Born in 1964, Dr. Bassam Shaheen (Shāhīn) (بسام محمد عمر شاهين) held a PhD in nursing from the University of Al-Butana in Sudan in 2021. He worked as a vice-dean for graduate studies at al-Azhar University in Gaza, and published research on cancer prevention. The findings provided a comprehensive overview and useful recommendations to create the national cancer control plan.
After surviving two direct strikes on where he was staying with his family in the Muhandiseen and Salhi towers in Gaza City, during which he sustained moderate injuries, Dr. Bassam was killed alongside his family in a strike on Dayr al-Balah on 11 November 2023.