Gaza hospital chief, family killed in Israeli strike, say Palestinians
Doctor Marwan Al-Sultan was killed in his apartment in Gaza City along with his wife, daughters and son-in-law, a relative who said he found them, Ahmed al-Sultan, told AFP.
Gaza's civil defence agency said seven people were killed in the strike early Wednesday afternoon, including Sultan, his wife and at least three of his children.
The doctor's body was taken to the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, where mourners gathered around it, AFP journalists reported.
'His face was unrecognisable, we could barely identify him,' the director of that facility, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, told AFP.
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.'
The killing drew condemnation from Hamas and the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, where Israeli forces are battling to crush the Palestinian group.
'We strongly condemn this heinous crime against our medical personnel, and we ask Allah to grant him and his family mercy, after a long journey of service,' the ministry said.
The Israeli army told AFP: 'The claim that as a result of the strike uninvolved civilians were harmed is being reviewed.'
It said it 'struck a key terrorist from the Hamas terrorist organisation in the area of Gaza City' on Wednesday.
The Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, the group that runs the hospital, called the killing of the doctor and his family 'a flagrant violation of humanitarian principles and a grave act of injustice', saying those responsible 'must be held accountable'.
An Israeli military operation targeted the Indonesian Hospital in mid-May, when the Gaza health ministry said the facility's electricity generators were deliberately destroyed. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Malay Mail
Gaza hospital chief, family killed in Israeli strike, say Palestinians
GAZA CITY, July 3 — Palestinian officials and witnesses said on Wednesday that an Israeli strike killed the director of the Indonesian Hospital, a key clinic in the north of war-ravaged Gaza. Doctor Marwan Al-Sultan was killed in his apartment in Gaza City along with his wife, daughters and son-in-law, a relative who said he found them, Ahmed al-Sultan, told AFP. Gaza's civil defence agency said seven people were killed in the strike early Wednesday afternoon, including Sultan, his wife and at least three of his children. The doctor's body was taken to the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, where mourners gathered around it, AFP journalists reported. 'His face was unrecognisable, we could barely identify him,' the director of that facility, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, told AFP. 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.' The killing drew condemnation from Hamas and the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, where Israeli forces are battling to crush the Palestinian group. 'We strongly condemn this heinous crime against our medical personnel, and we ask Allah to grant him and his family mercy, after a long journey of service,' the ministry said. The Israeli army told AFP: 'The claim that as a result of the strike uninvolved civilians were harmed is being reviewed.' It said it 'struck a key terrorist from the Hamas terrorist organisation in the area of Gaza City' on Wednesday. The Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, the group that runs the hospital, called the killing of the doctor and his family 'a flagrant violation of humanitarian principles and a grave act of injustice', saying those responsible 'must be held accountable'. An Israeli military operation targeted the Indonesian Hospital in mid-May, when the Gaza health ministry said the facility's electricity generators were deliberately destroyed. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Red Cross ‘deeply alarmed' by intensifying hostilities in Gaza
An Israeli soldier guides a tank into position at a staging area near Gaza's border, amid intensifying military operations. (AP pic) GENEVA : The Red Cross said it was deeply worried Tuesday as Israel's military expanded its operations in Gaza, warning that the Palestinian territory's few remaining functional medical facilities were already overwhelmed. 'The International Committee of the Red Cross is deeply alarmed by the intensifying hostilities in Gaza City and Jabaliya, which have reportedly caused dozens of deaths and injuries among civilians over the past 36 hours,' the ICRC said in a statement. The increased operations came after days of mounting calls for a ceasefire, with US President Donald Trump among those urging Israel to strike a new deal to halt the war and bring home the hostages still held in Gaza. Israel's campaign to destroy the Palestinian militant group Hamas has raged on unabated, however, with Gaza's civil defence agency reporting Israeli forces killed at least 20 people on Tuesday. 'The intensification of hostilities comes as Gaza's already-decimated healthcare system struggles to absorb a relentless surge in critical cases,' the ICRC said. 'Nearly all public hospitals in Gaza are shut down or gutted by months of hostilities and restrictions on the entry of critical medicine, supplies and equipment.' It said the medical facilities that continue to function – including the Red Cross Field Hospital – were overwhelmed and running 'dangerously low' on essential supplies, including fuel, and even body bags. 'This severely compromises their ability to treat the wounded or ensure dignified management of the dead,' the Geneva-based ICRC said. Furthermore, it said widespread evacuation orders were pushing Gazans into an ever-shrinking space and create panic among civilians, and hamper the ability of first responders to reach those in need. 'The ICRC urgently reiterates its call for the protection of medical personnel and medical facilities in Gaza,' the organisation said, adding that they should not be deprived of resources. And it insisted that evacuated civilians should have satisfactory conditions of shelter, hygiene, health, safety and food. 'Many people in Gaza right now are injured, sick, or have disabilities. They are often unable to comply with evacuation orders. Constant care must be taken to spare them,' the ICRC said.
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
NGOs urge end to US-backed Gaza aid distribution system
JERUSALEM: A group of 169 aid organisations called for an end to a US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme in Gaza after repeated reports of people being killed while seeking rations. The NGOs urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed in the war-torn territory until March, when Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza during an impasse in truce talks with Palestinian militant group Hamas. 'NGOs call for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme (including the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) in Gaza,' the organisations wrote in a joint statement Monday. They urged action to 'revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government's blockade on aid and commercial supplies'. The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been tasked with distributing aid in the Palestinian territory since late May, when the two-month blockade was partially eased after mounting international condemnation and warnings of imminent famine. GHF operations have since been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect rations in the territory, where the Israeli military is seeking to destroy Hamas. The signatories to Monday's statement included NGOs from Europe, the United States and Israel working in medical assistance, hunger relief, development and human rights. They said more than 500 Palestinians were killed and almost 4,000 injured while trying to access or distribute food in less than four weeks. The Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry has given similar figures. 'Under the Israeli government's new scheme, starved and weakened civilians are being forced to trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race to reach fenced, militarized distribution sites,' the statement read. Aid distribution in Gaza was traditionally coordinated through various NGOs and UN agencies, notably the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, which had 13,000 staff in the coastal enclave before the war. Israel said it tasked GHF with distribution in Gaza to keep Hamas from controlling the flow of aid. The Israeli military last week denied a newspaper report that cited Israeli soldiers as saying they had been ordered to fire at civilians near aid centres. It said in a statement that it was 'operating to allow and facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid' by GHF, 'and to secure the routes leading to the distribution centers, in order to allow the aid to reach the civilians rather than Hamas'. It added that it was examining 'reports of incidents of harm to the civilians approaching the distribution centres'.
