Latest news with #HWW
Middle East Eye
4 hours ago
- Health
- Middle East Eye
Israel kills prominent Gaza doctor Marwan al-Sultan in targeted strike
The Israeli military has killed a prominent Palestinian doctor and the director of one of Gaza's largest hospitals in an air strike on Gaza City. Dr Marwan al-Sultan was killed, along with his wife, sister, daughter and son-in-law, when a missile struck his home on Wednesday. The doctor was the 70th healthcare worker killed in the past 50 days, according to Palestinian medical organisation Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW). The missile 'specifically targeted' the room where Sultan was, his surviving daughter Lobna al-Sultan said, HWW reported. 'A missile was dropped on his room exactly, on his place, on him precisely. All the rooms were fine except for his; the missile hit it precisely,' Lobna said. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Sultan was the director of the Indonesian Hospital, one of the largest medical facilities in the besieged Gaza Strip, which has been heavily damaged by Israeli attacks since the war began on 7 October 2023. He was a senior cardiologist and assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the Islamic University of Gaza. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza condemned what it called a 'heinous crime' in a statement issued via its official Telegram page. He was killed 'after a long journey of dedication in the fields of medicine and compassion,' the ministry said. 'He stood as a symbol of devotion, resilience, and sincerity' - Palestinian Ministry of Health 'He stood as a symbol of devotion, resilience, and sincerity through the most difficult circumstances and harshest moments our people endured under continuous aggression.' The Israeli military has been accused of systematically dismantling Gaza's healthcare system through repeated strikes on hospitals, medical personnel and ambulances during its 20-month-long assault on the strip. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, over 1,500 health workers have been killed and 300 detained since the war began. 'Israel's lethal targeting of healthcare workers is not only causing a horrific loss of life,' HWW said, 'but also obliterating their decades of lifesaving medical expertise at a time when their skills could not be needed more.'
The Guardian
15 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
‘Shock and grief' as senior doctor killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza
An Israeli airstrike has killed one of Gaza's most senior doctors in a 'catastrophic' loss to the already decimated healthcare system. A number of family members were reported to have been killed alongside him. Dr Marwan al-Sultan, a renowned and highly experienced cardiologist and director of the Indonesian hospital in the Gaza Strip, is the 70th healthcare worker to be killed by Israeli attacks in the last 50 days, according to Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical organisation. 'The killing of Dr Marwan al-Sultan by the Israeli military is a catastrophic loss to Gaza and the entire medical community, and will have a devastating impact on Gaza's healthcare system,' said Muath Alser, director of HWW. 'This is part of a much longer and systematic atrocious targeting of healthcare workers sanctioned by impunity. This is a tragic loss of life, but also an obliteration of their decades of lifesaving medical expertise and care at a time when the situation facing Palestinian civilians is unfathomably catastrophic,' Alser added. 'We are in great shock and grief. He cannot be replaced,' said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza. 'He was a prominent scholar and one of the two remaining cardiologists left in Gaza. Thousands of heart patients will suffer as a result of his killing. His only fault was that he was a doctor. We have no option but to be steadfast, but the sense of loss is devastating.' Earlier this month, al-Sultan spoke to the Guardian about the critical situation he and other staff at the Indonesian hospital were facing as they struggled to cope with the number of civilian casualties after the escalation of Israeli attacks in May. Among the healthcare workers killed in the past 50 days were three other doctors, the chief nurses of the Indonesian hospital and al-Nasser children's hospital, one of Gaza's most senior midwives, a senior radiology technician and dozens of young medical graduates and trainee nurses. On 6 June, the first day of Eid, nine healthcare workers were killed in one day in airstrikes in the north of Gaza, where they were sheltering with their families, according to HWW. Fares Afana, who leads ambulance services in northern Gaza, lost his son in June. Bara'a, who was also working as a paramedic, was at an apartment block in Gaza City's al-Tuffah neighbourhood on 9 June treating people injured in an Israeli airstrike when the building was hit for a second time by Israeli artillery, killing everyone inside. 