He was awaiting surgery. An Israeli strike killed him in his hospital bed

Lying in a hospital bed at Nasser Medical Complex, Saif Abu Hatab was terrified about the surgery scheduled for Thursday morning. The 26-year-old Palestinian wanted his mother by his side that night at the hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. She promised to return after the dawn (Fajr) prayer and stay with him. But before she could return, an Israeli attack struck the hospital overnight. Two missiles hit its surgical building, killing Abu Hatab.

“Our younger brother, our friend and the backbone of our family was killed while frightened, lying in a hospital bed, unable to move and helpless,” his brother, Ashraf Abu Hatab, told Middle East Eye. Six people were killed in the attack, including a surgeon, a child and other patients. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters It was the latest Israeli attack on a hospital in Gaza, despite the ceasefire announced last year, which was intended to end Israel's genocidal war on the territory, launched in October 2023.

Since the ceasefire, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,600 Palestinians, including at least 340 children. The death toll since October 2023 has exceeded 74,000. The attack also caused extensive damage to the hospital's surgery building, forcing four departments out of service: operating theatres, radiology, laboratories and intensive care. From wedding plans to burial Abu Hatab was injured on Monday while working with friends to extract reinforcing steel bars, or rebars, from bomb-damaged houses and return them to their owners to sell.

A concrete column suddenly fell on him, leaving him paralysed in the lower half of his body. “After several hours of examinations and medical assessments, doctors told us he had suffered partial paralysis and lost his ability to move,” Ashraf said. Saif had also fractured the 12th vertebra in his spine. The injuries required surgery to repair the fracture and restore movement in the upper half of his body, Ashraf said. The family were deeply worried about the operation and stayed by his side throughout his hospital stay.

“We were all extremely worried about the operation and saddened by what had happened to him. We never left him alone in the hospital and stayed by his side all the time,” Ashraf added. “My mother, my other siblings and I went home, while two of my cousins came to spend the night with him, with all of us planning to return the following morning.” 'Saif was a pillar of support for all of us' - Ashraf Abu Hatab, brother But a phone call shattered the family's plans for the following day and changed their lives.

“While we were getting ready to sleep, after midnight on Thursday, we received a call that sent us into a state of panic. We were told that an air strike had targeted Nasser Hospital. We could not contain ourselves, and my siblings and I ran to check on my brother.” When the family arrived, they were shocked to find Saif's body in the morgue. “His was the first body brought into the morgue, the first thing our eyes fell upon,” Ashraf said.

The family had never imagined that Saif would lose his life in this way or in this place. He had also suffered fractures to his legs at the beginning of the war but had recovered. They had hoped he would undergo the operation successfully and obtain a medical report that would allow them to register him for travel and seek treatment abroad. Instead, they were confronted with news of his death. Before his injury, the family had been making plans for his wedding in the coming weeks.

Instead of seeing him as a groom, Ashraf said, “We had to bury him.” “The hardest thing was not only losing my brother, but also seeing what happened to my mother,” he said. “She lost consciousness and suffered a nervous breakdown as soon as she received the news.” One tragedy after another The Abu Hatab family's tragedy did not begin with Saif's killing. Two of his brothers were killed in separate air strikes early in Israel's war on Gaza.

The family had also lost their father, who was at Nasser Medical Complex when the Israeli army imposed a siege on the hospital in January 2024, forcing many doctors and nurses to leave. Their father died there because medical care and treatment were unavailable. Bombing hospitals is a red line - unless Israel is doing it Read More » Despite the many losses the family has endured during the war, they say losing Saif has been the hardest.

“Saif was a pillar of support for all of us. He was an integral and active member of our family, and losing him has not been easy. I still remember how he was always there to help every one of us,” Ashraf said. “He would go to the areas where people waited for aid to bring back flour during the famine, and he took care of providing food for my orphaned nephews.” Despite the tragedy of losing Saif, his family believe they would also have faced lasting grief had he survived with partial paralysis.

They described him as an extremely active person who loved movement and work and could not sit at home for long. They understood how difficult it would have been for him psychologically to live with restricted mobility. “My brother accepted the news of his injury and was hopeful about receiving treatment outside Gaza and regaining his ability to move,” Ashraf explained. “He said he would live on that hope. He was killed holding on to it.”

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