A Doctor Symbolizing The Profession of Surgery : Dr. Ahmad Qandeel |
In this piece, I wish to dedicate a few lines in memory of Dr. Ahmed Ataullah Qandeel — one of the brightest figures of the Palestinian medical community. During the dark days when the skies of Gaza were shrouded in oppression and devastation, Dr. Qandeel, like many other devoted physicians and professionals, became one of the shining stars that illuminated those darkened skies. Throughout the genocide, the Palestinian medical community — using all its knowledge and resources in service of Gaza until their final breath — transformed medicine itself into a form of humanitarian resistance, a movement of conscience and honor that perfectly reflected the true nature of the profession. Among those who embodied this noble transformation was Dr. Qandeel, who turned the art of surgery into an act of moral and humanitarian defiance.
Beyond his specialization in general surgery, Dr. Qandeel was a senior general surgeon and an inspiring mentor to young medical trainees. Yet, he was not merely a skilled surgeon and a dedicated teacher — he was, in every sense, a living encyclopedia of medicine. A meticulous scholar who followed the global medical literature closely, he possessed profound knowledge across nearly every field of medicine. Guided by compassion and science, his surgical scalpel became, in his hands, a gentle instrument of healing imbued with mercy and love.
He was born in 1953 in Gaza — a land that had already turned into a vast refugee camp, where each passing day brought new waves of displacement. He grew up in the old neighborhood of Al-Sabra, in a modest home filled with faith, love for the homeland, and an unyielding passion for learning. His father, Haji Ataullah Qandeel, was one of Gaza’s respected pioneers — a wise and patriotic figure who established the first modern educational circles in local mosques. Ahmed began his early education in these very circles founded by his father and later continued at UNRWA schools. He was a diligent and inquisitive student, with a particular fondness for biology and chemistry. In 1970, he ranked first in the Tahwij (final secondar school year) final exams and earned a scholarship through the Egypt-Palestine Medical Program. That same year, he was accepted into Ain Shams University Faculty of Medicine in Cairo, where he began an exceptionally promising medical education. As one of the most outstanding students of his class and university, Ahmed graduated with distinction and returned to Gaza to serve his people — marking the beginning of decades of devoted work in both medicine and humanity.
In the early 1980s, he spearheaded the development of the General Surgery Department and, as a first in Gaza, pioneered the establishment of a modern medical record system under the Women’s Foundation. As the Head of the Surgery Department, he introduced systematic programs both for organizing surgical operations and for training young medical professionals. However, due to the deficiencies he encountered during this period, he decided to return to university to further his academic advancement. Returning to his alma mater, he pursued a master’s degree in surgery and later received a scholarship to Poland, where he completed his doctoral studies at the Medical University of Warsaw in 1997. Upon completion, he returned to Gaza.
When he came back, he stood out not only as a physician and academic but also as a pioneer and leader with his vast expertise, effective leadership, and commitment to teaching. He renewed the surgical protocols within Gaza’s hospital system, introduced modern European surgical concepts into Gaza’s healthcare framework, and made significant contributions to the development of its surgical infrastructure. He dedicated himself to sharing his European experience with his colleagues. During that time, he also played a key role in founding numerous institutions, including the European Foundation for Medical Practice, the Nasser Foundation, and several others, in addition to the Women’s Foundation. In 2009, he was appointed Head of the Surgery Department at the Women’s Foundation, a........