Was Fadi al-Wadiya, killed in a drone strike in Gaza City, a doctor or a member of Islamic Jihad? After the condemnations of this elimination by Doctors Without Borders, which expressed on social networks its “indignation” after the death of Fadi Al-Wadiya, the IDF firmly maintains that al-Wadiya was an important member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, involved in missile development, and that he had expertise in electronics and chemistry, thus playing a crucial role in the group’s rocket arsenal.
Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, an Arabic-language Israeli military spokesman, said al-Wadiya had worked for the Islamic Jihad rocket manufacturing unit for more than 15 years, where he worked nights after having worked as a doctor during the day. To support these claims, the IDF released three photographs showing al-Wadiya in Islamic Jihad uniform.
Adraee also revealed that in 2018, the same year al-Wadiya joined Doctors Without Borders, he allegedly attempted to travel to Iran for training with two other suspected terrorist agents. For its part, MSF vigorously contests these accusations. The humanitarian organization claims that al-Wadiya was a “legitimate doctor and physiotherapist, having worked for them between 2018 and 2022, before resuming his activity during the current conflict. MSF maintains that he was killed while was cycling to the clinic where he worked, portraying him as a civilian victim of the conflict. The organization insists it found no indication that al-Wadiya was involved in terrorist activities.
