What four American doctors witnessed while volunteering in war-torn Gaza

Dr. Mahmooda Syed
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Updated 05 February 2025
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What four American doctors witnessed while volunteering in war-torn Gaza

What four American doctors witnessed while volunteering in war-torn Gaza
  • Volunteers described ruined hospitals, horrific injuries, and extreme shortages during their stint in the Gaza Strip
  • Urged UN agencies to assist Palestinian healthcare workers, ensure medical evacuations, and bolster aid deliveries

NEW YORK CITY: In December, as Israeli troops mounted a fresh assault on Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, its director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, refused to comply with repeated orders to abandon his pediatric patients.

Just weeks earlier, the Palestinian doctor had buried his 15-year-old son, Ibrahim, in the hospital’s courtyard after he was killed in a drone strike. In November, he suffered shrapnel injuries of his own.

Even as Israeli forces mounted further air attacks around the hospital — claiming it was being used to shelter Palestinian militants — Dr. Abu Safiya refused to abandon his post until he was finally detained.

He was last seen in a now-iconic photograph walking toward a column of Israeli tanks on a debris-strewn street. Reports suggest he is in Israeli custody, although no charges have been brought against him.




A paramedic carries a girl that was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building to receive medical care at the Ahli Arab hospital. (AFP/File)

“Dr. Hussam is representative of the attack on health care workers,” Dr. Thaer Ahmad, an emergency room physician from Chicago who recently returned from volunteering in Gaza, told a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York City on Jan. 31.

“Even wearing a white coat was deadly,” he said, describing what he witnessed in the embattled enclave. “We have normalized the killing of healthcare workers. That’s not just going to be a problem in Gaza — it’s going to be a problem worldwide. We need Dr. Safiya out.”

Israel has consistently denied deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, claiming that Palestinian militants have used hospitals and residential buildings to store weapons and launch attacks, employing their occupants as human shields.

Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza, some 62,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the latest estimates, and much of the enclave’s infrastructure left in ruins by Israeli bombardment.

Dr. Ahmad was among four American doctors speaking after having returned from Gaza. While war’s horrors are often unfathomable from afar, the visceral realities they described have been burned into their memories forever.

They spoke of treating wounded children, watching Gaza’s healthcare system collapse, and struggling to save lives amid overwhelming destruction.




Palestinians inspect the damage at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital after the Israeli military withdrew from the complex housing the hospital on April 1, 2024. (AFP/File)

In the aftermath of the fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect on Jan. 19, the American doctors were at pains to highlight Gaza’s ongoing medical needs and the obstacles that healthcare workers face.

Despite a lull in the fighting, they warned that the suffering would continue and the death toll would rise if aid was not allowed to flow freely. By sharing their accounts, they hoped to encourage a coordinated effort to address the crisis.

Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon who has worked in crisis zones in Ukraine, Haiti, and Zimbabwe, described the impossible situation he encountered. “I’ve never seen a place like Gaza in my life,” he said.

During his brief time volunteering at the European Hospital in Al-Fukhari near Khan Yunis between March and April 2024, Dr. Sidhwa experienced the destruction of Gaza’s medical infrastructure.

He described a constant stream of patients — many of them children — in urgent need of care. Although there were only four operating rooms in the European Hospital, some 250 people needed daily wound care, he said.

Even more grim was the lack of trained medical personnel. According to Dr. Sidhwa, roughly one in 10 healthcare workers in Gaza have fled, and around one in 20 have been killed.

Many of Gaza’s most experienced doctors — those who ran departments and performed complex surgeries — are either dead, detained, or missing. The destruction of both human and physical resources has left the healthcare system on the brink of collapse.




An Israeli soldiers carrying out operations inside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. (AFP/File)

As a result, several of Gaza’s most vulnerable have been evacuated by foreign governments and aid groups to receive care abroad. However, those who are evacuated are given no guarantee that they and their families will be permitted to return to their homes afterward.

“Under this ceasefire agreement, there is supposed to be a mechanism in place for medical evacuations,” said Dr. Ahmad. “We’ve still not seen that process spelled out.

“Without a second phase of the ceasefire and a clear plan for medical evacuations, we are setting up an illusion of hope for the people of Gaza that will be shattered the moment the fighting resumes.”

Dr. Ahmad said there were gaping holes in the medical evacuation process.

“Under the current ceasefire agreement, we are told that injured combatants will be allowed to exit through the Rafah crossing, but there is no formal process for evacuating children, even though they are equally at risk,” he said.

“If we can let an injured combatant out with three companions then surely we can ensure that children can be evacuated with their caregivers.”