'They were directly targeted,' said Afana, who says that Bara'a died alongside two other paramedics. 'When I went to the place, it was a horrible sight and cruel to see their bodies torn to pieces. If there had been some reaction from the world when healthcare workers were first targeted by the Israeli forces, they would have not dared to commit more of these attacks.' He said his son had dedicated his life to the medical profession and had dreams of being a doctor. 'He was kind and loved by everyone who knew him.' The total number of healthcare workers who have lost their lives in military attacks since the war began in October 2023 now exceeds 1,400 according to UN figures. Insecurity Insight, a conflict data NGO, says it has verified the deaths of hundreds of healthcare workers who have been killed inside health facilities, while attempting to reach wounded civilians, by Israeli sniper fire, when travelling in ambulances, while evacuating patients, at checkpoints and inside schools and refugee camps used as temporary shelters since October 2023. It is believed that hundreds more healthcare workers from Gaza remain in Israeli detention, where they have reported being tortured, beaten and held without charge. Medglobal, a medical NGO based in the US that provides medical services and care in Gaza, says it believes more than 300 medical staff are in Israeli prisons, among them senior physicians including Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan hospital who has been held in detention since December 2024.
Middle East Eye
21 hours ago
- Health
- Middle East Eye
Cardiologist's killing will have 'devastating impact' on healthcare in Gaza, says medical organisation
The death of Dr Marwan al-Sultan will leave a "devastating impact" on Gaza's healthcare system, said Muath Alser, director of the Palestinian medical organisation, Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), on Wednesday. Sultan was one of only two cardiologists left in the Gaza Strip, and the director of the Indonesian hospital in north Gaza, when he was killed in an Israeli air strike on his apartment on Wednesday, along with his wife and at least three of his children. He was taken to Al-Shifa hospital, where his face was said to be unrecognizable. Paying homage to the renowned cardiologist, Alser told The Guardian: 'The killing of Dr Marwan al-Sultan by the Israeli military is a catastrophic loss to Gaza and the entire medical community, and will have a devastating impact on Gaza's healthcare system. 'This is part of a much longer and systematic atrocious targeting of healthcare workers sanctioned by impunity. "This is a tragic loss of life, but also an obliteration of their decades of lifesaving medical expertise and care at a time when the situation facing Palestinian civilians is unfathomably catastrophic,' Alser added. His surviving daughter Lubna Sultan paid tribute to her father at the hospital. "His whole life was devoted to medicine and the struggle to treat patients," she told AFP. "There is no justification for targeting him and his martyrdom" she added. Alser said al-Sultan was the 70th healthcare worker to be killed in Israeli attacks in the last 50 days. Healthcare workers have been disproportionately targeted by Israel.
The National
a day ago
- Health
- The National
Renowned doctor killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza
Al-Sultan is the 70th healthcare worker to be killed by Israeli attacks in the last 50 days, according to Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical organisation. Three other doctors were among the 70 healthcare workers killed, along with the chief nurses of the Indonesian hospital and al-Nasser children's hospital, one of Gaza's most senior midwives, a senior radiology technician and dozens of young medical graduates and trainee nurses. READ MORE: MPs vote in favour of proscribing Palestine Action On the first day of Eid, June 6, nine healthcare workers were killed in one day in airstrikes in the north of Gaza, while they were sheltering with their families, according to HWW. Al-Sultan's death is a tragic loss where his expertise has been invaluable with the unfathomable catastrophe facing Palestinians, the director of HWW, Muath Alser said. 'The killing of Dr Marwan al-Sultan by the Israeli military is a catastrophic loss to Gaza and the entire medical community, and will have a devastating impact on Gaza's healthcare system,' said Alser. 'This is part of a much longer and systematic atrocious targeting of healthcare workers sanctioned by impunity. This is a tragic loss of life, but also an obliteration of their decades of lifesaving medical expertise and care at a time when the situation facing Palestinian civilians is unfathomably catastrophic,' Alser added. 'We are in great shock and grief. He cannot be replaced,' said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza. 'He was a prominent scholar and one of the two remaining cardiologists left in Gaza. Thousands of heart patients will suffer as a result of his killing. His only fault was that he was a doctor. We have no option but to be steadfast, but the sense of loss is devastating.' The total number of healthcare workers who have lost their lives in military attacks since the war began in October 2023 now exceeds 1400, according to the latest UN figures. Insecurity Insight, a conflict data NGO, said it has verified the deaths of hundreds of healthcare workers who have been killed inside health facilities.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Health
