A well-known Israeli physician was found shot and killed Tuesday morning in his car in Ramat Gan.

The victim, Professor David Niv, 57, was head of the pain clinic at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

At 1:30 Tuesday morning, police received a report of a car that had collided with a tree and come to a rest on a traffic island on Aluf Sadeh boulevard in Ramat Gan.

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Traffic police and paramedics who arrived on the scene found Niv dead in the driver's seat with bullet wounds in his upper body and bullet holes across the side panel of the car.

Police have opened an investigation into the murder, but have no leads on the background or motives for the crime.

A leader in his field
Professor Niv was considered one of the leading experts in Israel in the field of pain therapy, and was a leading figure in world organizations dealing with the medication and treatment of pain.

Professor Niv was also a leading researcher in his field and published over 120 articles on pain treatment and therapy. In his work and his research, he dealt with patients suffering from chronic pain, and adopted the approach that pain is not only a symptom of illness, but is itself a disease.

Sources at Ichilov Hospital have stated that Niv's approach was that there is "no reason to suffer pain in silence."

"Niv took upon himself many challenges over the course of his career, including the preservation of clinical excellence and professionalism, instructing the younger generation of doctors on principles of pain treatment, and always dealing with sufferers of chronic pain in the most devoted and professional fashion," Ichilov sources added.

The Israel Medical Association stated on Tuesday that they were "horrified and astonished at the shocking murder of Professor Niv, one of the greatest doctors in Israel."

Yoram Balsar, head of the Israel Medical Association stated on Tuesday that Niv was a doctor "of the highest order who devoted every aspect of his work to easing the suffering of his patients. This is a grave tragedy beyond comprehension. The violence in Israeli society crossed all the lines a long time ago, and no longer distinguishes between criminals and innocent civilians."