Director of north Gaza hospital killed alongside his family in Israeli strike on apartment

Sara Jabakhanji · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 02, 2025 12:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

The manager of 1 of northbound Gaza's largest hospitals was killed, on with his wife, daughter and sister, successful an Israeli onslaught connected their apartment, aesculapian officials said Wednesday.

Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan was the manager of the Indonesian Hospital — the largest aesculapian installation northbound of Gaza City and a captious lifeline for civilians successful the country since the commencement of the astir 21-month-long warfare successful the territory.

Diaa Al-Najjar, Al-Sultan's nephew, said his uncle ne'er stopped moving amid the war, adjacent for a moment.

"He kept resisting. Until the past second, the past moment," Al-Najjar told CBC News successful Gaza City. "May God assistance america patience and whitethorn God person mercy connected our martyrs."

The bodies of Al-Sultan and his household arrived astatine Al-Shifa Hospital in pieces, according to Issam Nabhan, caput of the nursing section astatine the Indonesian Hospital. 

"Gaza mislaid a large antheral and doctor," Nabhan said. "He ne'er near the infirmary 1 infinitesimal since the warfare began, and urged america to enactment and supply humanitarian assistance. We don't cognize what helium did to merit getting killed." 

1,500 health-care workers killed since 2023

The infirmary was surrounded by Israeli troops in May and evacuated alongside the different 2 superior hospitals successful bluish Gaza after Israeli forces renewed their violative successful the region, saying astatine the clip they were targeting Hamas infrastructure.

Only 20 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were partially functioning successful May while others were forced to shutter arsenic a effect of harm from Israeli strikes.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and different assistance groups person accused Israel of targeting hospitals and condemned the attacks and arrests of medical workers.

Munir Al-Barash, wide manager of Gaza's Health Ministry, said the sidesplitting of Al-Sultan is the latest decease successful a agelong database of health-care workers targeted successful the Gaza Strip.

"Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan was nether [Israeli army] siege in the Indonesian Hospital ... and helium insisted connected continuing operations and did not stop," Al-Barash told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife connected Wednesday extracurricular Al-Shifa Hospital successful Gaza City.

"The Israeli [military] is targeting aesculapian figures."

More than 1,500 wellness attraction workers person been killed successful Gaza since October 2023, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

The ministry also said the decease toll successful Gaza passed the 57,000 people Tuesday into Wednesday after hospitals received 142 bodies overnight. 

In cardinal Gaza, the Al-Awda Hospital said an Israeli onslaught Wednesday adjacent the entranceway of a schoolhouse lodging displaced Palestinians killed 8 people, including 3 children and wounded 30 others. The infirmary besides said that Israel struck a radical of Palestinians who gathered adjacent the entranceway of the hospital's medication gathering successful Nuseirat exile camp.

The Israeli subject said it was looking into the reports.

The warfare began connected Oct. 7, 2023, erstwhile Hamas-led militants attacked confederate Israel, sidesplitting 1,200 radical and taking astir 250 hostages.

The warfare has near the coastal Palestinian territory successful ruins, with overmuch of the municipality scenery flattened successful the fighting. More than 90 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 cardinal colonisation has been displaced, often aggregate times. And it has sparked a humanitarian situation successful Gaza, pushing hundreds of thousands of radical toward hunger.

Controversial GHF to shutter Geneva branch 

On Tuesday, astir 170 non-governmental organizations called for the dismantling of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation-run assistance system, saying it forces Palestinians to beryllium caught betwixt starvation and danger. The controversial U.S.- and Israel-backed radical distributing assistance successful Gaza said connected Wednesday it was readying to unopen its subdivision successful Geneva after Swiss authorities launched proceedings to dissolve it.

Since precocious May, when GHF launched operations, astatine slightest 640 Palestinians person been killed successful shootings and implicit 4,400 person been injured adjacent GHF assistance sites oregon connected routes to the sites guarded by Israeli forces, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. 

WATCH | Charities telephone connected dismantling of GHF assistance system: 

The radical has been distributing nutrient and assistance nether a strategy that Israel says is intended to forestall assistance from being diverted to militants.

The Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) said successful a announcement published on Wednesday that it could bid the dissolution of the GHF unless creditors travel guardant wrong 30 days.

Hamas reviewing Trump-backed ceasefire plan

The latest deaths successful Gaza travel arsenic Hamas said it was studying what U.S. President Donald Trump called a "final" ceasefire connection for Gaza.

Trump had said Tuesday that Israel had agreed to the conditions needed to finalize a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas aft what helium described arsenic a "long and productive" gathering betwixt his representatives and Israeli officials.

In a statement, Hamas said it was studying caller ceasefire offers it received from the mediators Egypt and Qatar but stressed it aimed to scope an statement that would guarantee an extremity to the warfare and an Israeli pullout from Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the elimination of Hamas successful his archetypal nationalist remarks since Trump's announcement.

"There volition not beryllium a Hamas. There volition not beryllium a Hamastan. We're not going backmost to that. It's over," Netanyahu said astatine an event hosted by the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company, which operates the trans-Israel pipeline.