CARE is devastated to announce the tragic killing of our partner staff member, Tasneem Shublaq, 27, along with her two children Sham, 5, and Suleiman, 3, as a result of an Israeli airstrike on her apartment building on 20 September.
Tasneem was pregnant when she was killed. Her husband was critically injured and is currently in intensive care. Having already endured the killing of his other three-year-old son last year, if he recovers, he will now have to face a life without his family.
Tasneem joined Palestinian organisation and CARE partner, Juzoor for Health and Social Development, in January 2025 as a psychologist. She worked at a school shelter for displaced people in Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City, supporting children who lost their homes, and many of whom lost parents and friends or sustained life changing injuries. Despite knowing the risks, Tasneem chose to remain in Gaza City to continue serving her community.
Jolien Veldwijk, CARE Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) Country Director, said:
“Tasneem and her children could have been saved if action had been taken to stop these attacks. After nearly two years of heartbreaking stories like this we need to see diplomatic developments go beyond rhetoric, and decisive action taken by world leaders to end this carnage.
"We stand in solidarity with our partners and colleagues who remain in Gaza City, risking everything to serve their communities. We reiterate our demand for Israel to adhere to its obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, humanitarian personnel and operations.”
In a separate Israeli airstrike on Monday 22 September, Al-Samer Medical Centre in Gaza City, run by our partner, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), was destroyed. The center saw between 700 and 1,000 patients daily, providing primary healthcare, women’s health services, mental health and psychosocial support, physiotherapy and wound-dressing. It served as a medical lab for other hospitals, and provided cardiology, ophthalmology and other specialised services. It was one of the few remaining health centres in the area.
Since October 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) has documented over 720 attacks on healthcare in Gaza, with at least 1,580 health workers killed and as yet unknown numbers arrested and detained by Israel. The UN also recorded 540 aid workers killed in Gaza since October 2023.
The destruction of Al-Samer centre follows the targeting of three PMRS clinics in the last three weeks alone, including Tal Al-Hawa Clinic, Al-Shatae Primary Healthcare Clinic, and Omar Al-Mukhtar clinic, the latter of which was destroyed.
Al-Samer centre staff were given a 30-minute notice to evacuate the building, leaving no time to move vital medical equipment.
One of our colleagues at PMRS said:
“Everyone rushed out, and about half an hour later they hit the building. The whole tower came down, and even the entire block suffered massive destruction. In the end, each of us just grabbed whatever we could carry and left. We couldn’t take much, hardly anything at all.”
Jolien Veldwijk added: “We extend our deepest condolences to Tasneem’s family, students and colleagues and wish her husband a speedy recovery. Her death and the very close call for the staff at the Al-Samer Centre are yet another grim reminder of the sacrifices aid workers in Gaza make every day to continue serving people in need. We will continue supporting our partners in their heroic efforts to continue providing care and relief to the people they serve wherever they may be in Gaza.”
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