“My principle is dedication to work; Allah will reward you at the right time, in the right place.”

Says Gazan Dr. Sobhi Skaik. He still stands tall after all the hardships and injustice he faced and all the responsibility he bore. He remains energetic despite his age. The determination and faith wandering in his face and eyes exactly summarizes Dr. Sobhi’s principle: devotion.

Such devotion that, it transformed the Türkiye-Palestine Friendship Hospital to a nothing short of a humanitarian front line under the heavy attacks and occupation of the Israeli army. In October 2023, since the beginning of the war, Israeli army targeted primarily the hospitals by violating all the humanitarian, legal and moral principles. One of them was Türkiye-Palestine Friendship Hospital which was the only cancer hospital in Gaza. Dr. Sobhi Skaik, general manager of the hospital, was faced with a hardship like no other in his life.

On October 30th, bombardments which directly targeted the hospital started. They were followed by the breakdown of the infrastructure: power cut, prevention of the medical supply and drug procurement, depletion of the fuel used by chemotherapy machines and countless ultimatums for evacuation of the hospital… Dr. Sobhi Skaik, despite all of those ultimatums and challenging conditions, refused to evacuate the hospital by emphasizing the fact that there is no other place where more than ten thousand cancer patients could go in Gaza.

However, the attacks intensified. On November 1st, patients’ rooms were targeted, bullets ripped through the walls and smoke of toxic chemicals diffused in the air. Patients had to be evacuated to other hospitals in a state of fear and chaos. In this compelling process 4 patients lost their lives. After days of the evacuation of the hospital, Israeli army turned it into a military headquarters and destroyed medical equipment.

Despite all this destruction, the team led by Dr. Sobhi have been keeping the name ‘Türkiye-Palestine Friendship’ alive as a symbol of resilience and solidarity. The transportation of patients became a mandatory journey — by prioritizing the treatments and safety of the patients— ending first up in Dar El-Salam Hospital in Khan Yunis, then in Nasser Hospital and Shifa Hospital after that. But the team carried the name ‘Türkiye-Palestine Friendship’ virtually like a banner.

What has been told is merely a fraction of the challenging life of a doctor who adopted humanity as a principle. Dr. Sobhi Ismail Skaik was born into a large Palestinian family in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza, as one of five sons and five daughters. He completed his primary education in schools across Gaza. A graduate of Palestine High School, Dr. Sobhi was recognized among the top-performing students in the Gaza Strip.

Dr. Sobhi, who has four children—two daughters and two sons—is married to Dr. Eman Skaik, a pediatric specialist like himself.

Dr. Skaik graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University in Egypt in 1981. He went on to complete his specialization in General Surgery at the same university in 1988. He continued his academic career as a fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1993, where he successfully completed advanced surgical training. In addition, he obtained........

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