Dr. Ahmed Almaqadma, a promising young surgeon in Gaza who previously won a competitive Humanitarian Surgery Innovation fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, is among those missing from Al Shifa Hospital.

Mr. Tim Goodacre, former Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons in England and who recently returned from Gaza, shares the following update:

“It has been six days since anyone has heard from Ahmed. After the disturbing reports we have received from his colleagues, I have serious concerns about his safety and urge his immediate and safe return to his family. He is a dignified and honourable young surgeon with skills which are desperately needed in the service of his nation’s injured people.”

When Israel invaded Al Shifa Hospital, many of the 200 hospital staff were “interrogated, assaulted, beaten, tortured, and stripped naked for long hours in the cold,” according to testimony collected by Healthcare Workers Watch. Many staff, including at least 16 doctors, have not been seen since. Though Dr. Almaqadma was not in the hospital at the time, he and other medics staying in the area around Shifa Hospital have also gone missing.

Dr. Issy Marks, who was in Ahmed’s fellowship program, says:

“Over the past months, Ahmed has been documenting the Israeli army’s attacks on healthcare in Gaza, recording videos of destroyed hospitals and describing the horrific consequences of the Israeli aid blockade for patients. Now I fear he has become a target himself.”

Dr. Mokhallalati, an Irish-Palestinian surgeon and head of Shifa’s plastic surgery department, shares:

“Targeting medical teams is a despicable feature of this ongoing genocide. Despite Israeli airstrikes destroying Dr. Almaqadma’s home, he persisted in serving Gaza’s hospitals. He has not seen his wife or three young children in months. He lost 11 kg in weight. He has sacrificed everything for his patients.”

At Shifa Hospital, the Israeli military confined the remaining medical staff and patients to the human resources building, which is not equipped to provide medical care, and has prevented them from leaving—conditions which WHO has described as “utterly inhumane.”

Dr. Karameh Kuemmerle, co-founder of Doctors Against Genocide adds: “The situation at Shifa Hospital is catastrophic: Patient’s open wounds are filling with maggots, there is no water, no bathrooms, and no electricity. People are dying completely preventable deaths.”

“The only way to guarantee safety for the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza is through an immediate and permanent ceasefire,” adds Dr. Marks. As doctors, we demand the immediate and safe release of all medical and health care staff being wrongfully detained by Israel. The Israeli military must immediately end its siege of Gaza’s hospitals to ensure patients safe access and to be able to receive the care they need.