https://arab.news/6yrxy
- Abed El Hameed Qaradaya, 43, succumbed to shrapnel injuries sustained in the attack which happened on Thursday
- MSF said the attack was carried out by Israeli forces
GENEVA: The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) voiced sorrow and outrage following the death on Sunday of a colleague fatally hit in Gaza.
Abed El Hameed Qaradaya, 43, succumbed to shrapnel injuries sustained in the attack which happened on Thursday and which had killed MSF colleague Omar Hayek and injured several others.
MSF said the attack was carried out by Israeli forces.
It said its staff were waiting for a bus to the charity’s field hospital at the time, and were all were wearing MSF vests.
El Hameed is the 15th MSF staff member killed in the near two-year conflict, and the third in less than 20 days.
“His loss is immense and has a tragic impact on his loved ones, MSF and the health system in Gaza,” the Geneva-based NGO said in a statement.
“For 18 years, Abed El Hameed was a cornerstone of MSF’s physiotherapy department in Gaza. He was a unique and invaluable specialist in both physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
“Abed was dedicated not only to his patients’ physical recovery but also to restoring their hope and sense of dignity.”
MSF said he innovated and adapted tools, and was the driving force behind opening a 3D physiotherapy department.
“We are profoundly grieved and outraged by the loss of our colleagues — a stark reminder of the pattern of complete disregard for civilian lives and human dignity,” it said.
The United Nations and rights groups have frequently condemned the high death toll of humanitarians and aid workers in the Palestinian territory, as Israel pursues its offensive against the Islamist group Hamas.