‘Healthcare not bombs’: How Gaza shaped Adam Hamawy’s path to US Congress

Adam Hamawy, an Egyptian-American surgeon and US Army veteran, won election to represent New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, becoming the state’s first Muslim congressman. He says medical missions to Gaza in 2024 and 2025 changed his life and helped lead him into politics, where he campaigned on “healthcare not bombs” and pledged to challenge US support for Israel’s war.

Hamawy, 56, served eight years in the Army, including as a combat surgeon in Baghdad, where he treated Tammy Duckworth after her helicopter was shot down in 2004. He later joined humanitarian missions in Haiti, Jordan, Lebanon and Gaza. His campaign also faced anti-Muslim attacks and scrutiny over a past association with a sheikh later convicted of seditious conspiracy.