Israel's targeting of Palestinian community leaders in Gaza has devastating consequences beyond the immediate loss of life. Doctors, educators, and civil society figures are being killed or detained, eroding the foundations of Palestinian society.

Jerusalem

Israel and Iran have agreed a ceasefire after a twelve day conflict. Meanwhile, Israel strikes in Gaza continue with the humanitarian crisis deepening.

Middle East Conflict

A recent report describes how Israeli military actions in Gaza have resulted in the deaths and detentions of key figures in the region's health and education sectors. Notably, Dr. Adnan al-Borsh, a prominent surgeon, was reportedly detained, tortured, and killed, a loss described by the medical community as irreplaceable. The report states that senior doctors, hospital directors, university professors, and school principals have been among the casualties, leaving hospitals and educational institutions without leadership.

According to statistics cited from the Ministry of Education, about 85% of Gaza's schools and universities have been destroyed, and over 2,300 teachers and university lecturers have been killed. Human rights groups referenced in the report claim that these actions are systematically eroding the foundations of Palestinian civil society, making recovery and rebuilding increasingly difficult.

Israel targets doctors, professors and community leaders

In Gaza, the destruction is not only measured in collapsed buildings and lost lives. Israel's attacks are systematically dismantling the very pillars of Palestinian society, targeting leaders in education, health care, and civil society. Dr. Adnan al-Borsh was one of Gaza's most respected surgeons, head of orthopedic surgery at Ashifa Hospital. For decades, he operated on the wounded, mentored young doctors, and carried the weight of Gaza's overstretched medical system on his shoulder. He was detained, tortured, and killed in an Israeli notorious detention center, Sidi Timan, a loss that the medical community says is irreplaceable. For many, his death is more than personal grief. It's a deliberate blow to Gaza's ability to save lives. His day used to be quite busy, attending to patients and performing medical operations. He would make sure his experiences were passed on to the medical students, so that should he not be around, or if anything happened to him, his knowledge was not going to be lost. His killing is part of a wider pattern. Senior doctors, department heads, and hospital directors have been killed or detained. In a health system already under siege, their loss leaves hospitals leaderless and patients without care. We have in Gaza what is being called a Medicide, a term specifically coined for Gaza, because what's happening in Gaza has never happened throughout history. It refers to Gaza's entire health system being targeted. More than 38 hospitals have been destroyed and medical staff attacked. It is not just health care. In education, university professors, school principals, and researchers have been among the casualties. Their death severed the transfer of knowledge to the next generation. The education sector has suffered the biggest share of destruction across generations. About 85% of schools and universities were destroyed, according to statistics by the Ministry of Education. We've also lost many of the educational resources. More than 2,300 teachers and university lecturers or professors were killed. And let's not forget the students, who are among the biggest victims of this war. Their number close to 23,000. Human rights groups say this is no coincidence. It's Israel's systematic targeting of Gaza professional leadership and eroding the foundation of civilian life. All of this leads to one goal, which is to serve the occupation. They are assassinating scientists and destroying scientific institutions to prevent the development of the Palestinian society and to limit the ability to rebuild it. In Gaza, the war is not only taking lives. It's erasing the skills, the knowledge, and the leadership needed to rebuild them. And with every leader lost, a future becomes harder to imagine. Hani Mahmoud, Al Jazeera, from Gaza City, Palestine.

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Israel targets doctors, professors and community leaders

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