Dr. Sobhi Skaik- A Journey from Surgery to Establishment of Türkiye-Palestine Friendship Hospital

“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 30^th, 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 1^st, 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 various board certifications in Saudi Arabia and Palestine, including the Arab Board of Medical Specialization (1994), the Saudi Board Certification (1998), and the Palestinian Board Certification (2004).

Dr. Sobhi Skaik began his career at Hira Hospital in Mecca and later worked at King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah between 1994 and 2001. There, he held the title of Surgical Consultant and contributed to the establishment of advanced surgical programs. In 2001, he returned to Gaza, where he served as Head of the Surgical Department at Al-Shifa Hospital for six months before being appointed Chief Medical Officer of the hospital.

As an expert surgeon, visionary administrator, and educator, Dr. Skaik has founded numerous training programs and departments in Gaza’s medical schools and hospitals. Key initiatives he established include:

• Kidney Transplant Program (2000): Personally participated in the first 28 successful operations.
• Laparoscopic Surgery Training Program: Ongoing since 2021 at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital.
• ATLS Center: The first facility in Gaza to offer critical care training.
• Continuous Medical Education Unit: Established for the ongoing training of healthcare professionals.
• General Surgery Training Program: Developed to train physicians in the field of general surgery.

Rather than his surgeon and management roles, Dr. Sobhi lectured for long years in Al-Azhar University, Gaza Islamic University and Al-Isra University. He has been carrying on his mission at Palestine Medical Association as chief of Surgeons Association since 2002. Currently in Istanbul, he serves as a guest professor at the department of general surgery in Istanbul Medeniyet University.

As a responsible Gazan, alongside with his profession and heavy work life, he had served as a member of Gaza Municipal Council for eight years and contributed to the development of civic actions. He has been carrying out his mission as the president of Palestine Surgeons Association since 2022 and pioneered the enhancement of surgical standards in Palestine.

Opening on August 2021 Türkiye-Palestine Friendship Hospital started serving as the first university hospital within Medical Faculty of Gaza Islamic University. This hospital — equipped with the most advanced software— was also housing a scientific research center.

Dr. Sobhi Skaik who has been the head doctor of the hospital since it was established prepared a 5-year operation plan for development of the hospital. The plan focused on two fundamental goals: transforming the hospital to a university where new doctors will be raised and making it a national center encountering all of the cancer patients in Gaza Strip which specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and all the blood diseases.

During my most recent visit to Gaza in 2023, as part of the 7^th Palestinian Surgical Congress, I had the opportunity to visit the Türkiye-Palestine Friendship Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine at the Islamic University of Gaza. During this visit, I met with the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr. Fadel Naim, faculty members, medical students, and Prof. Dr. Sobhi Skaik to explore potential areas of collaboration. I was deeply impressed by the hospital’s extensive facilities and its meticulously organized medical system. However, the attacks that began in 2023 tragically turned this vital healthcare institution into a military target!

On the evening of October 30^th, with the smoke rising from the third floor of Türkiye-Palestine Friendship Hospital’s east wing and extreme shootings echoing in the building the disaster had officially started. Medical team promptly informed Palestine Ministry of Health about the attack but they were as helpless as them facing the dreaded situation. Things had further deteriorated with the electricity and water cut. All efforts to maintain the infrastructure had failed.

The next day, morning of October 31^st, bombing had started again with new targets. This time, it was the third floor of the east wing. The attack has left some more of the medical equipment and hospital fixtures in an unusable condition. However, the lack of electricity, water and fuel — fundamental elements— gave the attack a more dangerous form. Because the entrance of the fuel that was supposed to make chemotherapy machines work had purposefully been denied by the occupation forces.

On November 1^st, attacks targeted specifically for patients’ rooms this time. Bullets ripped through the walls. Under recurring military threats, hospital management led by head doctor Dr. Sobhi had to evacuate cancer patients inside — even though they knew there was no other shelter for them.

As mentioned above, the medical team had been transported to special Dar Al-Salam hospital in Khan Yunis, and they had transformed that place to a temporary cancer center. However, after three weeks, this center was bombed too. And the team got transported to Nasser Hospital. Unfortunately, this place got also attacked in a month. The transportation continued. The patients were sent to Abu Yousuf Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah and Al-Razi Clinic in Nuseirat Camp. In every center, the team kept sustaining the name “Türkiye-Palestine Friendship Hospital” as a sign of determination.

When it’s the ending of 2023, occupation forces took over the essential building of the hospital. And made it into a military headquarters by violating all the international legal and moral laws. In short notice, they destroyed advanced medical equipment without showing any military justification. Soldiers of the Israeli army participating in these attacks circulated footage of the attacks to the public as a so-called “success.”

On March 21, 2025, Israeli forces once again bombed the Türkiye-Palestine Friendship Hospital in central Gaza, in a blatant violation of international law. This destruction, which followed the breach of a ceasefire, further deepened the suffering of civilians and patients who had already lost their last place of refuge.

From building sustainable health systems to resisting the devastations of war, Dr. Sobhi Skaik’s life stands as a tangible example of humanity and devotion to his homeland. His words, “My principle is dedication to work; Allah will reward you at the right time, in the right place,” encapsulate the philosophy that has guided his life and service.

I would like to thank Intern Dr. Mohammad Al-Hajjar, journalist-author Mustafa Ekici and Sudenaz Coskun for their contributions.

Prof Dr Orhan Alimoglu

Istanbul Medeniyet University