Watermelon Pictures Condemns Killing Of ‘American Doctor’ Surgeon In Gaza Hospital Strike

Palestinian surgeon Dr. Rizk Abu Shaaira, who appears in the documentary American Doctor, was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike on the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Watermelon Pictures, which is handling North American distribution of the film by Poh Si Teng, put out a release on Thursday saying it was “appalled and devastated’ by the news reported by Reuters news agencies and other outlets.

It noted that Dr. Mohammed Odainy, another Palestinian surgeon featured in American Doctor, was also critically injured in the attack and is fighting for his life. Both physicians worked at Nasser Medical Complex, providing lifesaving care.

“We are horrified and heartbroken by the killing of Dr. Rizk Abu Shaaira. This is yet another devastating example of the continued violence against Gaza’s medical community. Hospitals are places of healing, not targets of war. We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and call for accountability and an end to the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system,” said Watermelon Pictures co-founder Hamza Ali.

American Doctor follows three American physicians – Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Dr. Mark Perlmutter and Dr. Feroze Sidhwa – who travel to Gaza to provide lifesaving medical care and return home determined to bear witness to the humanitarian catastrophe they encountered.

“Operating with another surgeon is an intimate partnership. You learn their cadence, their strengths and weaknesses, and even glimpse their confidences and fears,” said Sidhwa.

“Dr. Rizk Abu Shaaira and I performed a complex surgery on a man with shrapnel injuries, while Dr. Mohammed Odainy and I operated on a teenager after an American-made bomb tore a hole in his abdominal aorta. Remarkably, the child lived. These two men were my friends, colleagues and an inspiration. Now Dr. Rizk is dead and Dr. Mohammed is fighting for his life. It was an unforgivable crime.”

Director Teng, who felt compelled to make the film after hearing orthopaedic surgeon Perlmutter talk about his experiences of working in Gaza, also voiced her distress at the news.

“Dr. Abu Shaaira was among the extraordinary medical professionals whose courage and humanity we sought to honor through American Doctor. His death is devastating and a painful reminder that the crisis documented in our film continues. Those who dedicate their lives to saving others deserve protection, not violence,” she said.

Close to 75,000 people have been killed and another 176,000 have been injured in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli military campaign in the Palestinian territory, sparked by the Hamas-led terror attacks on Southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Within that, at least 1,600 people have been killed and close to another 6,000 have been injured since a ceasefire was called on October 11, 2025.

In the backdrop, 65 per cent of Gaza’s population, about 1.4 million people, is currently living in tents or makeshift shelters.