The director of Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital, Dr. Marwan Sultan, has been killed in an Israeli air strike on his home in Gaza City, along with several members of his family, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the ministry condemned what it described as “a heinous crime against our medical cadres,” and said Dr. Sultan had served with “compassion, steadfastness, and sincerity” throughout his career. He was killed when a missile struck his room directly, according to his daughter, Lubna al-Sultan.
“All the rooms in the house were intact except for his room, which was hit by the missile,” she told the Associated Press. “My father was martyred in it.”
The Israeli military acknowledged conducting a strike in Gaza City, claiming it had targeted a “key terrorist” from Hamas. It said reports of civilian casualties were being reviewed and added: “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to mitigate harm to them as much as possible.”
Dr. Sultan had served as the director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, which was declared out of service following what the United Nations described as “repeated Israeli attacks and sustained structural damage.” The Israeli military previously stated it was targeting “terrorist infrastructure” in the area.
With the Indonesian Hospital out of operation, the UN says there are now no functioning hospitals remaining in the north Gaza governorate. The health ministry accused the Israeli military of “systematically targeting medical and humanitarian teams.”
The latest wave of strikes across Gaza has left at least 139 people dead in the past 24 hours alone, the health ministry reported.
In a separate incident, an Israeli strike on the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis — a zone previously declared “safe” by the Israeli military — killed at least five people and injured others, including children. The attack hit a tent sheltering displaced people around 00:40 local time, survivors said.
Tamam Abu Rizq, who lost family members in the strike, said it “shook the place like an earthquake.” Another relative, Maha Abu Rizq, asked, “They came here thinking it was a safe area and they were killed… What did they do?”
A man at the site held up a baby’s pack of nappies and asked, “Is this a weapon?” as AFP footage showed people rushing injured children into Nasser Hospital. Inside, doctors tended to bloodied children while grief-stricken families wept over the bodies of loved ones.
In Gaza City, another four members of the same family — Ahmed Ayyad Zeno, his wife Ayat, and daughters Zahra and Obaida — were killed in an Israeli strike on their home, according to Palestinian news outlet WAFA. The BBC has contacted the Israel Defense Forces for comment on the incident.
The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen. Rachel Cummings, working with Save the Children, reported that some children attending “wishing circles” in Gaza now say they wish to die — either to be reunited with lost parents or to escape the suffering.
Temperatures across Gaza have soared past 30°C this week, worsening conditions for displaced families living in tents with little access to water or electricity. “The heat is indescribable,” said Reda Abu Hadayed, a mother of three. “My children cry all day until sunset… When morning comes, they start crying again due to the heat.”
Meanwhile, ceasefire talks continue between international mediators, but no breakthrough has yet been achieved. Israel’s war in Gaza was launched after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 being taken hostage.
Since then, more than 57,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including over 15,000 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Chioma Kalu
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