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In May 2024, Dr. Adam Hamawy began his first aesculapian assistance ngo successful Gaza, joining scores of humanitarians desperately trying to prevention arsenic galore Palestinian lives arsenic imaginable amid an Israeli bombardment tantamount to an battle connected nan wellness attraction system.
The New Jersey integrative surgeon was nary alien to providing aesculapian assistance successful conflict zones. Hamawy delivered assistance during nan Bosnian genocide connected behalf of nan United Nations arsenic a aesculapian student, treated nan first casualties astatine a pain halfway connected 9/11 arsenic a resident successful New York City and helped prevention Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s (D-Ill.) life much than a decade ago, while some were deployed by nan Army during nan Iraq War.
None of those missions prepared nan expert for what he would spot successful Gaza.
Hamawy and his squad arrived six days earlier Israel closed nan captious Rafah crossing to nan south, temporarily trapping them wrong nan territory, while nan United States continued to proviso nan bombs raining supra what Israeli officials had deemed a “safe zone.”
To HuffPost, he described his clip astatine European Hospital successful Gaza, wherever astir of his patients were children: “There was a wide assortment of wounds, very emblematic combat wounds that were a operation of explosive injuries — which are some burns, traumatic amputations and penetrating injuries — arsenic good arsenic soul injuries from nan trauma that occurs pinch ample explosives.
“You know, bombs falling connected patients, and each nan shrapnel and debris that goes into their bodies,” he said.
Dr. Adam Hamawy via MedGlobal
Israel began its subject violative successful Gaza aft Hamas militants killed 1,200 group and captured astir 200 successful an October 2023 onslaught connected confederate Israel. As of Tuesday, Gaza’s Government Media Office says that Israeli forces have killed much than 61,700 people, saying thousands of missing Palestinians buried nether rubble are presumed dead. Some international organizations now describe Israel’s actions as genocide.
After 15 months, Israel and Hamas agreed to a region successful fighting to speech hostages and let surviving Palestinians successful Gaza immoderate semblance of peace. But nan territory’s wellness attraction strategy has been decimated, and rebuilding it will beryllium a semipermanent task — 1 world aesculapian workers for illustration Hamawy dream they tin help.
“There’s really been a telephone for integrative surgeons, there’s a telephone for orthopedic surgeons, there’s a telephone for trauma surgeons,” he said. “And erstwhile you spot that telephone going connected and nary 1 is answering, what different prime do you have? How do you slumber astatine nighttime and cognize that you’ve not answered that call? What excuse could I springiness erstwhile you comparison yourself to nan Palestinians and what they’re going through? So that’s my reasoning. I person nary excuse.”
Hamawy said exclusively pinch HuffPost for this communicative — erstwhile successful January earlier his post-ceasefire mission, and erstwhile this week, aft he returned to New Jersey — to springiness an eyewitness relationship of what providing aesculapian assistance was for illustration during nan offensive, and really it compared pinch conditions location aft nan ceasefire went into effect.
“One of nan loudest voices against this [war] has been nan doctors and nan nurses coming backmost and speaking out, because we person witnessed it, we did spot it pinch our ain eyes,” he said. “And dissimilar astir of nan extracurricular journalists who aren’t allowed to beryllium there, it’s really nan humanitarian assistance workers that person knowledgeable this and survived it. So we’re coming and saying, this isn’t clone news.”
Anas Zeyad Fteha/Anadolu via Getty Images
Israel’s decimation of Gaza’s wellness care
During nan offensive, Gaza’s hospitals were often subjected to Israeli raids that detained or sometimes killed Palestinian wellness attraction workers and patients. Photos and testimony picture Israeli soldiers forcing wellness workers and patients to statement up and kneel while stripped, bound and blindfolded.
“These are our colleagues — they are being targeted, they are being tortured, they’re being abducted for nan crime of caring for their patients,” Dr. Adlah Sukkar said connected Wednesday, speaking as portion of a conjugation of wellness attraction workers successful nan U.S. that’s demanding an extremity to Israel’s attacks and nan U.S. government’s support for them. Sukkar said that Israeli forces person killed much than 200 members of her husband’s family.
One of nan highest-profile cases is that of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, nan head of Kamal Adwan Hospital and main expert successful Gaza for Chicago-based nonprofit MedGlobal. Abu Safiya has remained successful detention without complaint for months — first, allegedly, in nan Sde Teiman camp, before he was transferred to Ofer prison, his family said past week. Israeli officials person provided small item astir Abu Safiya’s detention, only confirming his incarceration and that they see him a panic suspect, though they person not provided evidence.
Abu Safiya, who complete clip has go a benignant of awesome for Israel’s warfare connected Gaza’s wellness attraction system, could perchance beryllium released connected Saturday during nan first shape of nan exchange. On Wednesday, Israel published footage of nan expert successful captivity astatine Ofer, in what his family says is “yet different shape of psychological terrorism.”
