Latest news with #DrMarwanAlSultan
CTV News
6 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Gaza doctors say Israel's killing of a prominent colleague leaves a hard-to-fill void
An Israeli army APC moves along the border of the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) JERUSALEM — When the onetime director of a Gaza Strip hospital was killed by an Israeli airstrike last week, he joined a growing list of prominent Palestinian doctors who have died during 21 months of war that has devastated the territory's health system. The death of Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, a 49-year-old cardiologist, was described by colleagues as a major blow personally and professionally, leaving another void in Gaza's medical establishment that will not be easily replaced. 'He was one of two cardiologists, so by losing Dr. Marwan, thousands of people will lose and suffer,' said Mohammed Abu Selmia, a close friend of his for 15 years, and the director of Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest medical facility. A photograph from 2022 shows Abu Selmia, al-Sultan and 30 other leading doctors and medical experts in Gaza, all faculty smiling after the graduation of medical school students from Islamic University in Gaza City. At least five of those veteran doctors, mentors to the next generation, are now dead – each killed by Israeli airstrikes, except for one who died while in captivity in Israel. Al-Sultan and three other specialists in the 2022 photo who were killed in airstrikes died during off-duty hours, though it is not clear if these were targeted killings. When asked why al-Sultan's building was attacked last Wednesday, the Israeli military said it had struck a 'key terrorist' from Hamas, without elaborating. The military said it 'regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals' and that the 'the incident is under review.' It will take years to educate a new generation of surgeons and other specialists to replace the ones killed during the war between Hamas and Israel, Abu Selmia said. For now, hospitals have too few experts to provide urgent care at a time of extraordinary need, he said. Hospitals across Gaza also face supply shortages amid steady Israeli bombardment that is resulting in a high number of wounded people seeking treatment on a near-daily basis. A health-care system in crisis More than 1,400 Palestinian health workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, according to the United Nations. The Israeli military has raided or laid siege to hospitals throughout the war, accusing Hamas of using them as command centers and to hide fighters, though it has only provided evidence for some of its claims. The World Health Organization has documented nearly 700 attacks on health care facilities during the war. Al-Sultan gained respect and notoriety within Gaza's medical community because he refused to leave his hospital in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya, even when it came under attack. He was outspoken on social media about the dangers health workers faced in the hospital under Israeli bombardment and siege. Al-Sultan was the last director of the Indonesian Hospital, the largest in northern Gaza before the Israeli military forced it to close in early June because of military operations around it. In May, al-Sultan described the difficult situation health workers at his facility faced. 'We will keep holding on for our patients, for our jobs and our people,' he said in a video posted online by his hospital's backers. Al-Sultan had plenty of opportunities to practice medicine in other countries, said Dr. Mohammed al-Assi, who studied with him in Jordan. But he decided to go home to serve in Gaza in 2019. Al-Assi, inspired by his friend, followed him. When he heard the news of his killing, al-Assi was shattered. 'I'm wondering as any doctor would, was it his fault that he was helping people?' Other former colleagues were similarly overwhelmed by news of al-Sultan's death. 'A wave of emotion hit me as I suddenly remembered our last video call — how he kept asking me about me and my family when it should have been the other way around,' said Dr. Emad Shaqoura, a former vice dean of the medical faculty at Islamic University who is now in the U.K. The missile that killed al-Sultan struck the third-floor apartment he was renting with his family in the Gaza City neighborhood of Tal al-Hawa, witnesses and doctors said. His wife, a daughter, and son-in-law were also killed. Another daughter, Lubna al-Sultan, said the missile crashed into his room around 2 p.m., leaving other units in the building intact. The al-Sultan family had been displaced from their home. 'It was not collateral damage,' said Dr. Hadiki Habib, chairman of the Indonesian humanitarian organization that built and funded the Indonesian hospital. The day before he was killed, al-Sultan spoke with Abu Selmia about how they would prepare a new schedule for cases and treatment. He was one of two doctors left capable of performing a procedure to diagnose and treat heart problems, said Abu Selmia. 