Israel is killing doctors so Gaza can never heal from genocide

After her parents, sister and hubby were killed successful a bombing, Lubnah prayed they would beryllium the past victims of the war. Her father, Dr Marwan al-Sultan, was 1 of Gaza’s astir respected medics, manager of the Indonesian Hospital, and 1 of lone 2 surviving cardiologists successful the Strip.

On July 2, an Israeli weaponry killed him, alongside his woman Dhikra, their girl Lamees, his sister Amneh, and his son-in-law Mohammed, Lubnah’s husband.

The household had been sheltering successful an apartment, successful an country designated by Israel arsenic “safe”, having evacuated their location successful Jabalia successful compliance with orders from the Israeli concern forces (IOF). The alleged “Chalet area” of occidental Gaza City was erstwhile a spot wherever families spent clip astatine the beach, enjoying themselves, contempt the regular trials of Israeli occupation.

The weaponry targeted straight the country Dr Marwan was sitting in; nary different portion of the gathering was destroyed. Lubnah survived due to the fact that she had gone downstairs to hole food. Her brothers, Omar, Ahmad and Nimr besides survived due to the fact that they were extracurricular the home.

The time earlier his death, upon proceeding the quality of a imaginable ceasefire, Dr Marwan shared a hopeful imaginativeness with his son, Omar.

“The archetypal happening we’ll bash [once a ceasefire is reached] is spell backmost home. With everyone’s effort, successful a period oregon two, we tin marque it arsenic before. Then we’ll rebuild the hospital,” helium said. Omar felt inspired by his father.

Dr Marwan’s dreams were buried with him.

His girl Lubnah’s prayers were not answered. The genocide continued taking victims.

On July 4, different doc was murdered: Dr Musa Hamdan Khafaja – a advisor successful obstetrics and gynecology successful Nasser Hospital. The onslaught was eerily similar. Dr Musa had besides followed the orders of the IOF, fled his location successful Khan Younis, and sought refuge successful al-Mawasi, different “safe zone”. There, helium pitched a structure to structure his family. That structure became their grave.

His woman and 3 young children – daughters Shaza and Judi, and lad Adel, each died. The lone subsister was his lad Amr.

Both men had dedicated their careers to redeeming the lives of others, staying with their patients done bombings and sieges connected their hospitals.

Dr Marwan was the 70th healthcare idiosyncratic killed successful the erstwhile 50 days; Dr Musa became the 71st. Their deaths bring the full fig of aesculapian unit killed since October 2023 to astatine slightest 1,580, according to the Government Media Office successful Gaza. Every 2 days since the warfare began, Israel has killed 5 aesculapian personnel, that is 16 doctors, nurses, ambulance technicians oregon different healthcare workers, per week.

Among those murdered since the genocide began are Gaza’s astir distinguished aesculapian minds. They see Dr Omar Farwana, erstwhile dean of the Faculty of Medicine astatine the Islamic University of Gaza; Dr Rafat Lubbad, manager of Hamad Hospital for Artificial Limbs; Dr Soma Baroud, salient obstetrician-gynaecologist; Dr Ahmed al-Maqadma, a salient reconstructive surgeon; Dr Sayeed Joudeh, the past orthopaedic surgeon successful bluish Gaza; Dr Adnan al-Bursh, caput of orthopaedic country successful al-Shifa Hospital; and Dr Iyad al-Rantisi, caput of a women’s infirmary successful Beit Lahiya.

Dr Soma and Dr Sayeed were killed connected their mode to work. Dr Adnan and Dr Iyad died nether torture successful Israeli detention.

More than 180 are successful Israeli detention centres, including Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the manager of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who has been detained since December 2024.

Medical infrastructure – protected nether planetary humanitarian instrumentality – continues to beryllium a superior target. The World Health Organization has documented 734 specified attacks since the warfare began.  Hospitals person been turned into graveyards.

This is not collateral damage; this is medicide – the deliberate demolition of Gaza’s capableness to live.  Each murdered doc represents the nonaccomplishment of years of training, committedness and the imaginable to prevention lives. Each bombed infirmary is the dismantling of Gaza’s capableness to heal itself, to survive, to endure. These are not conscionable lives lost; they are futures destroyed.

This is the world successful Gaza close now. It has small to bash with Israel’s declared subject objectives of eliminating the Islamic absorption question – Hamas – oregon securing the instrumentality of the captives taken connected October 7, 2023.

Rather, it is what I termed al-Ibādah – the Destruction.  Al-Ibādah is the broad annihilation of a people’s social, cultural, intelligence and biologic continuity – a process of full erasure. And exterminating aesculapian workers is simply a cardinal constituent of it.

Before helium was killed, alongside her father, Lubnah’s husband, Mohammed – a writer for Palestine Magazine – endured 1 and a fractional years’ imprisonment successful Israel. Upon his release, helium confided to Lubnah that decease would person been preferable to the horrors helium had witnessed down bars. His confession shook her deeply.

Today, Lubnah’s supplication is heartbreakingly simple: “Enough. Enough, halt this war.”  But truthful far, similar her different prayers, this 1 is besides going unanswered.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.