Muslim surgeon who worked in Gaza's war-ravaged hospital storms to historic US Congress victory

Democrat Adam Hamawy has won New Jersey's 12th Congressional District, defeating Republican Gregg Mele to become the state's first Muslim member of the United States Congress, according to projections.

Hamawy, a plastic surgeon, retired US Army combat doctor, and humanitarian medical worker, will succeed Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, an influential progressive voice in the House of Representatives who is retiring after a decade in office.

Watson Coleman previously secured re-election in 2024 by 25 percentage points.

Born in Egypt and raised in the United States, the 56-year-old Iraq War veteran later joined medical missions in Bosnia, Sudan, Lebanon, and Syria.

He travelled to southern Gaza on a humanitarian mission in 2024 during the Israeli genocide, an experience that proved decisive in his entry into politics.

Hamawy gained national prominence that year when he was among a group of physicians trapped in Gaza after Israel closed the Rafah border crossing, prompting US Senator Tammy Duckworth—whose life Hamawy saved when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004—to intervene to assist his exit.

Progressive platform and primary victory

A first-time political candidate and outspoken critic of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, Hamawy prevailed in a crowded primary field for the Democratic nomination earlier this year.

Following his primary win, he told supporters: "We made it clear you never need to ask for permission to fight for justice."

His general election platform centred on universal Medicare, halting US military assistance to Israel, cancelling medical and student loan debt, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Decision Desk HQ projected Hamawy's victory over Mele, an attorney, maintaining the safely Democratic constituency in party hands as results were confirmed on Tuesday evening.

TRT World & Agencies — TRT World & Agencies

Photo: Reuters