple strip searches, verbally assaulted with obscene language, and held in a filthy, insect-infested cell without access to food or water for several days.
Fidaa Assaf is a married mother from the town of Kafr Laqif in the Qalqilya Governorate.
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