The Doctors of Gaza

from The New York Times I'm Sabrina. Tavern you see and this is the. daily they they B the door of the the. hospital they. BM thousands of people are out thousands. of. people. thousands as Israel's war on Hamas.

enters its sixth week hospitals in Gaza. have found themselves on the front. lines they are a refuge for growing. numbers of civilians fleeing the. violence but one that has become. increasingly dangerous as Israel's. military targets what it says are Hamas. Fighters hiding inside of them and. beneath. them Israel's bombing campaign has. become one of the most intense in the. 21st century.

gazen Health officials say the death. toll now stands at more than 11,000. people higher than all previous Wars. between Israel and Hamas. combined at the center of it all are. doctors hello hi Dr Amed this is Sabrina. tavernes from The New York Times hello. Dr marwin abusada uh yes yes please.

new. [Music]. yorktimes the daily has spent the past. several weeks calling doctors all over. the Gaza Strip asking them what the war. looks like from inside their hospitals. the attacks are continuous they bomb a. building and then we get a gush of. casualities coming at least 40 or 50 at. one. time you hear the boming now you hear. the boming yes I do how they working we.

work hard we work more than 18 hours per. day how they are living where are you. sleeping are you going home in the. hospital sometimes in the office. sometimes in the O and what they are. doing to keep up with the flood of. patience I will show you just for one. minute with the camera to see how many. patient are waiting in the waiting room. just one minute please okay oh my. goodness.

I see so many. patients now as Israel's military moves. deeper into Gaza City the war is pushing. hospitals to the brink of. collapse it's catastrophic situation. Madame you have to watch by yourself to. see what I talk. about today three doctors on survival in. Gaza he's actually operating at the the. moment would you be able to call back in.

half an hour of course of course so you. need to go to a surgery right now yeah. yeah yes I I I must go excuse me okay. thank. you it's Monday November. [Music]. 13th.

hello hello Dr. aita. speaking a few weeks ago my colleague. Jessica Chong called Dr gasan abusa a. British Palestinian plastic. surgeon Hi how are you I'm good how are. you. doing uh exhausted but uh otherwise. intact can you tell me a little bit. about where you are right. now.

I'm in the operating room of uh shifa. hospital it sounds like a child is in. pain she needs an amputation part of her. foot she's six taken from underneath the. [Music]. rubble how many patients are at the. hospital right. now 1,600 to.

1,700 but the hospital capacity is. 600 so you can only. imagine the day she reached him he was. working at alifa hospital in Gaza City. the largest hospital in the Gaza. Strip Israel's Army had not invaded Gaza. yet but its air strikes had driven many. from their homes and shifa had become a. kind of. Refuge around 60,000 people were living. there.

if you walk through the hospital it's. turned into a tented City on the floors. at the entrance there are families. sitting just there are patients on the. corridors patients on mattresses in the. floors of the patients on trolleys or. patients in the emergency room it's just. it's surreal it's surreal how of it is. across the hallway from my operating. room door there's a whole three.

generational family grandmother and. parents and other siblings and they have. a little girl who's oxygen dependent. she's like four and needs continuous. oxygen so they're sitting next to an. electric socket on the. floor there are some patients on. mattresses with their. injuries it's miserably grim and this. smell it's a public health catastrophe. waiting to happen this is col or typhus. waiting to happen mhm and are you.

sleeping in the hospital in the. operating room there's each operating. room has a small area called recovery. where we put patients right after the. surgery just to monitor them until the. anesthetic wears and that recovery area. is where I I sleep are colleagues there. also sleeping there everybody's sleeping. here and some people have brought their. families and where are they. sleeping every available office covered.

storage room Corridor whatever you can. imagine and how many patients have you. been able to see today what what have. you done. today I've just been operating all days. so Burns we we brought in major Burns. patients so patients with over 40% Burns. we had a mother her 11year old son who. has sickness Burns to his face and his. arms we had a a mother with Burns to her. legs and to his arms we had a 7mon old.

with Burns to his legs and. arms but we also had this child with. facial Burns. yesterday who doesn't look like gonna do. well um what what happened to. him he's got over 60%. Burns Burns to his face to his hands to. his legs.

