The Ministry of Health in Gaza has confirmed the death of Dr. Marwan Al Sultán, director of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, following an Israeli drone strike that targeted his residential building near the Rashid coastal road in western Gaza.

The attack, which occurred around 2:18 p.m. local time, also killed his wife, four children, and several neighbors.

The Indonesian Hospital, once a critical facility in northern Gaza, has been out of service for weeks due to repeated bombardments and the advance of Israeli ground forces.

Al Sultán had remained at the hospital during the most intense phases of the siege, resisting evacuation until the facility was forcibly shut down after the collapse of a ceasefire on March 18.

In a statement, the Gaza Health Ministry condemned the strike as part of a “deliberate and systematic campaign” targeting medical personnel and humanitarian infrastructure.

“Every crime against medical teams underscores the bloody methodology and the determination to attack them directly and intentionally,” the ministry said.

The attack on Al Sultán’s residence is the latest in a series of assaults on Gaza’s health sector. The Kamal Adwan and Al Awda hospitals, also in the north, have been repeatedly targeted and are now completely evacuated.

Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan, has been detained by Israeli forces since December, with no public information on his condition.

Al Sultán had previously warned, in May, that Israeli drones were firing on anyone near the Indonesian Hospital, effectively blocking all medical access. His death has sparked renewed outrage among humanitarian organizations and health workers across the region.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, and none are functioning in the north, which has been reduced to a devastated zone without basic services.

Since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, more than 1,580 health workers, including humanitarian staff, have been killed in Gaza. The total Palestinian death toll now exceeds 57,000, with over 134,000 injured, reflecting what observers describe as a systematic campaign of siege and extermination against civilians and vital infrastructure.

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