- The Guardian
‘Shock and grief' as senior doctor killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza
An Israeli airstrike has killed one of Gaza's most senior doctors in a 'catastrophic' loss to the already decimated healthcare system. A number of family members were reported to have been killed alongside him. Dr Marwan al-Sultan, a renowned and highly experienced cardiologist and director of the Indonesian hospital in the Gaza Strip, is the 70th healthcare worker to be killed by Israeli attacks in the last 50 days, according to Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical organisation. 'The killing of Dr Marwan al-Sultan by the Israeli military is a catastrophic loss to Gaza and the entire medical community, and will have a devastating impact on Gaza's healthcare system,' said Muath Alse, director of HWW. 'This is part of a much longer and systematic atrocious targeting of healthcare workers sanctioned by impunity. This is a tragic loss of life, but also an obliteration of their decades of lifesaving medical expertise and care at a time when the situation facing Palestinian civilians is unfathomably catastrophic,' Alse added. 'We are in great shock and grief. He cannot be replaced,' said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza. 'He was a prominent scholar and one of the two remaining cardiologists left in Gaza. Thousands of heart patients will suffer as a result of his killing. His only fault was that he was a doctor. We have no option but to be steadfast, but the sense of loss is devastating.' Earlier this month, al-Sultan spoke to the Guardian about the critical situation he and other staff at the Indonesian hospital were facing as they struggled to cope with the number of civilian casualties after the escalation of Israeli attacks in May. Among the healthcare workers killed in the past 50 days were three other doctors, the chief nurses of the Indonesian hospital and al-Nasser children's hospital, one of Gaza's most senior midwives, a senior radiology technician and dozens of young medical graduates and trainee nurses. On 6 June, the first day of Eid, nine healthcare workers were killed in one day in airstrikes in the north of Gaza, where they were sheltering with their families, according to HWW. Fares Afana, who leads ambulance services in northern Gaza, lost his son in June. Bara'a, who was also working as a paramedic, was at an apartment block in Gaza City's al-Tuffah neighbourhood on 9 June treating people injured in an Israeli airstrike when the building was hit for a second time by Israeli artillery, killing everyone inside. 'They were directly targeted,' said Afana, who says that Bara'a died alongside two other paramedics. 'When I went to the place, it was a horrible sight and cruel to see their bodies torn to pieces. If there had been some reaction from the world when healthcare workers were first targeted by the Israeli forces, they would have not dared to commit more of these attacks.' He said his son had dedicated his life to the medical profession and had dreams of being a doctor. 'He was kind and loved by everyone who knew him.' The total number of healthcare workers who have lost their lives in military attacks since the war began in October 2023 now exceeds 1,400 according to UN figures. Insecurity Insight, a conflict data NGO, says it has verified the deaths of hundreds of healthcare workers who have been killed inside health facilities and while attempting to reach wounded civilians, including by Israeli sniper fire when travelling in ambulances, evacuating patients, attempting to reach wounded civilians, at checkpoints and inside schools and refugee camps used as temporary shelters since October 2023. It is believed that hundreds more healthcare workers from Gaza remain in Israeli detention, where they have reported being tortured, beaten and held without charge. Medglobal, a medical NGO based in the US that provides medical services and care in Gaza, says it believes more than 300 medical staff are in Israeli prisons, among them senior physicians including Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan hospital who has been held in detention since December 2024.