'Dr. Marwan was the trainer and mentor for all those students in Shifa Hospital and in the entirety of Gaza City,' Abu Selmia said. Other prominent doctors in Gaza have also been killed In the 2022 photo of Islamic University's faculty of medicine, four other members are also no longer alive. — Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, once the head of Shifa's orthopedics department, died in Israeli detention, allegedly of ill-treatment, according to Palestinian authorities and advocacy groups. An independent autopsy on his body, which has not been returned to his family, has not been conducted. His wife said repeated requests to return his body have not been answered. — Dr. Hammam Alloh, a kidney expert, was killed at home with his family by an airstrike in November 2023. — Dr. Mohammed Dabbour, Gaza's first cancer pathologist, was killed in an airstrike on October 2023, along with his father and son. — Dr. Rafat Lubbad, head of internal medicine at Shifa and one of few specialists in autoimmune diseases, was killed in November 2023, along with 7 family members, in Gaza City. Hospitals overwhelmed with casualties Only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain operational, according to the WHO, which says that all are struggling with severe supply shortages. Of the hospitals that are functioning, only 12 provide services beyond basic emergency care. Conditions in northern Gaza, where al-Sultan lived and worked, are particularly dire. The area has been site of some of the most intense Israeli military operations since the start of the war, and although there were many evacuation orders, many of its residents remain. Abu Selmia considers what the future might hold for the doctors still alive and forever smiling in that 2022 medical school graduation photo. There are barely enough of them to tend to the vast numbers of sick and wounded, he said. But he holds on to some small hope. Al-Sultan's son, Ahmed, is a medical student. 'God willing, he will follow his father's footsteps.' ___ Samya Kullab, The Associated Press Associated Press reporter Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
Al Jazeera
7 days ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Israel is killing doctors so Gaza can never heal from genocide
After her parents, sister and husband were killed in a bombing, Lubnah prayed they would be the last victims of the war. Her father, Dr Marwan al-Sultan, was one of Gaza's most respected medics, director of the Indonesian Hospital, and one of only two surviving cardiologists in the Strip. On July 2, an Israeli bomb killed him, alongside his wife Dhikra, their daughter Lamees, his sister Amneh, and his son-in-law Mohammed, Lubnah's husband. The family had been sheltering in an apartment, in an area designated by Israel as 'safe', having evacuated their home in Jabalia in compliance with orders from the Israeli occupation forces (IOF). The so-called 'Chalet area' of western Gaza City was once a place where families spent time at the beach, enjoying themselves, despite the daily trials of Israeli occupation. The bomb targeted directly the room Dr Marwan was sitting in; no other part of the building was destroyed. Lubnah survived because she had gone downstairs to prepare food. Her brothers, Omar, Ahmad and Nimr also survived because they were outside the home. The day before his death, upon hearing the news of a possible ceasefire, Dr Marwan shared a hopeful vision with his son, Omar. 'The first thing we'll do [once a ceasefire is reached] is go back home. With everyone's effort, in a month or two, we can make it as before. Then we'll rebuild the hospital,' he said. Omar felt inspired by his father. Dr Marwan's dreams were buried with him. His daughter Lubnah's prayers were not answered. The genocide continued taking victims. On July 4, another doctor was murdered: Dr Musa Hamdan Khafaja – a consultant in obstetrics and gynecology in Nasser Hospital. The attack was eerily similar. Dr Musa had also followed the orders of the IOF, fled his home in Khan Younis, and sought refuge in al-Mawasi, another 'safe zone'. There, he pitched a tent to shelter his family. That tent became their grave. His wife and three young children – daughters Shaza and Judi, and son Adel, all died. The only survivor was his son Amr. Both men had dedicated their careers to saving the lives of others, staying with their patients through bombings and sieges on their hospitals. Dr Marwan was the 70th healthcare worker killed in the previous 50 days; Dr Musa became the 71st. Their deaths bring the total number of medical personnel killed since October 2023 to at least 1,580, according to the Government Media Office in Gaza. Every two days since the war began, Israel has killed five medical personnel, that is 16 doctors, nurses, ambulance technicians or other healthcare workers, per week. Among those murdered since the genocide began are Gaza's most distinguished medical minds. They include Dr Omar Farwana, former dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Islamic University of Gaza; Dr Rafat Lubbad, director of Hamad Hospital for Artificial Limbs; Dr Soma Baroud, prominent obstetrician-gynaecologist; Dr Ahmed al-Maqadma, a prominent reconstructive surgeon; Dr Sayeed Joudeh, the last orthopaedic surgeon in northern Gaza; Dr Adnan al-Bursh, head of orthopaedic surgery in al-Shifa Hospital; and Dr Iyad al-Rantisi, head of a women's hospital