Humans of Gaza: Dr. Thabat Salim, young Palestinian doctor killed in line of duty

By Humaira Ahad

Dr. Thabat Salim, a 30-year-old neonatal doctor, dedicated her life to serving her people in Gaza.

Volunteering at the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, she also specialized in obstetrics and gynecology, becoming a beacon of hope for distressed women and children in the territory.

On Monday night, a devastating tragedy struck. An Israeli airstrike leveled a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, claiming the life of this devoted and selfless Palestinian physician.

Her colleagues mourn her loss deeply, describing Dr. Salim as someone who “never wavered from extending a helping hand during times of hardship, even when danger surrounded her on all sides.” 

Dr. Muneer Alboursh, director general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health, honored her memory in a post on X, commending her dedication amid the ongoing genocidal war on the besieged territory.

“Dr. Thabat Salim, born in 1994, was an exceptional neonatal doctor who mastered her craft under the harsh conditions of war. She worked with devotion for nearly a year before being martyred by an Israeli airstrike on a house in Nuseirat Camp,” he wrote.

As a gynecologist, Dr. Salim worked with the Palestine Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA). Just hours before her death, she had provided vital healthcare to women and children through PFPPA’s humanitarian response.

The organization, in a statement, condemned her killing, noting that it was part of a well-planned Israeli campaign to target health workers in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Dr. Salim communicated the grim realities of Gaza’s hospitals to the world, which have borne the worst brunt of the Israeli genocidal campaign since October 7, 2023.

In emails to media outlets, she described a “sharp rise” in miscarriages, maternal deaths, and “high-risk pregnancies.” Hospitals, operating at over 250% capacity, faced catastrophic shortages of antibiotics, incubators, and hygiene supplies, endangering countless lives.

Dr. Salim’s reports highlighted the plight of vulnerable newborns and postpartum women amid the “critical shortages of antibiotics, incubators, and basic hygiene supplies endangering lives.”

The genocidal war, she noted, “has created generational trauma, deepened poverty, and worsened malnutrition, with no resolution in sight.”

The slain Palestinian doctor lamented the collapsing healthcare infrastructure in the coastal Palestinian territory, stating that the ongoing violence would only deepen the crisis.

The UN  High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has described the destruction of hospitals as a “human rights catastrophe” that “continues to unfold in Gaza before the eyes of the world.”

A January 6 UN report revealed that just 16 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, with only 1,800 beds available—grossly inadequate for the overwhelming medical needs.

In a heartfelt tribute, PFPPA called Dr. Salim “an unwavering angel,” who “moved tirelessly” amid the ruins of war, and “doubled efforts to provide humanitarian aid and services.”

“You were a source of comfort, wiping the tears of mothers and easing the pain of children and patients suffering the horrors of war in Gaza. … Our only solace is that you are a shining star in Gaza’s sky, and that sky will remain illuminated by your contributions and lasting legacy,” it stated.

PFPPA’s report underscored the devastating impact of Israel’s war on Gaza’s women and children, noting a staggering 300 percent increase in miscarriages.

They described the impossibility of safe childbirth, with C-sections often performed without anesthesia, leading to rampant fatal infections.

Maternal and infant mortality rates have also surged amid the genocidal war on Gaza.

The Lancet echoed these concerns in an October report, declaring Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s reproductive healthcare as “a violation of international law and a stark reminder of structural violence imposed on this population.”

“The health sector is being systematically dismantled,” said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the occupied West Bank and Gaza, in a recent UN report.

The World Health Organization has verified 654 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza since October 2023, resulting in at least 886 fatalities and 1,349 injuries.

According to the Gaza health ministry, a total of 276 hospitals, health centers and institutions have been destroyed since October 7, 2023, by the Israeli military.

The number of ambulances destroyed and put out of service is 136. Apart from that, 60,000 pregnant women are at risk amid the healthcare collapse in the territory.

The number of cases of infectious diseases due to displacement is 2,136,026 and the number of cases of hepatitis infections is 71,338.

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