The last orthopedic surgeon was killed in northern Gaza, Palestinians said

A doctor believed to be the last remaining orthopedic surgeon in northern Gaza has been killed in an Israeli strike, according to Palestinian officials.

Dr Sayeed Joudeh died on Thursday on his way to work.

He was a surgeon at Kamal Adwan and al-Awda hospitals in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military said it was not aware of the incident, but was investigating.

My grandfather came out of retirement to help during the war.

Last month while addressing a press conference at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, he held up a placard that read “Save US”.

It didn’t work.

“On his way to al-Awda Hospital to check on a patient, one of the tanks fired directly at him,” according to Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital.

“Unfortunately, he was killed instantly.”

But some eyewitnesses say that Dr. Joudeh was shot by a flood plane.

Israel does not allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza without restrictions.

But while I was in Jerusalem, I spoke with Louise Waterridge from the main UN aid agency in Gaza.

“It is painful for his family. It is very painful for people in the north who rely on a few doctors,” said Ms Waterridge.

“Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are no longer hospitals,” he said.

“There is no sanitation. There are no doctors. There are no medical equipment. Patients are dying needlessly.”

Ms Waterridge described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as dire.

For more than two months, much of Northern Gaza has been under Israeli siege and shelling.

Israel says it targeted Hamas operatives who were regrouping there.

On October 7 last year, Hamas attacked southern Israel and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 people.

In retaliation, Israel launched a major operation inside the Gaza Strip with the stated goal of eliminating Hamas.

So far, at least 44,875 people have been killed and more than 100,000 injured – most of them civilians, the Hamas-run health ministry said. The UN considers these figures to be reliable.

At least 30 of them were killed – and another 50 injured – in an Israeli strike on a post office turned homeless shelter in central Gaza on Thursday night, according to local doctors.

Local people say that Gazans who were displaced by the 14-month conflict had taken refuge there and many members of the same family were killed.

The Israeli military said it was targeting a senior member of Islamic Jihad after attacking Israeli civilians and soldiers.

It accused the armed group of exploiting Gaza residents as human shields in its operations.