“We will stay with patients until the last drop of blood and the last liter of fuel”
-Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmia, Chief Physician of Gaza Shifa Hospital
Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmia was born in 1973 in Al Shati, also known as Beach Camp, in the Gaza Strip. The Al Shati Camp is where the Muslim population who were forcibly expelled from the cities of Jaffa, Lid and Birussebi as a result of attacks by Israeli Zionist groups in 1948 took refuge. When it was first established, the camp had a population of 23.000, and according to UN data, more than 95.000 refugees lived before the Israeli attacks on Gaza.[1] Al Shati Camp, currently under the control of Israeli occupation forces, was last in the news with the Al Abyad Mosque Massacre in July.[2] Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmia was born into a poor family in Al Shati Camp. After completing his primary and secondary education in Shati Camp, Dr. Abu Salmia later went to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, to study medicine. After completing his medical education and specializaited in Pediatrics, Dr. Abu Salmia returned to Gaza in 1998 and started working in the pediatrics department at the European Hospital. A good pyhscian in pediatrics, Dr. Muhammed Abu Salmia was appointed Chief Physician of Al-Nasr Children's Hospital in Gaza in 2007. In 2015, he took over the management of Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital in Gaza and in 2019, he was appointed Chief Physician of Shifa Hospital, the most important health complex in Gaza, and he continues this duty despite heavy pressure and difficulties.
Dr. Abu Salmia is married and has four children. Speaking Arabic, English and Russian, Dr. Abu Salmia is not only a successful doctor but also a well-known philanthropist, social activist, environmentalist and athlete in Gaza. His sensitive attitude and helpfulness towards his patients in particular have earned him a well-deserved reputation both in the medical community and among the people of Gaza.
Dr. Abu Salmia has accomplished very important work during his short term at Shifa Hospital. The gynecology and obstetrics building was completely renovated, and a significant improvement was made in maternal and child health services. The insufficient emergency room capacity was expanded, and the number of beds and intensive care units was doubled. With the international funds he provided, he brought a Radiology and Interventional Radiology Department to Shifa Hospital. 32.000 surgeries were performed in the hospital under the management of Dr. Abu Salmia in 2022 alone.
In addition to these administrative works, Dr. Abu Salmia has also undertaken important work in the academic field. He has organized pediatric conferences that have been attended by many respected scientists both locally and internationally and that have made significant scientific contributions to his field, and has both led and hosted these conferences, and has also participated in many international pediatric conferences and presented scientific papers.
Perhaps the most iconic images of Israel's attacks on Gaza, which have been ongoing for over 10 months, occurred during the Shifa Hospital attack. The images of newborn babies left to die in incubators in the hospital, where electricity, water, fuel and medical supplies were cut off by Israel, have been etched into humanity's memory as a new bar in evil. [3]
Dr. Abu Salmia made a statement at Shifa Hospital, which is under siege by Israeli occupation forces
In Shifa Hospital, where electricity and water were cut off and there was no fuel, doctors worked by candlelight, operating rooms were out of service due to lack of electricity, patients in intensive care units were left to die, and Chief Physician Dr. Abu Salmia said in a statement, "People who need surgery die and we can't do anything for them, now the wounded come to us and we can't do anything for them other than first aid." [4]
During this siege and attack, the head physician of the hospital where dozens of doctors were arrested, hundreds of innocent civilians were killed and thousands of patients were left to die, Dr. Abu Salmia refused to leave his hospital and preferred to stay with the patients trapped in the hospital. In response to Israel’s days-long restrictions on electricity, medicine and food and threats of attack, he supported his colleagues with the sentence, “We will be with our patients until the last drop of our blood and the last liter of gasoline.” However, shortly afterwards, Dr. Abu Salmia, who was the voice of humanity’s conscience, was also arrested along with his other physician colleagues.[5] Israel attacked the hospital with armored vehicles and tanks, forcing him and his fellow doctors to leave the hospital. After Dr. Abu Salmia was forcibly evacuated, he requested a coordinated departure from the Netzarim Checkpoint, which Israel had established to separate the north of the Gaza Strip where the hospital is located from the south. Despite being allowed to pass through the checkpoint, Israeli forces detained him and his fellow doctors for questioning on November 23, 2023 in a degrading and inhumane manner, and his unjust, unlawful arrest, and his 7-month detention without charge was the subject of news.[6]
Dr. Abu Salmia was released on July 1 after being held for approximately 220 days without charge. After his release, he described some of the suffering he endured during his detention: “I was tortured almost every day. They broke my finger. I was hit in the head many times, which caused me to bleed a lot. The doctors and nurses there are beating the detainees. This is a violation of all international laws.” [7]
Dr. Abu Salmia, who was seen to be quite weak and worn out after his release, said that the prisoners held by the Israelis were "completely deprived of treatment" and ate nothing but dry bread.
On the first day of his release from captivity, Dr. Abu Salmia went to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, put on his lab coat and announced that he would start working as a doctor there until he returned to Gaza city. In his statement, he said: "We will rebuild Gaza from scratch and restore Shifa Hospital to its former glory and even beyond."
Thanks to Intern Dr. Hasan Al-Sagga and Journalist-Author Mustafa Ekici for their contributions.
[1] UNRWA. Beach Camp. 2023. Available at: https://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/gaza-strip/beach-camp. Accessed: August 2024
[2] Koşak Ç. Hamas: Eş-Şati Mülteci Kampı'ndaki katliam, ABD'nin örtbas ettiği İsrail'in yeni bir savaş suçudur. AA. 2024. Available at: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/hamas-es-sati-multeci-kampindaki-katliam-abdnin-ortbas-ettigi-israilin-yeni-bir-savas-sucudur-/3274694. Accessed: August 2024
[3] Yeni Şafak. 5 bebeği kasten ölüme terk ettiler: Vicdanları çürümüş. 2023. Available at: https://www.yenisafak.com/dunya/5-bebegi-kasten-olume-terk-ettiler-vicdanlari-curumus-4578214. Accessed: August 2024
[4] Alkhshali H. Doctors race to save newborns as Israel says it’s battling Hamas around Gaza’s largest hospital CNN. 2023. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/13/middleeast/gaza-babies-incubators-al-shifa-hospital-israel-intl-hnk/index.html. Accessed: August 2024
[5] The Times of Israel. IDF arrests Gaza’s Shifa Hospital head, sends him for questioning as terror suspect. 2023. Available at: https://www.timesofisrael.com/head-of-gazas-shifa-hospital-said-detained-by-idf-while-evacuating-northern-strip/. Accessed: August 2024
[6] Yazbek H. Release of Gazan Hospital Director Draws Outcry in Israel. NY Times. 2024. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/01/world/middleeast/shifa-hospital-director-released.html. Accessed: August 2024
[7]Middle East Monitor. Israel doctors participate in torture of Palestinian detainees, Al-Shifa director says. 2024. Available at: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240710-israel-doctors-participate-in-torture-of-palestinian-detainees-al-shifa-director-says/. Accessed: August 2024
*Prof. Dr. Orhan Alimoğlu
İstanbul Medeniyet University
