TheJewishStar.com
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July 31-August 13, 2026 • Eikev • 17 Av 5786 • Vol. 25, No. 23
These Hamas nurses are no Florence Nightingales By The Jewish Star At least 18 Gaza healthcare workers who were publicly identified as doctors, nurses, paramedics or other medical personnel have been acknowledged by Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad as members of their organizations, the Times of Israel reported this week. The names appeared in online obituaries and casualty lists published in recent months by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which have begun identifying hundreds of rank-and-file operatives killed during the war that began after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, TOI reported. The publication said the list of healthcare workers was initially compiled by researcher Salo Aizenberg and independently verified by TOI. Among those cited are medics doubling as terror-group members are: • Mohammed Akram al-Kafarna, who was mourned by international nursing organiza-
tions as a healthcare leader following his death in September 2025. The Times of Israel reported that Hamas later identified him as a fighter in its Northern Gaza Brigade and published a photograph showing him in military gear. • Jaber Abd al-Hamid Mohammadin was publicly identified as a nurse who worked in the intensive care unit at Rantisi Children’s Hospital before Palestinian Islamic Jihad later identified him as a commander in its military manufacturing unit, according to the report. • Ahmad Adel Abu al-Hilal was described in Palestinian media as a nurse at the European Hospital in Khan Younis after his death, but the Times of Israel reported that Islamic Jihad later identified him as a team commander in its Rafah Brigade. • Salem Jumaa Shirab was remembered by Gaza’s Health Ministry as a nurse who worked at Nasser Hospital and later at an Emirati field hospital in Rafah. According to the report, Is-
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Clockwise from top left: Jaber Mohammadin in civilian attire and in Palestinian Islamic Jihad uniform; Ahmad Adel Abu al-Hilal in hospital scrubs and in Palestinian Islamic Jihad uniform; Abd al-Latif Abu Tuaima in civilian attire and in Palestinian Islamic Jihad uniform; and Salem Jumaa Shirab in civilian attire and in Palestinian Islamic Jihad uniform. Pictures from Palestinian Islamic Jihad social media, Facebook, social media
lamic Jihad subsequently identified him as a member of the group’s military medical department in its Khan Younis Brigade. • Abd al-Latif Adel Abu Tabiya, who identified himself on social media as an employee of the European Hospital in Khan Younis. The Times of Israel said Palestinian Islamic Jihad later identified him as a team commander in its Eastern Battalion in Khan Younis. TOI also cited additional cases involving nurses, physiotherapists, hospital employees and Health Ministry staff whom Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad later described as members or commanders within their organizations. According to the report, several organizations that continue to document healthcare worker deaths in Gaza, including Healthcare Workers Watch, the Institute for Palestine Studies and Médecins Sans Frontières, continue to list some of the individuals as healthcare
workers. TOI said it contacted several of the organizations for comment or to ask whether they planned to update their records, but either received no response or was told they had no prior information indicating the individuals had military affiliations. TOI said the findings could affect ongoing debate over casualty figures and Israeli military strikes involving Gaza’s healthcare sector. Israel has long accused Hamas of embedding military personnel and infrastructure within hospitals and other medical facilities, while human rights organizations continue to accuse Israel of unlawfully targeting healthcare workers and medical institutions. The report follows previous Times of Israel investigations that said some individuals widely described as journalists and athletes killed in Gaza were also later identified by Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad as members of those organizations.
Tel Aviv is a canvas for nation’s trauma
An Israeli soldier stands protectively beside a young girl in a mural in Tel Aviv’s Florentine neighborhood.
Ricki Rosen
By Linda Gradstein, JNS Take a walk in the trendy Florentine neighborhood in Tel Aviv, and almost every wall is covered with graffiti, much of it relating to Oct. 7. For example, the large graffiti of Superman that dominates an intersection in the area, with an encouraging “Don’t panic — the IDF will protect you,” written below. The graffiti, by two street artists from Ashkelon named Roman and Andrei, compares the army’s strength to Superman. It was done weeks after Roman’s house in Ashkelon was hit by shrapnel in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas onslaught. “To be called graffiti, it must be in public and without the consent of the authorities,” Avi Ettinger, who guided a small group of journalists around Florentine, told JNS. “Otherwise, it’s called street art.” If caught in the act, graffiti artists are fined and may spend a night in jail. But even though it’s illegal, the city has allowed most graffiti to stay up, especially anything relating to Oct. 7. For example, the grafSee Tel Aviv on page 2