he's 133 12. 13 he was just. whimpering. whimpering do you try to calm them do. you try to talk them through absolutely. absolutely absolutely what do you. usually say to them everything is going. to be all right even though you know. it's not going to be all right you tell. them that once the surgery is done their. parents will give them the best meal. that they like or get them some ice. cream or what.

whatever um but these kids have been. pulled from underneath the rubble a lot. of them have seen family being. killed there's very little that. effectively you can say to them and. they're absolutely. petrified this six-year-old girl needs. an amputation to her foot will be taking. her next to the operating room it's just. like.

that this is Carnage on an. unfathomable. [Music]. scale I need to go I need to go cuz the. dad of the girl is here and we need to. tell him that we need to do the abely. thank you okay good luck thank. you.

[Music]. [Music]. the day after we talked to Dr abusa on. Friday October 27th all community ation. to Gaza were.

cut no phone no Internet it was about 2. days before we could reach anyone again. when we did it had become clear that. Israel had launched a ground Invasion. into. Gaza and the doctors we spoke to told us. it felt like the war was getting even. closer last night was horrendous the. bombing was just and very close and it. was are you worried about the Israeli. military coming inside Gaza there are.

forces coming closer to Gaza City now. this is actually awful we don't want. this to. [Music]. happen 10 days ago an Israeli air strike. hit an ambulance near the entrance of. shiffa hospital then on Friday the. courtyard inside the hospital complex. was. hit.

Israel maintains that the hospital. conceals a major Hamas military compound. including passageways hidden underneath. it says the ambulance it hit it was. being used to transport Hamas. Fighters it also said that Hamas is. hoarding. fuel Hamas has denied all of. this when we asked doctors about it some. said it wasn't true I mean for me it's. just a narrative to justify targeting.

the hospital I mean thing about it is. that under international law it's still. a crime to attack a hospital regardless. of who you say is underneath the. ground others said they didn't know I. only deal with patient I don't know all. they knew was their reality in this. war that their corridors were filling up. even more with wounded and dying people. the sick children now they don't have.

clean water to drink I received like. water with yellow color just as their. supplies were running out some patients. may die because of infection in the w. why there is infection in the one. because there is lack of antibiotics. they were running out of disinfectant. and were resorting to what they had on. hand one of the scenes I have witnessed. is seeing chloride using in the white. wiping the floors or wiping the windows.

we use it for the cleaning of wound. infection other example I have seen. nurses and doctors using vinegar to. treat W infections and I am sure it is. not enough it will not treat anything. they said they were running out of. medicine to operate on people msf. released a photo it was an amputation of. the foot of a little boy on the ground. with no general anesthesia so he was.

just given seductive to fall asleep part. of what we do as doctors is Rel. suffering and if you can't treat. patients with pain control it's. um I mean it's. intolerable they started rationing. everything particularly fuel to run the. generators so many turned off the lights. in their. hospitals the wards are dark the. corridors are dark the communal areas.

the lobby the stairwells they're dark. and so it's a nightmare because you. don't know who you're stepping on while. you're walking some said they were even. operating on people using their phone. flashlights do you use light from your. phone how do you see yeah yeah that's. basically it that's that's the trick you. use light from your. phone and they worried about how much. time they had. left a hospital without fuel this. hospital without Fuel and electricity.

will turn from a hospital into a mass. grave I'm trying to find F for. ambulances and for. electricity and some of those we talked. to were spending much of their days. trying to find fuel themselves including. Dr suib Al hams the general director of. the Kuwaiti Specialist Hospital in Rafa. in the south of Gaza I spent my day the. 6:00 a.m. trying to call.

everyone called the Nora I called. International CR I called the minister. of the health I called I'm trying to. find other hospital if they can help. me I will stop my service here the. patients were die how many calls did you. make about fuel today for your hospital. of lots of calls yes a swear I spent my. day just looking for water for food for. food for my medical staff here we don't. have even a bread for the last two days.

for the medical staff you don't have. bread for the staff that's what. happening. here but we are have no options we we we. cannot leave our patient we cannot leave. our hospital. here and what about Hamas doctor you. mentioned you're calling the Ministry of. Health does Hamas help you with. fuel Madame you cannot ask me about. Hamas I am a doctor I am Associated.