“Dr. Abu Safiya elaborate nan various forms of torture and maltreatment to which he has been subjected some during his unlawful apprehension and passim his arbitrary detention by Israeli forces and authorities,” said nan Al Mezan Center, which is legally representing nan doctor. Israeli authorities did not admit to torturing Abu Safiya, though nan situation is known by Palestinian aesculapian workers as a spot wherever akin abuses person allegedly occurred.
Israel’s attacks connected hospitals person besides forced remaining aesculapian unit to activity in inhumane conditions, without capable aesculapian supplies and sanitation. Hamawy alleges Israel imposed “deliberate” restrictions connected humanitarian assistance, leaving it “sitting successful trucks extracurricular nan borders to travel in, conscionable waiting approval.” The subject has many times denied nan claim.
“We didn’t person capable antibiotics for our patients. We didn’t person a cleanable environment, truthful we had flies successful nan operating room,” Hamawy said. “We had instruments and supplies that usually are 1 use, that you’re expected to usage and propulsion away, that we had to recycle and lavation — including breathing tubes that you put down into people’s lungs.”
“We didn’t moreover person due soap, truthful we weren’t capable to decently lavation our hands. We had immoderate betadine that we poured connected our hands, and you benignant of did your best.”
Like different assistance workers coming retired of Gaza, Hamawy described nan layers of guilt that linger moreover aft leaving. The guilt stems from being capable to exit nan territory while Palestinians stay trapped, from having entree to nutrient while Palestinians starve — and from knowing that Western governments, peculiarly nan U.S.’, person been financially and diplomatically supporting nan carnage.
Dr. Adam Hamawy via MedGlobal
A ‘more normal’ infirmary experience
Hamawy intended to thief retired successful flattened North Gaza this clip around, which Israeli forces had walled disconnected until recently. But because of the often arbitrary and stressful information process assistance workers opportunity they look astatine Gaza’s borders, Hamawy says he and his group had constricted clip successful nan territory and could only enactment successful nan south. The integrative surgeon entered Gaza from Jordan past period and was assigned to Nasser Hospital. There, he said, he was amazed to spot a immense backlog of elective cases that had been put disconnected owed to predominant mass-casualty events.
The ceasefire meant that Hamawy saw nary patients pinch explosive injuries, and very fewer pinch gunshot wounds. He was capable to really tackle a agelong database of scheduled procedures, astir of which were children who had congenital malformations for illustration cleft lips and palates.
“This clip I was really operating connected children that were a twelvemonth and a half aliases 2 years old, because they were nan ones that were calved during this time,” he said. “I did return attraction of immoderate teenagers arsenic well, pinch immoderate facial abnormalities that needed to beryllium taken attraction of. And past immoderate revision surgeries and reconstructive things from nan war.”
The installation was cleaner and quieter — partially because Gaza was yet receiving soap deliveries, and partially because nan wintertime had killed disconnected nan insects that would prey connected dying patients. Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians from North Gaza who had been surviving connected infirmary grounds successful nan southbound began returning home, allowing wellness attraction workers to amended support nan hospital.
“This felt much normal. We were taking attraction of surgeries and were hopeful we were changing lives,” Hamawy said. “Children were being discharged nan adjacent time pinch their families to spell home. I sewage to spot them again nan time earlier I near — I had a session and they each came in. They were doing well. That’s really things should be.”
Dr. Adam Hamawy via MedGlobal
More aid, but not enough
There were, importantly, much assistance trucks entering nan territory aft nan ceasefire, he said. Nutritious nutrient was progressively disposable to nan public, and had drastically travel down successful price. The World Food Program says it has served 7 cardinal basking meals since nan ceasefire took effect — and pinch assistance groups restarting feeding stations for malnourished Palestinians, Hamawy said, patients will person stronger immune systems to conflict disconnected infections and heal faster from procedures.
But Israel is still limiting aesculapian aid, he added. Despite nan improved conditions, only 51% of nan territory’s hospitals — 18 retired of 35 — stay only partially functional, according to a Feb. 2 wellness cluster cited successful a Tuesday study by nan UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“I didn’t have, for example, nan perfect sutures I wanted to use,” Hamawy said. “Many of nan instruments, you’re benignant of improvising pinch what you had. Luckily they had instruments to return attraction of cleft lips and palates. But a batch of nan good devices that we request — nan sutures, nan materials for dressings and attraction — were still not available. We’re not capable to return them in, they’re not getting supplied.”
Up to 14,000 Palestinians — astir a 3rd of whom are children — stay successful dire request of aesculapian removal successful bid to person specialized attraction that nan territory’s wellness strategy tin nary longer provide, according to nan World Health Organization.
Hamawy besides stressed that Gaza’s wellness attraction strategy was still emotion economical pressure, arsenic Trump management makes monolithic fund cuts aimed astatine ending overseas aid. Palestinian doctors get paid very little by nan Health Ministry, he said, truthful successful bid to gain much money they will often do to part-time activity for aesculapian assistance organizations.