This view shows the infant incubators at the ransacked neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) inside the heavily-damaged Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia. (AFP/File)

Dr. Ayesha Khan, an emergency medicine specialist from Stanford University who also spoke at the press conference, said at least 2,500 children in Gaza are at risk of dying without evacuation or proper care.

“Families are living in constant fear,” she said. “If they manage to get their child out, there is no guarantee they can return, and that uncertainty is causing chaos.

“We know that chaos in a medical system increases mortality by 30 percent. Just by creating confusion, uncertainty, you are creating a 30 percent more effective killing machine.

“And this is exactly where the UN secretary-general, the UN organizations can help, because organizations bring organization and what we are advocating for, very strongly, is to have a centralized process, clear guidelines, and to have COGAT put in writing what is needed, both for what can enter into Gaza and what is needed to exit.”

COGAT is the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories — a unit in the Israeli Ministry of Defense tasked with overseeing civilian policy in the West Bank, as well as facilitating logistical coordination between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Dr. Khan, who volunteered in Gaza between late Nov. 2024 and early Jan. 2025, described her shock at the severity of the injuries she witnessed, particularly among children.




Palestinian paramedics cry outside Al-Shifa hopsital in Gaza City on October 16, 2023, amid continuing bombardment by Israeli forces of the Hamas-run Plaestinian territory. (AFP/File)

“We had waves of children that even if another bomb was never dropped on Gaza, even if another bullet never hit a child in Gaza, these children would still die, and the reason is because they simply don’t have the adequate nutrition to heal,” she said.

She described the case of one girl whose foot injuries, caused by shrapnel, had gone untreated for months. Without access to basic nutrition or proper medical care, the wounds had festered and become infected.

In Gaza, where sewage-laden streets replace what might have been hospital rooms or secure shelters, these injuries would likely result in amputation — a fate that many children had suffered.

The doctors emphasized that the lack of essential supplies and equipment — including CT scanners, hospital beds, and even basic medications — was making it almost impossible to provide adequate care.

“The conditions are worse than any hospital I’ve worked in before,” said Dr. Khan.

“We’re talking about hospitals with bullet holes in the walls, operating rooms destroyed, and entire wards rendered useless. You can’t even get a full assessment for patients without risking their lives during transport to another facility.”

Despite these conditions, Dr. Khan also described the resilience she witnessed among Gaza’s medical professionals.




Palestinian paramedic inspects the remains of a destroyed ambulance at the scene of bombardment in Khan Yunis. (AFP/File)

“Eighty percent of the healthcare workers at the hospital I worked in were volunteers,” she said. “These people are living in tents, getting one meal a day, yet they show up to work every single day, putting their lives on the line for their people. They are heroes.”

However, this resolve is being tested by the mounting restrictions, insufficient support, and a lack of international pressure on the parties involved to facilitate a proper aid response.

Dr. Ahmad called on Western medical institutions to take a stand, much like they did for Ukraine, to protect the rights of Palestinian healthcare workers and ensure that medical evacuations are carried out swiftly.

“The international medical community has a responsibility to advocate for these basic rights,” he said. “We cannot stand idly by and let this crisis escalate further. The people of Gaza deserve access to the care they need, and the world must not turn a blind eye.”

Palestinian health professionals like Dr. Abu Safiya, the detained director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, must be free and properly resourced to rebuild Gaza’s health system and deliver the urgently needed care, he said.




Dr. Ayesha Khan, Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, and Dr. Mahmooda Syed, the medical doctors with critical-care experience in Gaza Strip hospitals since 7 October discuss immediate priorities for rebuilding Gaza's health system. (Getty Images)

“Palestinians need to lead the response. Palestinians need to be treating Palestinians. And we need to be able to support that. And that’s what we mentioned to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and he firmly believes in that as well.”

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Arab News that Guterres was “very moved by the eyewitness reports that he heard from the four American doctors.

“They are really a symbol of the sacrifice that people are making in order to help civilians,” he said. “And the secretary-general was vocal that we will continue to push through our people on the ground for more medical evacuations.”

He added: “If they are evacuated for medical reasons, they have a right to come home.”

However, Dr. Mahmooda Syed, an emergency physician who has twice volunteered in Gaza, told the press conference that medical evacuations are only a very temporary solution to the “ongoing, more insidious problem, that is the complete devastation and damage to the infrastructure of Gaza.




People walk outside the heavily-damaged Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia. (AFP/File)

“The roads are destroyed, the water system is destroyed and contaminated, the electricity grid is completely destroyed,” she said. “So, we do need to provide medical care to patients, but we also need to empower the people of Gaza to rebuild and recover their own state.”

