Israel’s destruction of the Gaza Strip is turning into one of the biggest crimes of the 21st century. So far, more than 11,000 Gazans, including more than 4,000 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. One of the doctors who saves lives in Gaza is BiH citizen Muhammad El Ran.
Muhamed El Ran was born in Gaza, and graduated from medical school in Belgrade in 1989. After that, in 1990, he began his specialization in Sarajevo, where he met the beginning of the war when he joined the defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As a specialist in general and oncological surgery, he currently works at the Indonesian Hospital located in the city of Beit Lahiya in the north of the Gaza Strip, which has been exposed to airstrikes by Israeli forces on several occasions.
In addition to Dr. El Ran, there are also his wife who was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and a daughter who, like El Ran, is a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The rest of Dr. El Ran’s extended family is also in Gaza, and his son Ibrahim El Ran, who is currently studying medicine, is in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Unfortunately, two cousins of Dr. El Rana and their families were killed in airstrikes by the Israeli army, a total of 11 people were killed. The moment when the doctor received that information was recorded by cameras and published on social networks. His brother Muayyed works in the same hospital as Muhammad.
As part of his practice, El Ran is one of the few doctors in Gaza who performs complicated laparoscopic surgeries, and since there are often problems with the procurement of surgical equipment in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade, El Ran often procures at his own expense.
“He is currently saving the lives of thousands of people in the hardest-hit North of Gaza. He works constantly at the service of his people. They perform operations in the corridors without anesthesia. They are without medicine, food, equipment, but they are trying to provide the best possible service to the wounded,” says Ibrahim.
Ibrahim explains that it is difficult for him to get in touch with his family in Gaza, and that it is often impossible to get any information for hours. Even when contact is made, the conversation is limited to confirming that they are still alive.
Dr. El Ran also appears on several recordings published by the world media in which he talks about the current situation in Gaza.
“On several occasions, we had to operate in the corridors and even in the waiting room area due to the limited number of operating rooms in the Indonesian hospital. This is not a large hospital, but it is located on the border near the front, and that is why we receive a large number of patients,” El Ran told Britain’s The Telegraph earlier this month.
Ibrahim says that although his father is a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he does not plan to leave Gaza, while the rest of the family, who are citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, hope that they will soon be able to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing.
After the beginning of the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, El Ran joined the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the Pofalići detachment. In one of the war recordings, he is seen with his comrades (in an orange shirt).
As a member of the RBiH Army, he was a direct participant in the key battles for the defense of Sarajevo: the Battle of Pofalić and the Battle of Žuč.
After standing in defense of his second homeland and saving lives 31 years ago, Dr. Muhamed El Ran is now under indiscriminate attacks saving the lives of his compatriots. 19 citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are awaiting evacuation from Gaza, and a total of 54 people who are related to citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
