Following Hamas’ election in 2006, Naim, who holds a degree in medicine from Germany and a PhD in surgery, was named Minister of Health in 2007.
As minister, Naim replaced Fatah-affiliated hospital directors and medical staff with Hamas-aligned officials.
Naim stepped down as Minister of Health in 2012 and became the head of the Council on International Relations in Gaza.
Ihab Hassan, a Palestinian Christian political commentator, attacked Naim’s statement, pointing out the apparent hypocrisy of Naim’s words, writing on X: “From Qatar, he tells people to die instead of evacuate. Hamas is a death cult.”
Qatar has long housed senior Hamas officials in lavish mansions, notably the former head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who resided in Doha from 2016 until his assassination by Israel in 2024 at a guesthouse in Tehran, Iran.
