With heavy hearts, the World Health Organization has announced the death of one of its staff in Gaza, in the occupied Palestinian territory.
According to the statement released by the organization stated that the deceased, Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj, 29 years old, had been with WHO since December 2019.
She worked as patient administrator at Limb Reconstruction Centre, a critical part of the WHO Trauma and Emergency Team.
Dima died on Tuesday when her parents’ house in southern Gaza, where she had evacuated to from Gaza City—was bombed.
WHO staff was tragically killed alongside her husband, their six-month old baby boy, and her two brothers while reported that over 50 family and community members sheltering in the same house also died.
WHO said Dima had a bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Earth Sciences from the Islamic University of Gaza, and continued to study and work on environmental issues and health.
Also she was a master’s student at Glasgow University, Scotland, UK, as part of the Erasmus exchange program from 2018-2019.
On Women’s Day 2022, Dima said in a WHO social media post that she was proud of her work because “it contributes to giving people hope and a new lease on life.”
WHO Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, Dr Rik Peeperkorn said, “Dime was a wonderful person with a radiant smile, cheerful, positive, respectful. She was a true team player.
“Her work was crucial, and she had been requested to take on more responsibilities to support the Gaza suboffice and team. This is such a painful loss for all of us. We share our deepest condolences with her mother and father (a long-serving medical specialist in Gaza), her family, and her many friends.”
Meanwhile, the humanitarian community and UN family have lost other members since 7 October. MSF on Tuesday lost two doctors. UNRWA has lost 108 colleagues. These are not just numbers, but people who were working so that others could have a better life.
While added that the death of Dima and her family is another example of the senseless loss in this conflict. “Civilians have died in their homes, at their workplaces, while evacuating, while sheltering in schools, while being cared for in hospitals.
“When will it stop? We plead again with all those who hold in their hands the power to end this conflict to do so”.
All of the WHO stands alongside Dima’s family and colleagues in the occupied Palestinian territory, the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, and across the organization to mourn her loss.