in Beit Lahiya. Dr Soma and Dr Sayeed were killed on their way to work. Dr Adnan and Dr Iyad died under torture in Israeli detention. More than 180 are in Israeli detention centres, including Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who has been detained since December 2024. Medical infrastructure – protected under international humanitarian law – continues to be a primary target. The World Health Organization has documented 734 such attacks since the war began. Hospitals have been turned into graveyards. This is not collateral damage; this is medicide – the deliberate destruction of Gaza's capacity to live. Each murdered doctor represents the loss of years of training, commitment and the potential to save lives. Each bombed hospital is the dismantling of Gaza's capacity to heal itself, to survive, to endure. These are not just lives lost; they are futures destroyed. This is the reality in Gaza right now. It has little to do with Israel's declared military objectives of eliminating the Islamic resistance movement – Hamas – or securing the return of the captives taken on October 7, 2023. Rather, it is what I termed al-Ibādah – the Destruction. Al-Ibādah is the comprehensive annihilation of a people's social, cultural, intellectual and biological continuity – a process of total erasure. And exterminating medical workers is a key element of it. Before he was killed, alongside her father, Lubnah's husband, Mohammed – a journalist for Palestine Magazine – endured one and a half years' imprisonment in Israel. Upon his release, he confided to Lubnah that death would have been preferable to the horrors he had witnessed behind bars. His confession shook her deeply. Today, Lubnah's prayer is heartbreakingly simple: 'Enough. Enough, stop this war.' But so far, like her other prayers, this one is also going unanswered. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
France 24
7 days ago
- Health
- France 24
Gaza hospital director's killing in Israeli strike highlights toll on health sector
When the onetime director of a Gaza Strip hospital was killed by an Israeli air strike last week, he joined a growing list of prominent Palestinian doctors who have died during 21 months of war that has devastated the territory's health system. The death of Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, a 49-year-old cardiologist, was described by colleagues as a major blow personally and professionally, leaving another void in Gaza's medical establishment that will not be easily replaced. Palestinians mourn director of key Gaza hospital killed in Israeli strike 'He was one of two cardiologists, so by losing Dr. Marwan, thousands of people will lose and suffer,' said Mohammed Abu Selmia, a close friend of his for 15 years, and the director of Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest medical facility. A photograph from 2022 shows Abu Selmia, al-Sultan and 30 other leading doctors and medical experts in Gaza, all faculty smiling after the graduation of medical school students from Islamic University in Gaza City. At least five of those veteran doctors, mentors to the next generation, are now dead – each killed by Israeli air strikes, except for one who died while in captivity in Israel. Al-Sultan and three other specialists in the 2022 photo who were killed in air strikes died during off-duty hours, though it is not clear if these were targeted killings. When asked why al-Sultan's building was attacked last Wednesday, the Israeli military said it had struck a 'key terrorist' from Hamas, without elaborating. The military said it 'regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals' and that the 'the incident is under review'. It will take years to educate a new generation of surgeons and other specialists to replace the ones killed during the war between Hamas and Israel, Abu Selmia said. For now, hospitals have too few experts to provide urgent care at a time of extraordinary need, he said. Hospitals across Gaza also face supply shortages amid steady Israeli bombardment that is resulting in a high number of wounded people seeking treatment on a near-daily basis. More than 1,400 Palestinian health workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, according to the United Nations. The Israeli military has raided or laid siege to hospitals throughout the war, accusing Hamas of using them as command centers and to hide fighters, though it has only provided evidence for some of its claims. The World Health Organization (WHO) has documented nearly 700 attacks on health care facilities during the war. Al-Sultan gained respect and notoriety within Gaza's medical community because he refused to leave his hospital in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya, even when it came under attack. He was outspoken on social media about the dangers health workers faced in the hospital under Israeli bombardment and siege. Al-Sultan was the last director of the Indonesian Hospital, the largest in northern Gaza before the Israeli military forced it to close in early June because of military operations around it. In May, al-Sultan described the difficult situation health workers at his facility faced. 