Surgeon who treated Gaza's wounded wins New Jersey House seat
Adam Hamawy, a Democrat who served as an Army physician and criticized US military aid to Israel, will join Congress in January.
Democrat Adam Hamawy, a surgeon who criticized US support for Israel, won a New Jersey House seat in Tuesday's midterm elections, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
Hamawy, 56, defeated Republican Gregg Mele in New Jersey's 12th Congressional District, and US media projections showed he would become the first Muslim elected to Congress from the state.
Hamawy was born in Egypt and raised in the United States, and he won a crowded Democratic primary in June before taking the general election in the heavily Democratic district.
He will succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who is retiring, when the new congressional term begins in January.
A plastic surgeon and retired US Army combat physician, Hamawy served in the Iraq War and took part in humanitarian medical missions in Bosnia, Sudan, Lebanon and Syria.
During a 2004 deployment to Iraq, he helped save the life of Tammy Duckworth, who later became a Democratic senator, after her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down.
His humanitarian work in Gaza became a central part of his campaign, Anadolu reported, after he traveled to southern Gaza in 2024 to treat Palestinians wounded in Israel's military offensive and returned for another medical mission in 2025.
Hamawy described Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide, saying in a 2024 interview, "I could only define it as a genocide."
He also opposed Washington's military aid to Israel and US military operations against Iran, and he campaigned for universal Medicare, the cancellation of medical and student debt, the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and an end to US military assistance to Israel.
Hamawy received endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
His campaign also faced scrutiny over past ties to Egyptian cleric Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted in 1995 of plotting attacks against US targets, and Hamawy, who testified as a defense witness at the trial, said he condemned the cleric's violent rhetoric and actions.
Hamawy was never accused of criminal wrongdoing in connection with Abdel-Rahman.
After his primary win, Hamawy said, "We were told that an outsider couldn't win."
