Al Ahli Baptist Hospital, Gaza City
Update: July 2025

Dr. Ahmad Attallah Qandil, from Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, was assassinated on 14th July 2025 by the Israeli Military in a targeted drone strike as he was returning home from a surgical shift. Of his murder, Ahli’s Director, Suhaila Tarazi, said:

“It’s heartbreaking news of Dr. Ahmad Kandi’s tragic death. I am deeply shocked and saddened. Dr. Ahmad was not only a colleague but a true humanitarian — dedicated, courageous and selfless in his service to others. His loss is not only a wound to those who knew and loved him, but also to the entire medical and human community he served with such integrity and compassion. May his soul rest in peace.”

As of the end of May 2025, 1,580 medics have been killed in Gaza since 7th October 2023. The figure is now likely to be over 1,600 as we have heard of more targeted killings in the last few weeks. There are also medics such as Hussam Idris Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was taken by the Israelis in December 2024 and has been held in awful conditions in Ofer Prison without charge.

Last week, the first small amounts of fuel were allowed into Gaza after more than 120 days. The quantities allowed in will do nothing to address the chronic shortages. 

Al Ahli has been dependent on fuel supplies to run its generator since its solar panels were destroyed by a combination of a misplaced US aid drop landing on the hospital roof and Israeli tank fire. There has been no electricity in the north of Gaza since October 2023 and they require a minimum of 600 litres of fuel per day to run the generators for the hospital.

As of last Thursday, 10th July, the hospital was down to 1,050 litres even after prioritising only essential services. They will now send staff out to purchase what petrol is available in what remains of the Gaza City market at enormous cost. 

A mobile health clinic set up in Rafah run by staff from Al Ahli Hospital
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This isn’t the only shortage facing the hospital. Most medical supplies are not being allowed into Gaza and so few aid missions have been permitted to pass from southern Gaza to Gaza City with supplies. On 10th July, Suhaila told us how they now have no orthopaedic screws for all those coming to the hospital with shattered bones. The hospital team has become accustomed to administering antibiotics, not for their efficacy in a particular use, but based solely on what is available at the time.

The hospital is also not immune to widespread food and water shortages. Many hospitals, particularly in Khan Younis in the south of Gaza and those to the east, have been overwhelmed by the mass casualty events that have occurred at the newly established food distribution centres, especially those run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Since the end of May, 800 people have been killed (600 at GHF sites) and over 5,000 injured by Israeli fire at these sites, with 6 children killed while queuing for water over the course of the weekend. 

This isn’t the only shortage facing the hospital. Most medical supplies are not being allowed into Gaza and so few aid missions have been permitted to pass from southern Gaza to Gaza City with supplies.

In recent weeks the hospital has been reeling from the massive levels of bombardment that have been unleashed on Gaza City. Attacks on schools and other facilities sheltering people have meant that the 350 beds at the partially reopened Shifa Hospital, or the two rooms at Kuwait Hospital for those who have experienced acute traumatic injuries, have been overrun and more people have been brought into Al Ahli.

Once again, Al Alhi is now running as an emergency centre undertaking 20-35 operations a day with 150 inpatients. It is now the only outpatient hospital and general medical facility serving a vast part of Gaza City, including the Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, Zeitou and Shejayah areas. Most of the inpatients and the 600-700 outpatients seen each day are now being treated in two large tents that cover most of the hospital courtyard. 

Repairs

It has been impossible to make any repairs to those areas destroyed in the Palm Sunday attack when two rockets were fired at the hospital. The Israeli Military gave a 20-minute warning to take all the patients out before they attacked. The estimated cost of repair from this attack is over $3 million. While this damage was by far the worst of any of the eight attacks on the hospital, the casualty figures were relatively light.

Even if it were possible to make repairs, all cement in Gaza is well past its use-by date and the costs would be astronomical. The hospital equipment is worn out and there have been numerous power cuts and constant concrete dust in the air, causing machines to break down. They recently had to replace their C-arm machine in the operating theatre. A new machine meeting the hospital’s specifications would typically cost around $70,000. However, the only machine they could obtain was 10 years old and cost $90,000.

Staff

The hospital staff are beyond exhausted. Each day, they take their lives into their hands coming into work and continue to lose colleagues and friends, such as Dr Ahmad. 

Not only do they have to see so many patients each day and try to treat people with such limited supplies and equipment, but they also have to confirm the cause of death for the bodies brought in day after day from the shelling and shootings. To date, 58,000 Palestinians have been killed (including 17,000 children) and 137,400 injured since October 2023. 

Al Ahli Hospital in happier times
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This number does not include the estimated 170,000 people who have died as a result of the war. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have reported that mortality rates for children under 5 are now 10 times higher than what they were before October 2023 and for newborn babies, it is a six-fold increase.  

The experiences of Al Ahli are in no way unique. Last week, medical staff at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis vowed not to leave patients at the facility despite it running under ‘harsh conditions’. 

“Tell the world about us. Don’t say we’re heroes. Just say that we understood what it means to be truly human, and forgive us. We are not numbers.”

Each call with Suhaila ends with me asking if there’s anything she needs from us. She is happy to say yes and ask for a specific item, whether that be fuel, repair costs or support with salaries. However, for weeks now, her response has been very similar: 

“Thank you, Chris. We know you are there when we need you, but the most important thing is that you don’t forget us — it is your solidarity and your compassion. The protests, phone calls, fundraising activities and messages mean a great deal during these painful days.

For us, there is too much pain, too much suffering, too much agony in Gaza. But we daren’t lose hope.”