An Israeli airstrike has killed Dr. Marwan Al‑Sultan, the respected director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, along with his wife, daughter, sister, and other family members in their home in Gaza City, eye-witnesses confirmed on Wednesday.

Dr. Al‑Sultan, a veteran cardiologist who led the hospital through years of siege and conflict, had remained in Gaza despite repeated evacuations and military pressure.

His nephew, Diaa Al‑Najjar, told CBC News: “He kept resisting. Until the last second, the last moment.”

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the strike exemplifies a deliberate targeting of medical personnel and facilities — a breach of international humanitarian law

The Indonesian Hospital, previously Gaza’s largest northern medical facility, had already suffered severe damage from earlier assaults. It was repeatedly besieged, raided, and ultimately taken out of service.

During a siege in late 2024, Israeli forces surrounded the hospital, destroyed generators, damaged multiple departments, and inflicted surging patient mortality due to lack of medical supplies and power.

MER-C Indonesia, which helped establish and operate the hospital, described the attack as “a day of mourning for all mankind,” and demanded accountability.

Its chairman, Dr. Sarbini Murad, added that the hospital had been essential to both local and international humanitarian teams.

The Gaza Ministry of Health reports that over 1,500 healthcare workers have been killed since the war began in October 2023. Their tragic demise marks a troubling front in the systematic degradation of Gaza’s healthcare system.

Human rights groups and medical organizations, including the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, have repeatedly warned that attacks on hospitals and medical personnel are violations of the Geneva Conventions.