'We will keep holding on for our patients, for our jobs and our people,' he said in a video posted online by his hospital's backers. Al-Sultan had plenty of opportunities to practice medicine in other countries, said Dr. Mohammed al-Assi, who studied with him in Jordan. But he decided to go home to serve in Gaza in 2019. Al-Assi, inspired by his friend, followed him. When he heard the news of his killing, al-Assi was shattered. 'I'm wondering as any doctor would, was it his fault that he was helping people?' Other former colleagues were similarly overwhelmed by news of al-Sultan's death. 'A wave of emotion hit me as I suddenly remembered our last video call – how he kept asking me about me and my family when it should have been the other way around,' said Dr. Emad Shaqoura, a former vice dean of the medical faculty at Islamic University who is now in the UK. The missile that killed al-Sultan struck the third-floor apartment he was renting with his family in the Gaza City neighbourhood of Tal al-Hawa, witnesses and doctors said. His wife, a daughter, and son-in-law were also killed. Another daughter, Lubna al-Sultan, said the missile crashed into his room around 2pm, leaving other units in the building intact. The al-Sultan family had been displaced from their home. 'It was not collateral damage,' said Dr. Hadiki Habib, chairman of the Indonesian humanitarian organisation that built and funded the Indonesian hospital. The day before he was killed, al-Sultan spoke with Abu Selmia about how they would prepare a new schedule for cases and treatment. He was one of two doctors left capable of performing a procedure to diagnose and treat heart problems, said Abu Selmia. 'Dr. Marwan was the trainer and mentor for all those students in Shifa Hospital and in the entirety of Gaza City,' Abu Selmia said. In the 2022 photo of Islamic University's faculty of medicine, four other members are also no longer alive. Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, once the head of Shifa's orthopedics department, died in Israeli detention, allegedly of ill-treatment, according to Palestinian authorities and advocacy groups. An independent autopsy on his body, which has not been returned to his family, has not been conducted. His wife said repeated requests to return his body have not been answered. Dr. Hammam Alloh, a kidney expert, was killed at home with his family by an air strike in November 2023. Dr. Mohammed Dabbour, Gaza's first cancer pathologist, was killed in an air strike on October 2023, along with his father and son. Dr. Rafat Lubbad, head of internal medicine at Shifa and one of few specialists in autoimmune diseases, was killed in November 2023, along with 7 family members, in Gaza City. Only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain operational, according to the WHO, which says that all are struggling with severe supply shortages. Of the hospitals that are functioning, only 12 provide services beyond basic emergency care. Conditions in northern Gaza, where al-Sultan lived and worked, are particularly dire. The area has been site of some of the most intense Israeli military operations since the start of the war, and although there were many evacuation orders, many of its residents remain. Abu Selmia considers what the future might hold for the doctors still alive and forever smiling in that 2022 medical school graduation photo. There are barely enough of them to tend to the vast numbers of sick and wounded, he said. But he holds on to some small hope. Al-Sultan's son, Ahmed, is a medical student. 'God willing, he will follow his father's footsteps.'
Arab News
09-07-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Gaza doctors say Israel's killing of a prominent colleague leaves a hard-to-fill void
JERUSALEM: When the onetime director of a Gaza Strip hospital was killed by an Israeli airstrike last week, he joined a growing list of prominent Palestinian doctors who have died during 21 months of war that has devastated the territory's health system. The death of Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, a 49-year-old cardiologist, was described by colleagues as a major blow personally and professionally, leaving another void in Gaza's medical establishment that will not be easily replaced. 'He was one of two cardiologists, so by losing Dr. Marwan, thousands of people will lose and suffer,' said Mohammed Abu Selmia, a close friend of his for 15 years, and the director of Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest medical facility. A photograph from 2022 shows Abu Selmia, Al-Sultan and 30 other leading doctors and medical experts in Gaza, all faculty smiling after the graduation of medical school students from Islamic University in Gaza City. At least five of those veteran doctors, mentors to the next generation, are now dead – each killed by Israeli airstrikes, except for one who died while in captivity in Israel. Al-Sultan and three other specialists in the 2022 photo who were killed in airstrikes died during off-duty hours, though it is not clear if these were targeted killings. When asked why Al-Sultan's building was attacked last Wednesday, the Israeli military said it had struck a 'key terrorist' from Hamas, without elaborating. The military said it 'regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals' and that the 