New York ER doctor fired for ‘rejoicing’ over Hamas attack on Israeli music festival

A New York ER doctor has been fired for allegedly praising the massacre by Hamas militants on an Israeli music festival that left over 250 people dead, saying the victims were “getting a taste of their own medicine”.

Dr Dana Diab, who worked for the Lenox Hill hospital in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was accused of “rejoicing” over the tragedies.

In posts shared online by US non-profit StopAntisemitism, Dr Diab shared footage of the attack at the Supernova rave festival on Saturday October 7, writing “Zionist settlers getting a taste of their own medicine”.

Healthcare provider Northwell Health, which owns the Lenox Hill hospital, responded to the posts on X, saying that the views did not represent the institution and went against its “core” values.

“We’ve been alerted to discriminatory comments that appear to have been posted by a team member regarding the crisis in the Middle East,” the hospital wrote. “We are investigating & taking immediate action.”

In a later post, the hospital said that Dr Diab was no longer employed by Northwell Health. “We are deeply sorry for the hurt and offense these comments have caused,” it said.

“These views do not represent Lenox Hill Hospital and Northwell Health and go against our core values. The team member is no longer employed with Northwell.”

Dr Diab has since made the Instagram profile where she shared the posts private. She told the New York Post that the post should not disqualify her from treating patients in the US.

“I never have and never will abdicate my duty and my oath as a physician,” she said, reportedly adding that she “never called for harm to anyone.”

Her bio page on NYC Health + Hospitals’ website had been removed as of 11.30am local time on Tuesday.

Others who have had their employment terminated over public support of Hamas include the former adult content actor and media personality Mia Khalifa.

She was reportedly released from a podcasting contract with Playboy last week, after remarking on X that Palestinian freedom fighters should “flip their phones and film horizontal” as they attacked.

In a statement, Playboy described the comments as “disgusting and reprehensible”.