After a Week Missing, Israel Kills North Gaza’s Only Vet in Strike Despite Ceasefire

Gaza (QNN)- Mu’ath Abu Rokbah, the only veterinarian in northern Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike nearly a week after he went missing, while inspecting his home, despite a ceasefire being in effect.

Tha’er Abu Rokbah, Mu’ath’s brother, told QNN that the 30-year-old father of two disappeared on October 10 in Jabalia after going to check on his bombed home, following the announcement of a ceasefire after two years of Israeli genocide.

Mu’ath had been living in a tent, his brother said, but returned to his home in Jabalia to collect some of his belongings.

Citing eyewitnesses, Tha’er told QNN that Mu’ath was killed in an Israeli airstrike and later found lying on the ground near his house about ten days later.

“We tried to retrieve his body, but we couldn’t because of the Israeli forces in the area,” Tha’er said, adding that some people managed to reach the site and brought back his clothes, shoes, hat, and a bag, all covered in blood.

As the lead veterinarian for Sulala Animal Rescue, a Gaza-based animal welfare organisation, Mu’ath dedicated his life to saving countless animals in Gaza. He was also performing surgeries on animals amidst the horrors of the Israeli genocide.

“He was a shining example of kindness and generosity, carrying a message of compassion for both animals and humans alike,” Sulala Animal Rescue said in a statement mourning his death.

“Dr. Mu’ath is a very good man. He is kind, he is merciful, he has never exploited people, he has never harmed or killed animals,” one of the doctors at the organization said in a video posted on October 17.

According to his Facebook account, Mu’ath had established his own clinic just one year before the genocide, which was destroyed in an Israeli bombardment.