Next Member Of Congress Worked In Gaza Hospital Where Israel Later Found Hamas Tunnels

Adam Hamawy, the anti-Israel progressive Democrat now favored to enter Congress from New Jersey, worked in a Gaza hospital where Israel later exposed Hamas tunnel infrastructure and killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar.

Hamawy, a former U.S. Army surgeon and the Democratic nominee in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, volunteered at the European Hospital near Khan Younis in May 2024. Months later, he publicly rejected Israeli claims that Hamas was using hospitals and civilian sites for military purposes.

“In my three weeks at the European Hospital, I did not see a single weapon. Not one rifle. Not one pistol. Not one grenade launcher. This was a completely benign civilian hospital with no tunnels underneath it,” Hamawy told Jacobin in August 2024.

In another interview, cited by the Washington Free Beacon, Hamawy said, “I saw no fighters at all,” adding, “There were definitely no tunnels underground, and no command base there.”

Israel later said its forces found a Hamas tunnel system beneath the European Hospital compound. The IDF said Mohammed Sinwar, one of Hamas’s senior military leaders and the brother of Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, was killed in a tunnel under the hospital’s emergency room. Israel also said senior Hamas commanders Mohammad Shabana and Mahdi Quara were killed in the same strike.

The new details add to earlier scrutiny over Hamawy’s record. Hamawy had past ties to Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh” convicted in connection with terrorist plots against New York City and widely known as the spiritual leader behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He also volunteered in Bosnia in the 1990s with the Benevolence International Foundation, an organization later designated by U.S. authorities as an al-Qaeda front. 

There is no evidence Hamawy was personally involved in terrorism. His campaign has rejected the accusations, pointing to his military service, including his work as a combat surgeon in Iraq. Sen. Tammy Duckworth has said Hamawy helped save her life after her helicopter was shot down.

Hamawy’s spokesperson said he “condemns all violence, hatred, and terrorism,” and described attacks on his record as “gross and bigoted.”

But Republicans are now arguing that the issue is no longer only about his campaign. They say it raises questions about whether Hamawy should be trusted with sensitive information if he enters Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote on X, “A Democrat linked to Al-Qaeda won a House Democrat Congressional primary in New Jersey last night. Not even ties to terrorists are too extreme for the modern day Democrat Party.”

Other Republicans went further, warning that Hamawy should be blocked from national security-related committees.

Rep. Michael McCaul said, “Anybody that’s tied to that should never be elected to Congress, and if he is, I think should never serve on a national security committee.”

Rep. Mike Lawler called for further scrutiny. “There needs to be an investigation into his ties to these incidents and organizations,” he said, adding, “I certainly would have significant concerns about him serving on any committee, let alone in Congress.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna was even more direct, writing, “There is no way [Hamawy] can have a security clearance. National security risk.”

Hamawy won the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman. The district is heavily Democratic, making him the frontrunner in November and increasing the likelihood that the controversy will follow him to Washington.