Famous Palestinian scientist killed in Israeli airstrike

Prominent Palestinian scientist Sufyan Tayeh and his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Al-Faluja, northeast of Gaza City.

Mr Tayeh, born in 1971 in the northern Gaza Strip, is a leading researcher in physics and applied mathematics. According to the local news network Quds, he was ranked in the top 2% of researchers in the world in 2021.

Al-Faluja is located about 30 km northeast of Gaza City, the epicenter of the Israeli offensive. Since October, Israel has called on civilians to evacuate from northern Gaza to the southern region.

Dr. Tayeh's research has been recognized internationally, including by the United NationsEducational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Famous Palestinian scientist Sufyan Tayeh. Photo: Anews — Palestinian scientist Sufyan Tayeh. Photo: *Anews*

Gaza's health ministry said 15,207 people, including more than 6,200 children and more than 4,000 women, were killed and 40,652 injured in Israeli retaliation after a Hamas raid killed 1,200 people in Israel on October 7. The Israeli army resumed bombing the Gaza Strip on December 1 after a temporary ceasefire expired. About 300 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed air strikes.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on December 2 that Israel risks “strategic defeat” in the Gaza Strip if it does not do more to protect Palestinian civilians. He said he has urged Israeli leaders to avoid civilian casualties and prevent violence against settlers in the West Bank.

US officials have also stepped up warnings to Israel about the next phase of its Gaza campaign, with the Biden administration insisting that the southern Gaza operation must be more precise than Israel’s campaign in the north.