'the incident is under review.' It will take years to educate a new generation of surgeons and other specialists to replace the ones killed during the war between Hamas and Israel, Abu Selmia said. For now, hospitals have too few experts to provide urgent care at a time of extraordinary need, he said. Hospitals across Gaza also face supply shortages amid steady Israeli bombardment that is resulting in a high number of wounded people seeking treatment on a near-daily basis. A health care system in crisis More than 1,400 Palestinian health workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, according to the United Nations. The Israeli military has raided or laid siege to hospitals throughout the war, accusing Hamas of using them as command centers and to hide fighters, though it has only provided evidence for some of its claims. The World Health Organization has documented nearly 700 attacks on health care facilities during the war. Al-Sultan gained respect and notoriety within Gaza's medical community because he refused to leave his hospital in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya, even when it came under attack. He was outspoken on social media about the dangers health workers faced in the hospital under Israeli bombardment and siege. Al-Sultan was the last director of the Indonesian Hospital, the largest in northern Gaza before the Israeli military forced it to close in early June because of military operations around it. In May, Al-Sultan described the difficult situation health workers at his facility faced. 'We will keep holding on for our patients, for our jobs and our people,' he said in a video posted online by his hospital's backers. Al-Sultan had plenty of opportunities to practice medicine in other countries, said Dr. Mohammed Al-Assi, who studied with him in Jordan. But he decided to go home to serve in Gaza in 2019. Al-Assi, inspired by his friend, followed him. When he heard the news of his killing, Al-Assi was shattered. 'I'm wondering as any doctor would, was it his fault that he was helping people?' Other former colleagues were similarly overwhelmed by news of Al-Sultan's death. 'A wave of emotion hit me as I suddenly remembered our last video call — how he kept asking me about me and my family when it should have been the other way around,' said Dr. Emad Shaqoura, a former vice dean of the medical faculty at Islamic University who is now in the UK The missile that killed Al-Sultan struck the third-floor apartment he was renting with his family in the Gaza City neighborhood of Tal Al-Hawa, witnesses and doctors said. His wife, a daughter, and son-in-law were also killed. Another daughter, Lubna Al-Sultan, said the missile crashed into his room around 2 p.m., leaving other units in the building intact. The Al-Sultan family had been displaced from their home. 'It was not collateral damage,' said Dr. Hadiki Habib, chairman of the Indonesian humanitarian organization that built and funded the Indonesian hospital. The day before he was killed, Al-Sultan spoke with Abu Selmia about how they would prepare a new schedule for cases and treatment. He was one of two doctors left capable of performing a procedure to diagnose and treat heart problems, said Abu Selmia. 'Dr. Marwan was the trainer and mentor for all those students in Shifa Hospital and in the entirety of Gaza City,' Abu Selmia said. Other prominent doctors in Gaza have also been killed In the 2022 photo of Islamic University's faculty of medicine, four other members are also no longer alive. — Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, once the head of Shifa's orthopedics department, died in Israeli detention, allegedly of ill-treatment, according to Palestinian authorities and advocacy groups. An independent autopsy on his body, which has not been returned to his family, has not been conducted. His wife said repeated requests to return his body have not been answered. — Dr. Hammam Alloh, a kidney expert, was killed at home with his family by an airstrike in November 2023. — Dr. Mohammed Dabbour, Gaza's first cancer pathologist, was killed in an airstrike on October 2023, along with his father and son. — Dr. Rafat Lubbad, head of internal medicine at Shifa and one of few specialists in autoimmune diseases, was killed in November 2023, along with 7 family members, in Gaza City. Hospitals overwhelmed with casualties Only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain operational, according to the WHO, which says that all are struggling with severe supply shortages. Of the hospitals that are functioning, only 12 provide services beyond basic emergency care. Conditions in northern Gaza, where Al-Sultan lived and worked, are particularly dire. The area has been site of some of the most intense Israeli military operations since the start of the war, and although there were many evacuation orders, many of its residents remain. Abu Selmia considers what the future might hold for the doctors still alive and forever smiling in that 2022 medical school graduation photo. There are barely enough of them to tend to the vast numbers of sick and wounded, he said. But he holds on to some small hope. Al-Sultan's son, Ahmed, is a medical student. 'God willing, he will follow his father's footsteps.'
