MAHAR Condemns Israeli Attack On Nasser Hospital In Gaza

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Humanitarian Aid and Relief (MAHAR) has strongly condemned an Israeli airstrike on the surgical department of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Thursday, which killed six people, including surgeon Dr Rizk Abu Shaaira.

MAHAR President Adjunct Professor Jismi Johari said the attack, which also killed another healthcare worker and a 13-year-old boy and injured 27 others, was not an isolated incident but the seventh attack on the complex since October 2023.

“Israel is no longer even pretending. Hospitals are attacked again and again, doctors are killed where they save lives, and the world watches in silence. Every attack that goes unanswered only clears the way for the next,” said MAHAR President, Adjunct Prof Jismi Johari in a statement on Saturday.

Jismi said hospitals, medical personnel and patients were fully protected under the Geneva Conventions, and attacks against them could constitute war crimes.

“Dr Rizk spent his life saving others. The least the world owes him is justice,” he said.

Dr Rizk's courage in continuing to serve at Nasser Hospital throughout the war and treat patients alongside his colleague, Dr Mohammed Odainy, who is now fighting for his life, was documented in American Doctor, a documentary directed by Penang-born filmmaker Poh Si Teng.

Nasser Hospital is the last major hospital serving more than 500,000 residents of Khan Younis.

MAHAR said that, as of Saturday, only 20 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remained operational, with none functioning at full capacity.

-- BERNAMA