The American doctors said they want to see medical needs urgently prioritized.

“The people we met in Gaza — they deserve life,” Dr. Ahmad said. “They deserve to heal. They deserve a future. And we need to make sure they have the chance to live it.”

 


Lebanon has ‘more’ to do on Hezbollah disarming: US deputy envoy

Lebanon has ‘more’ to do on Hezbollah disarming: US deputy envoy
Updated 40 sec ago
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Lebanon has ‘more’ to do on Hezbollah disarming: US deputy envoy

Lebanon has ‘more’ to do on Hezbollah disarming: US deputy envoy
Lebanese authorities “have done more in the last six months than they probably have in the last 15 years,” Ortagus said
“However, there’s a lot more to go“

DOHA: Lebanon still has “more” to do in disarming Hezbollah following the war between the Iran-backed group and Israel, Deputy US Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said Tuesday.

As part of a deal agreed to end 14 months of fighting last November, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River, while Israel was to pull all its forces from south Lebanon.

The Lebanese army has been deploying in the area as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.

UN peacekeepers are also present in the area and play a role in supervising the ceasefire.

Lebanese authorities “have done more in the last six months than they probably have in the last 15 years,” Ortagus said at the Qatar Economic Forum referring to efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

“However, there’s a lot more to go,” she added.

“We in the United States have called for the full disarmament of Hezbollah. And so that doesn’t mean just south of the Litani. That means in the whole country,” Ortagus said at the Qatar conference calling on Lebanese politicians “to make a decision.”

It has also continued to launch raids on its neighbor despite the ceasefire.

Last month, President Joseph Aoun said the army was deployed in more than 85 percent of Lebanon’s south, and that the sole obstacle to full control across the frontier area was “Israel’s occupation of five border positions.”

In defiance of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli military continues to occupy five positions close to the border that it has declared to be strategic.

Drought-hit Syrian farmers hope sanctions reprieve will restore agriculture

Drought-hit Syrian farmers hope sanctions reprieve will restore agriculture
Updated 23 min 34 sec ago
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Drought-hit Syrian farmers hope sanctions reprieve will restore agriculture

Drought-hit Syrian farmers hope sanctions reprieve will restore agriculture

ALEPPO: Severe drought in Syria this year could lead to the failure of an estimated 75 percent of local wheat crops, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, threatening the food security of millions of people.
Toni Ettel, the FAO’s representative in Syria, told Reuters the agency anticipated a “food shortage of 2.7 million tons of wheat for this year, which is sufficient to feed 16.3 million people over one year.”
Under former President Bashar Assad, Damascus depended on wheat imports from Russia to support a bread subsidy program during past droughts.
Wheat farmers like Asaad Ezzeldin, 45, have seen their crops fail due to the drought. It has further strained Syria’s beleaguered agricultural sector that suffered from fighting and heavy bombardment during 13 years of civil war.
“Agriculture in Aleppo’s northern countryside has been hit because of the lack of irrigation. There is no rainfall,” he said.
Moscow, a staunch ally of Assad, suspended wheat supplies to Syria soon after Islamist rebels toppled him, citing uncertainties about the country’s new authorities.
In a surprise announcement last week, US President Donald Trump said he would order the lifting of all sanctions on Syria. Washington is likely to begin providing some sanctions relief in the coming weeks.
The flow of funds could revive the agriculture sector, providing much-needed technologies for irrigation and infrastructure renewal, Ettel said.
Unable to buy wheat and fuel, Syria’s new government had lobbied for a lifting of the sanctions that for years isolated the Syrian economy and made it dependent on Russia and Iran.
Syria’s agriculture ministry did not reply to a request for comment.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday she hoped ministers would reach an agreement on lifting EU economic sanctions on Syria. The EU has already eased sanctions related to energy, transport and reconstruction, and associated financial transactions, but some argued this was not enough to support its political transition and economic recovery.


UK sanctions Israeli settlers in West Bank

UK sanctions Israeli settlers in West Bank
Updated 25 min 17 sec ago
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UK sanctions Israeli settlers in West Bank

UK sanctions Israeli settlers in West Bank

Britain said on Tuesday it had sanctioned a number of individuals and groups in the West Bank who it said had been linked with acts of violence against Palestinians.