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Gaza doctors say Israel's killing of a prominent colleague leaves a hard-to-fill void
When the onetime director of a Gaza Strip hospital was killed by an Israeli airstrike last week, he joined a growing list of prominent Palestinian doctors who have died during 21 months of war that has devastated the territory's health system. The death of Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, a 49-year-old cardiologist, was described by colleagues as a major blow personally and professionally, leaving another void in Gaza's medical establishment that will not be easily replaced. 'He was one of two cardiologists, so by losing Dr. Marwan, thousands of people will lose and suffer,' said Mohammed Abu Selmia, a close friend of his for 15 years, and the director of Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest medical facility. A photograph from 2022 shows Abu Selmia, al-Sultan and 30 other leading doctors and medical experts in Gaza, all faculty smiling after the graduation of medical school students from Islamic University in Gaza City. At least five of those veteran doctors, mentors to the next generation, are now dead – each killed by Israeli airstrikes, except for one who died while in captivity in Israel. Al-Sultan and three other specialists in the 2022 photo who were killed in airstrikes died during off-duty hours, though it is not clear if these were targeted killings. When asked why al-Sultan's building was attacked last Wednesday, the Israeli military said it had struck a 'key terrorist' from Hamas, without elaborating. The military said it 'regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals' and that the 'the incident is under review.' It will take years to educate a new generation of surgeons and other specialists to replace the ones killed during the war between Hamas and Israel, Abu Selmia said. For now, hospitals have too few experts to provide urgent care at a time of extraordinary need, he said. Hospitals across Gaza also face supply shortages amid steady Israeli bombardment that is resulting in a high number of wounded people seeking treatment on a near-daily basis. A health care system in crisis More than 1,400 Palestinian health workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, according to the United Nations. The Israeli military has raided or laid siege to hospitals throughout the war, accusing Hamas of using them as command centers and to hide fighters, though it has only provided evidence for some of its claims. The World Health Organization has documented nearly 700 attacks on health care facilities during the war. Al-Sultan gained respect and notoriety within Gaza's medical community because he refused to leave his hospital in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya, even when it came under attack. He was outspoken on social media about the dangers health workers faced in the hospital under Israeli bombardment and siege. Al-Sultan was the last director of the Indonesian Hospital, the largest in northern Gaza before the Israeli military forced it to close in early June because of military operations around it. In May, al-Sultan described the difficult situation health workers at his facility faced. 'We will keep holding on for our patients, for our jobs and our people,' he said in a video posted online by his hospital's backers. Al-Sultan had plenty of opportunities to practice medicine in other countries, said Dr. Mohammed al-Assi, who studied with him in Jordan. But he decided to go home to serve in Gaza in 2019. Al-Assi, inspired by his friend, followed him. When he heard the news of his killing, al-Assi was shattered. 'I'm wondering as any doctor would, was it his fault that he was helping people?' Other former colleagues were similarly overwhelmed by news of al-Sultan's death. 'A wave of emotion hit me as I suddenly remembered our last video call — how he kept asking me about me and my family when it should have been the other way around,' said Dr. Emad Shaqoura, a former vice dean of the medical faculty at Islamic University who is now in the U.K. The missile that killed al-Sultan struck the third-floor apartment he was renting with his family in the Gaza City neighborhood of Tal al-Hawa, witnesses and doctors said. His wife, a daughter, and son-in-law were also killed. Another daughter, Lubna al-Sultan, said the missile crashed into his room around 2 p.m., leaving other units in the building intact. The al-Sultan family had been displaced from their home. 'It was not collateral damage,' said Dr. Hadiki Habib, chairman of the Indonesian humanitarian organization that built and funded the Indonesian hospital. The day before he was killed, al-Sultan spoke with Abu Selmia about how they would prepare a new schedule for cases and treatment. He was one of two doctors left capable of performing a procedure to diagnose and treat heart problems, said Abu Selmia. 'Dr. Marwan was the trainer and mentor for all those students in Shifa Hospital and in the entirety of Gaza City,' Abu Selmia said. Other prominent doctors in Gaza have also been killed In the 2022 photo of Islamic University's faculty of medicine, four other members are also no longer alive. — Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, once the head of Shifa's orthopedics department, died in Israeli detention, allegedly of ill-treatment, according to Palestinian authorities and advocacy groups. An independent autopsy on his body, which has not been returned to his family, has not been conducted. His wife said repeated requests to return his body have not been answered. — Dr. Hammam Alloh, a kidney expert, was killed at home with his family by an airstrike in November 2023. — Dr. Mohammed Dabbour, Gaza's first cancer pathologist, was killed in an airstrike on October 2023, along with his father and son. — Dr. Rafat Lubbad, head of internal medicine at Shifa and one of few specialists in autoimmune diseases, was killed in November 2023, along with 7 family members, in Gaza City. Hospitals overwhelmed with casualties Only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain operational, according to the WHO, which says that all are struggling with severe supply shortages. Of the hospitals that are functioning, only 12 provide services beyond basic emergency care. Conditions in northern Gaza, where al-Sultan lived and worked, are particularly dire. The area has been site of some of the most intense Israeli military operations since the start of the war, and although there were many evacuation orders, many of its residents remain. Abu Selmia considers what the future might hold for the doctors still alive and forever smiling in that 2022 medical school graduation photo. There are barely enough of them to tend to the vast numbers of sick and wounded, he said. But he holds on to some small hope. Al-Sultan's son, Ahmed, is a medical student. 'God willing, he will follow his father's footsteps.' ___
