Two separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City kill pregnant aid worker ...

CARE joins Palestinian partner Juzoor in mourning Tasneem Shublaq and renews call for world leaders to take decisive action to end the carnage

GAZA CITY, 23 September 2025-CARE is devastated to announce the tragic killing of our partner staff member, Tasneem Shublaq, 27, along with her two young children Sham, 5 and Suleiman, 3 as a result of an Israeli airstrike on her apartment building on September 20th.

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 organization 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 the 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.

In a separate Israeli airstrike on Monday September 22nd, Al-Samer medical centre in Gaza City, run by our partner, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), was destroyed. The centre 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 specialized services. It was one of the few remaining health centers in the area.

Destruction of Al-Samer Medical Center in Gaza City on Monday, September 22, 2025. Photo: Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS).

"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," said Jolien Veldwijk, CARE Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) Country Director.

Since October 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) has documentedover 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 recorded540 aid workers killed in Gaza since October 2023.

Palestinian Medical Relief Society staff in the medical lab at Al-Samer Medical Center in Gaza City.Photos: CARE Palestine

The destruction of Al-Samer Center 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.

"Everyone rushed out, and about half an hour later they hit the building," said one of our colleagues at PMRS. "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."

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 Center 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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Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package ℠, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization working around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice. CARE puts women and girls at the centre of our work because we know we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities. CARE develops solutions alongside women and girls to lift themselves, their families, and communities out of poverty and out of crisis. CARE works in over 100 countries around the world.

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