Syria FM says sanctions relief shows ‘international will’ to support country

Syria FM says sanctions relief shows ‘international will’ to support country
Updated 29 min 53 sec ago
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Syria FM says sanctions relief shows ‘international will’ to support country

Syria FM says sanctions relief shows ‘international will’ to support country
  • Lifting sanctions expresses the regional and international will to support Syria, said Al-Shaibani

DAMASCUS: The Syrian Arab Republic’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that the lifting of sanctions on his country shows an “international will” to support his country, after EU countries agreed to end most of its sanctions.

In a press conference in Damascus alongside his Jordanian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shaibani said that “lifting sanctions expresses the regional and international will to support Syria,” adding that “the Syrian people today have a very important and historic opportunity to rebuild their country.”


Syria’s driest winter in nearly 7 decades triggers a severe water crisis in Damascus

Syria’s driest winter in nearly 7 decades triggers a severe water crisis in Damascus
Updated 43 min 2 sec ago
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Syria’s driest winter in nearly 7 decades triggers a severe water crisis in Damascus

Syria’s driest winter in nearly 7 decades triggers a severe water crisis in Damascus
  • Now, there is only a trickle of water following the driest winter in decades
  • “I have been working at the Ein Al-Fijeh spring for 33 years and this is the first year it is that dry,” Bashi said

BARADA VALLEY, Syria: Inside a mountain above the Syrian Arab Republic's capital, Hassan Bashi walked through tunnels that used to be filled with water from a spring famous for its pure waters.

The spring rises inside the ruins of a Roman temple in the Barada Valley and flows toward Damascus, which it has been supplying with drinking water for thousands of years. Normally, during the winter flood season, water fills all the tunnels and washes over much of the temple.

Now, there is only a trickle of water following the driest winter in decades.

Bashi, who is a guard but also knows how to operate the pumping and water filtration machines in the absence of the engineer in charge, displayed an old video on his cell phone of high waters inside the ruins.

“I have been working at the Ein Al-Fijeh spring for 33 years and this is the first year it is that dry,” Bashi said.

The spring is the main source of water for 5 million people, supplying Damascus and its suburbs with 70 percent of their water.

As the city suffers its worst water shortages in years, many people now rely on buying water from private tanker trucks that fill from wells.

Government officials are warning that the situation could get worse in the summer and are urging residents to use water sparingly while showering, cleaning or washing dishes.

“The Ein Al-Fijeh spring is working now at its lowest level,” said Ahmad Darwish, head of the Damascus City Water Supply Authority, adding that the current year witnessed the lowest rainfall since 1956.

The channels that have been there since the day of the Romans two millennia ago were improved in 1920 and then again in 1980, he said.

Darwish said the springwater water comes mainly from rainfall and melted snow off the mountains along the border with Lebanon, but because of this year’s below-average rainfall, “it has given us amounts that are much less than normal.”

There are 1.1 million homes that get water from the spring, and in order to get through the year, people will have to cut down their consumption, he said.

The spring also feeds the Barada River that cuts through the capital. It is mostly dry this year.

In Damascus’s eastern area of Abbasids, Bassam Jbara is feeling the shortage. His neighborhood only gets water for about 90 minutes a day, compared with previous years when water was always running when they turned on the taps.

Persistent electricity cuts are making the problem worse, he said, as they sometimes have water but no power to pump it to the tankers on the roof of the building. Jbara once had to buy five barrels of undrinkable water from a tanker truck that cost him and his neighbors $15, a large amount of money in a country where many people make less than $100 a month.

“From what we are seeing, we are heading toward difficult conditions regarding water,” he said, fearing that supplies will drop to once or twice a week over the summer. He is already economizing.

“The people of Damascus are used to having water every day and to drinking tap water coming from the Ein Al-Fijeh spring, but unfortunately the spring is now weak,” Jbara said.

During Syria’s 14-year conflict, Ein Al-Fijeh was subjected to shelling on several occasions, changing between forces of then- President Bashar Assad and insurgents over the years.

In early 2017, government forces captured the area from insurgents and held it until December when the five-decade Assad dynasty collapsed in a stunning offensive by fighters led by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group, or HTS, of current President Ahmad Al-Sharaa.

Tarek Abdul-Wahed returned to his home near the spring in December nearly eight years after he was forced to leave with his family and is now working on rebuilding the restaurant he owned. It was blown up by Assad’s forces after he left the area.

Abdul-Wahed looked at the dry area that used to be filled with tourists and Syrians who would come in the summer to enjoy the cool weather.

“The Ein Al-Fijeh spring is the only artery to Damascus,” Abdul-Wahed said as reconstruction work was ongoing in the restaurant that helped 15 families living nearby make a living in addition to the employees who came from other parts of Syria.

“Now it looks like a desert. There is no one,” he said. “We hope that the good old days return with people coming here.”