By Jawid Tamimi

HEBRON, August 15, 2026 (WAFA) — Standing outside the home he had been working to complete for his upcoming marriage, 26-year-old Palestinian nurse Mohammad Nabil Al-Mutawir never imagined that a moment near his house in the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron, would permanently change the course of his life.

A bullet fired by Israeli colonists struck him in the back, severely damaging his spinal cord and leaving him with permanent paralysis. He is now recovering at Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron and is in need of specialized, advanced neurological treatment.

Lying in his hospital bed, Al-Mutawir told WAFA that the injury had limited his movement but not his determination.

“Despite my injury, I will not leave my home,” he said, referring to the house he had been working to finish so that he could soon begin his married life there. “This injury will hinder my movement, but it will not break my will.”

A devastating spinal injury

Palestine Nursing Association President Ibrahim Al-Namoura said Al-Mutawir sustained a severe gunshot wound to the back at the level of the 11th vertebra. According to Al-Namoura, the bullet completely severed the spinal cord, resulting in permanent paralysis.

Al-Mutawir was initially transferred to a government hospital in Hebron before being moved to Al-Ahli Hospital for further treatment.

Al-Namoura said the nursing association had contacted international nursing organizations, including the International Council of Nurses, seeking international and legal follow-up over the attack and Al-Mutawir's condition.

He described the shooting as an attack on an unarmed civilian who was simply standing outside the home he was preparing for his future family.

An attack during a celebration by colonists

According to Abdullah Abu Khaled, a member of the Sa’ir municipal council, armed Israeli colonists living in an outpost established on Palestinian land east of Hebron held a celebration before attacking nearby Palestinian homes and opening live fire.

Al-Mutawir was among those wounded. A young woman and another young man were also shot, Abu Khaled said, adding that Al-Mutawir's injuries were the most serious.

Abu Khaled said such incidents were not isolated, arguing that repeated attacks by colonists and the presence of Israeli soldiers have created an atmosphere in which Palestinian residents feel increasingly vulnerable in their own homes and communities.

For Al-Mutawir, the consequences are intensely personal. The home he had been building as the setting for a new chapter in his life has instead become a symbol of a future suddenly put on hold.

A nurse now in need of care

The Palestinian Ministry of Health condemned the escalation of colonist attacks against medical facilities and healthcare workers. It said such attacks violate international law and protections afforded to medical personnel, warning that targeting healthcare workers threatens the wider healthcare system and the right of patients and civilians to safely access medical services.

The ministry expressed solidarity with Al-Mutawir and his family and wished him a full recovery.

Before the shooting, Al-Mutawir's role was to care for others. Now, he is the patient — dependent on the same healthcare system in which he had worked and on specialized treatment that could help him adapt to the profound changes caused by his injury.

For a young nurse who was preparing to marry and settle into the home he had built with his own hands, the road forward will be difficult. But Al-Mutawir insists that the bullet that changed his body will not determine the limits of his resolve.

M.N