Thread by @DrEricDing

TRAGIC—A key doctor & 12 of his family was killed in a Gaza air strike. Dr Abu al-Ouf was head of internal medicine at the Palestinian territory's main hospital, & oversaw al-Shifa's hospital response to #COVID19. The 12 dead included 2 of 3 of his kids.
bbc.com/news/world-mid…

2) As well as being in charge of internal medicine at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Dr Abu al-Ouf oversaw its response to COVID.
He supervised the treatment of an entire ward of people with severe Covid-19 in a place where there are few specialists in respiratory illnesses.

3) He also trained students from two local medical schools. "To get someone as qualified as Ayman, you need at least 10 to 15 years of training," said Dr Zaanin, who named his own daughter Tala after his friend's.

4) "He dedicated his life to helping other people and treating patients, as well as to teaching our new generation of physicians. I would say he was the most kind-hearted and compassionate person I have ever seen in my life," he added.

5) Dr Abu al-Ouf had left the hospital only around an hour before the strike that levelled his home on Gaza City's al-Wahda street, which is lined with apartment buildings and shops.

6) The Israeli military said it had "struck an underground military structure" belonging to the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, beneath street. "The underground foundations collapsed, causing the civilian housing above them to collapse, causing unintended casualties”

7) Dr Abu al-Ouf was buried under the rubble for almost 12 hours, but was alive for five to six hours, according to one of the doctors he trained, Haya Agha. His father's body was only recovered 48 hours after their home collapsed.

8) "No-one believed that he was dead until a doctor in the hospital sent us a picture of his body," Dr Agha told the BBC.
"His death is a catastrophe," she added. "He took on the load of three or four doctors... and he was so hardworking that we thought he was invincible."

9) Dr Agha said Israeli strikes had also destroyed roads leading to the area and al-Shifa hospital, making it even harder for rescue teams to get there in time to save people that day.

Dr Abu al-Ouf's 12-year-old daughter Tala was also killed in Sunday's air strike

10) Dr Abu al-Ouf's 15-year-old son Omar is the only member of their family who survived the attack. He is currently being treated for his injuries and does not know that his parents and two siblings are dead.

11) Also let this sink in - Gaza also lost its only #COVID19 testing lab in an air strike.

https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1394359962093096961

12) I stand with @AOC calling for the blocking of weapon sales during this crisis.

https://twitter.com/aoc/status/1395054704086892545

13) and damnit, yes, the crisis in Palestine and Israel is an American problem…

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1395288938881900546