Latest news with #Marwanal-Sultan
Days of Palestine
14-07-2025
- Health
- Days of Palestine
Gaza: 360 Health Workers Detained, Dozens Killed in Systematic Israeli Campaign
DaysofPal – The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip has accused Israeli forces of systematically dismantling the Palestinian health sector, revealing that 360 medical personnel have been arrested since the beginning of the war in October 2023. In a statement issued on Sunday, the ministry condemned what it described as 'a deliberate and systematic targeting of the Palestinian health sector' and appealed to international bodies to immediately intervene and hold Israel accountable for the ongoing detention and mistreatment of medical workers. The ministry stressed the urgent need to criminalize the Israeli occupation's practices and to demand the release of all detained health professionals. According to the Health Care Workers' Watch Organization, in Palestine, 71 health workers have been killed in the last two months alone. Among the latest victims was prominent cardiologist Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital, who was killed along with his family in an Israeli strike on July 2. Just days later, on Sunday, July 13, Dr. Ahmed Qandil, a general surgery consultant at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, was killed when an Israeli airstrike targeted a bustling market in downtown Gaza. These attacks are part of a far larger toll. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that at least 1,580 health care workers have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on medical facilities and personnel across Gaza since the start of the war. One of the most harrowing individual cases is that of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a well-known pediatric surgeon and former head of Kamal Adwan Hospital. He was arrested when Israeli forces stormed the hospital on December 28, 2024. His lawyer, Ghadeer Ghanem Qassem, revealed in a Facebook post that Dr. Abu Safiya is in grave condition. As of July 9, he had lost more than 40 kilograms, over a third of his body weight, since his detention, reportedly due to severe mistreatment and beatings. 'At the beginning of his detention, he weighed 100 kilograms. Today, he weighs no more than 60,' Qassem wrote, adding that he was beaten severely on June 24. Palestinian officials and rights groups warn that these acts form part of a broader policy aimed at dismantling essential civil infrastructure in Gaza, particularly in the health sector, which is on the brink of collapse under the weight of ongoing military attacks, blockade, and now the targeted arrests and killings of its personnel. Shortlink for this post:
Toronto Star
09-07-2025
- Health
- Toronto Star
Gaza doctors say Israel's killing of a prominent colleague leaves a hard-to-fill void
JERUSALEM (AP) — 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.
Asia News Network
04-07-2025
- Health
- Asia News Network
Director of Indonesia Hospital in Gaza killed in Israeli airstrike
July 4, 2025 JAKARTA – The government and volunteer organizations have condemned the attacks that led to the death of Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, director of the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza, who was killed along with his wife and children by an Israeli airstrike that hit their house in the western part of the enclave. 'Our hearts are filled with sorrow, and words cannot express the magnitude of this loss,' a local volunteer of the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) in Gaza said in a post uploaded by the group on its Instagram account on Wednesday. The volunteer group funds the operation of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza. 'May Allah have mercy on their souls, grant them the best place in heaven and give fortitude to all who knew and loved them,' he went on to say. Marwan, an interventional cardiologist, and his family were among the casualties of a bombing by the Israeli military targeting residential areas and a school in Gaza on Wednesday, as reported by the Palestinian news agency WAFA. At least seven Palestinians were killed in the airstrike, with all casualties brought to Al-Shifa Medical Complex. Marwan has been working as a doctor at the Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza since 2016, tending to the sick and wounded in the city. The hospital itself has been bombarded several times during Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip that also targeted medical facilities in the area. In May, drone assaults inflicted severe structural damage to the hospital and disrupted critical medical services in its intensive care units. Despite Israel's continuous attacks and resources shortage, Marwan 'relentlessly led the Indonesia Hospital under grave circumstances' to provide essential medical services to the Palestinians, MER-C wrote in a statement. The group worked with Marwan to restore emergency services and full operations of the hospital between January and March. The volunteer group condemned the killing of the doctor and his family, calling the act 'a flagrant violation of humanitarian principles and a grave act of injustice that must be held accountable,' MER-C wrote. Responding to the death, the Foreign Ministry extended its condolences over Marwan's death and condemned the Israeli military's attack on the hospital director and his family. 'Indonesia appreciates [Marwan's] service, commitment and struggle for the sake of humanity and peace in Palestine,' the ministry wrote on its official X account on Thursday. It added that Indonesia would continue to repeat its call for the end of Israel's atrocities and a ceasefire in Palestine, while continuing to closely monitor the situation around the operation of the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza. Indonesia has been a fervent ally of the Palestinian cause, with President Prabowo Subianto stating that the country would 'continue to stand with Palestine' during a Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Member States (PUIC) in Jakarta in May. The President reiterated his support during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, where he and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Salman condemned Israel's policy of using humanitarian aid blockades and hunger as weapons against civilians in the Gaza Strip. Both leaders also rejected in a joint statement the forced relocation of Palestinians inside and outside their homeland, asserting that peace and stability in Palestine could only be reached through the two-state solution approach. Israel has recently expanded its military operations in the Gaza Strip, where the war since October 2023 has created dire humanitarian conditions and displaced nearly all of the territory's population of more than two million. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday vowed to eradicate Hamas, whose 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war, even after the Palestinian militant group said it was studying new proposals for a ceasefire from mediators, AFP reported.