But erstwhile nan Trump administration withdrew from WHO, which helps money world nationalist health, Hamawy said, many Palestinian doctors mislaid their jobs overnight. On Jan. 29, nan State Department defended the overseas assistance frost by touting “commonsense waivers for genuinely life-threatening situations.”
“Now galore of these section hospitals fundamentally unopen down — you’re not shooting wellness attraction workers, but you’re eliminating different spot and constituent of care,” Hamawy said. “And past again, these doctors person families. These nurses and unit each person families. This isn’t money that’s going to Hamas aliases anyone, this is money going to nan group truthful they could past aft we’ve been bombing them for nan past twelvemonth and a half.”
A national judge connected Feb. 13 ordered nan Trump administration to assistance its backing freeze for U.S. assistance abroad, though it’s unclear really agelong nan reversal will last. The administration’s lawyers argued connected Tuesday that officials should not person to abide by nan judge’s impermanent order.
Anadolu via Getty Images
A shaky truce pinch nary shortage of violence
Even though nan truce went into effect past month, human authorities groups, argumentation organizations, humanitarian assistance workers and journalists — such arsenic Drop Site News, EuroMed-HR and nan Institute for Middle East Understanding — have each documented aggregate ceasefire violations by nan Israeli military. Israeli forces person reportedly continued to sprout civilians, launch one-off airstrikes and severely limit nan magnitude of aid entering nan territory. Israel has maintained that it does not intentionally target civilians.
According to WHO, Israeli forces have killed much than 800 Palestinians successful Gaza this period alone, almost a 3rd of whom are children.
Earlier this month, soldiers allegedly changeable 3 Palestinian boys playing successful Rafah aft ordering them to portion down, put their shirts complete their heads and run, according to Dr. Sarah Lalonde, who was overseeing their attraction astatine European Hospital. Two of nan boys died.
“This is 1 of nan examples of violations of nan ceasefire agreement,” Lalonde said successful a recorded video sent to HuffPost. “They were not successful nan reddish area successful Rafah.”
Hamawy recalled that moreover his first patients successful his post-ceasefire Gaza ngo were children pinch gunshot wounds.
“The forces are successful Rafah, and location were group getting shot. I’m moreover told by nan Palestinians [that] galore group conscionable get changeable returning to their homes, because if they ended up getting excessively adjacent to wherever Israelis are, and they’re outposted successful different neighborhoods, they would sprout anyone coming adjacent them,” he said. “Doesn’t matter man, female aliases child. You get adjacent to them, they’ll sprout you.”
During nan truce, Israeli forces person besides joined settlers successful nan West Bank successful attacking Palestinians and destroying their homes.
Dr. Adam Hamawy via MedGlobal
A ceasefire hanging successful nan balance
Hamas said it would hold exchanging much hostages connected Feb. 10, accusing Israel of not holding up its extremity of nan bargain and threatening to extremity nan truce. The militant group pointed to nan continued blocking of substance and shelter aid, arsenic good as far-right Israeli officials’ support for President Donald Trump’s scheme to forcibly expel Palestinians from nan territory.
After threats by some Israel and nan U.S. to resume fighting unless each remaining hostages were returned by Feb. 15, Hamas agreed to proceed releasing captives arsenic antecedently planned. As of Thursday, nan truce is still successful place.
Hamawy said that he still plans to return later this year, sloppy of nan ceasefire’s status. He stressed that Palestinians and assistance workers must punctual themselves that they cannot power their government’s actions, only their own.
“I dislike to opportunity this, I expect location to beryllium fighting. The Palestinians expect it, nary 1 is fooled by nan ceasefire,” Hamawy said. “So whether it’s this Saturday aliases nan pursuing Saturday aliases adjacent month, everyone expects them to break nan ceasefire.”
But that doesn’t mean nan expert wasn’t outraged when, from Gaza, he heard that Trump wants to return power of nan territory and forcibly region Palestinians from their homeland pinch nary correct of return. Palestinians successful Gaza didn’t return nan American president seriously, he said. Many agelong agone accepted that if they dice successful nan war, they will astatine slightest dice connected their ain land.
“I want you to cognize that nan Palestinians themselves are still standing. The bombing stopped, they came retired of their homes, they started cleaning up nan streets, and they started rebuilding. They look unbreakable, and that’s what makes them who they are,” he said. “So for america to travel and say, ‘It’s clip to move,’ is conscionable wholly silly, and it shows really small we understand astir them, astir Israel and moreover astir ourselves.”
“I’ve grown up here, lived each my life successful nan United States. And we talk about, ‘We emotion freedom,’ ‘Home of nan free and nan brave,’ and I don’t spot that anymore,” he continued. “You want to talk astir free and brave? That’s nan Palestinians. And if we really judge that, we would spot that and we would thief them.”
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