Metro
03-07-2025
- Health
- Metro
Top Gaza doctor killed in IDF strike as Channel 4 airs Gaza doctor documentary
As Channel 4 aired the 'Gaza: Doctors Under Attack' documentary that the BBC refused to broadcast last night, an Israeli airstrike killed one of the Strip's most senior doctors. Dr Marwan al-Sultan, a renowned cardiologist and director of Gaza's Indonesian Hospital, was killed in his apartment in Gaza City on the same day the film, presented by investigative reporter Ramita Navai, was shown. Dr Al-Sultan is the 70th healthcare worker to be killed by Israeli attacks in the last 50 days, according to the Palestinian medical organisation Healthcare Workers Watch. A relative of Dr al-Sultan's said several of his family members, including his wife, his daughters and his son-in-law, died alongside him. His death has been described as a 'catastrophic' loss to the besieged enclave's already decimated healthcare system. Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital, said: 'We are in great shock and grief. He cannot be replaced.' The Israeli military said it had struck a 'key terrorist' from Hamas. They said they are 'reviewing' reports that 'uninvolved civilians' were harmed in the attack. 'Gaza: Doctors Under Attack' was first commissioned by the BBC, but was dropped after a previous documentary – 'Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone' – sparked an impartiality row. The documentary, which has been described as an 'unceasing timeline of horrors', was picked up by Channel 4 and Zeteo late in the day. The Guardian and other outlets have given it five stars. Since Israel launched its war on Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel, in which at least 1,195 Israelis and 79 foreign nationals were killed, doctors in the enclave have been treating patients without access to proper sanitation, medication, electricity or water. The Indonesian Hospital, which is the largest medical facility north of Gaza City, has been a critical lifeline since the start of the war. It was forced to close in January due to repeated Israeli bombardment. When accused of targeting hospitals and medical facilities, the IDF said they 'regret any harm to uninvolved individuals' and 'operate to mitigate harm to them as much as possible'. Under Article 18 of the Geneva Convention, civilian hospitals, ambulances and field hospitals 'may in no circumstances be the object of attack'. International law and the Geneva Convention also prohibit the deliberate harm of medical staff who are not engaged in combat. In April, the IDF fired on marked ambulances and a fire truck with emergency lights flashing. They later said their soldiers did not randomly attack any ambulances, insisting they fired on 'terrorists' approaching them in 'suspicious vehicles'. The only hospital fully operating in Gaza is Nasser Hospital, in the south of the Strip. The rest are either destroyed or operating at minimal capacity due to damage and the death of their staff. The Channel 4 documentary includes footage of doctors being detained. They claim they were tortured by the IDF, but the IDF has denied this. Medglobal, a medical NGO based in the US, says it believes more than 300 healthcare workers are in Israeli prisons. Since yesterday morning, Israeli attacks have killed 40 people across the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry, with four children and seven women among the dead. Today, Amnesty International has said the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is being used to distribute aid in Gaza, is using starvation tactics against Palestinians to commit genocide. They condemned Israel and the GHF, which has taken over aid distribution in Gaza in place of a network led by the United Nations. In response, Israel's foreign ministry claimed that Amnesty – a British organisation – 'joined forces with Hamas' to 'adopt propaganda lies'. Photos and videos, along with official reports from Palestinian officials and witnesses, have shown Israeli forces opening fire at crowds of people near the sites. More Trending Agnes Callamard, Amnesty's secretary general, said: 'This devastating daily loss of life as desperate Palestinians try to collect aid is the consequence of their deliberate targeting by Israeli forces and the foreseeable consequence of irresponsible and lethal methods of distribution.' The IDF claims it has fired warning shots to control crowds and only fires at people it says are acting suspiciously. The Foreign Ministry and COGAT, the Israeli defence body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said Israel has facilitated the entry of more than 3,000 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip since May 19. Israel has rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic 'blood libel'. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. 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Middle East Eye
03-07-2025
- 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.'