Professor Here I Am the head of surgery. Department in the faculty of medicine. cannot ask me about Hamas about Jihad. about you should ask me the medical you. can ask is what they are doing here they. are killed lots of honest people I won't. answer anyone you ask me about the. political situation here you talk about. Humanity you take about catastrophic. situation here in Gaza. Madam one thing that we have heard that. you should one thing that one thing that.

we have heard doctor is that there are. reports that Hamas had been sitting on a. stockpile of fuel in the underground. tunnels is that something that you've. heard about I didn't hear about just I. hear from the Israeli incubation I. didn't hear about that except from the. Israeli incubation you you hear that. lots of doctor of professors consultants. and medical students were killed here do. you hear about the the ambulances that. were destroyed by the Israel incubation.

do you hear about the hospital that were. destroyed the patient do you hear about. the lots of children and women and. pregnant women and H citizens that were. killed by the the Israel incubation and. the whole world the whole world that. that call them the Democracy the. Democratic world just watch us nothing. do nothing just support Israel support. Israel this is genocide here I wonder. how they can do this. they St our our life they s our life we.

have dreams we have children we have our. own. dreams they stole everything they. destroyed. everything I can hear you're. angry I'm angry I am exhausted I this is. bad. dream I I I hope I work from it. just today we received about 12 children.

and women pregnant women two of them are. pregnant they reached the hospital dat. they were killed and we tried after they. killed we are we we try to do cian. section after they are killed at the ER. trying to save their babies but but we. cannot do that. unfortunately the Fus was killed also he.

tried to to save it. with what was it like for you when you. discovered you couldn't save the babies. inside the mothers just I. cried the only thing I can do just to. cry cry when I fall to sleep crying when. I walking just I I cried yes nothing to. be done for. them nothing to be done nothing to be.

spoken of the children one of them was. ninee daughters she lost her. mother she lost her all of her family. and she was. shooked she was. shocked no. expression just just was. silent one of the nurses just stay with. her till the. morning and after that it went with one.

of her families one of her. cousin I hope that her cousin will take. care of. [Music]. her as the days went on the war was. forcing doctors to make impossible. choices who would get treatment and who. wouldn't. who got anesthesia and who.

didn't which wounds got disinfectant and. which did. not a number of doctors talked about. making the most impossible choice of all. whom to save and whom to Let. Die one doctor told us that it felt as. if he was deciding on The Souls of. [Music]. people doctors also said that they found. themselves in a strange new role the.

hospital is full of children so we have. looking after children they keep on like. running beside me following me please we. want to draw please take photo for for. us while two days ago we got a patient. with no one of her family alive lone. survivors of. bombings she came alone 11y old she was. disoriented no one knows the name and. she was in the recovery with no beds. the general manager of the hospital.

called me and said I know this is not. your case but please can you take care. of this little girl she has no one. here one doctor said that for children. who were too young to speak the staff. would write unknown in marker on their. bodies every day we had a lot of cases. like this lots of children look their. mothers their fathers without. families so said their hospitals were. starting to feel like.

orphanages with children wandering the. Halls looking for parents who were no. longer. alive even there is a new medical term. that we are having it must be added to. Medical book W. cnsf wed child no surviving. family wounded child no surviving family. wcns s f yes and it happens every hour I.

have seen like dozens or even hundreds. of WC. andsf ibraim matar is a resident ICU. doctor at Al AXA martyr Hospital in the. middle of the Gaza. Strip and what happens to these children. where do they go who cares for them. after they get better. um who cares for them actually there is.

no answer for this question we don't. even know their names sometimes so who. will care for them so far no. one I have seen two kids who are. severely injured those two kids do not. know that their father and mother and. all their siblings have died. they were unconscious at the time of the.

bombing and now they are unconscious. they are receiving treatment but simply. they do not know and all the people. around them did not tell them in order. they are kids and they cannot handle the. pain of the injury or the psychological. pain of the. grief how old are the. kids the first is uh 13 year old female. who is having a severe commuted.

structure the other her brother is a. 14year old who is having a severe heav. trauma and a brain hemorrhage but now. they are both conscious and de receiving. treatment and they do not know that. their family father and mother siblings. house all are destroyed just we tell. them that you're going to see them. soon just in order not to make them feel.

sad it is painful hiding the truth it is. some sort of deceiving but sometimes you. may do things that are not. appropriate at that moment and may be. appropriate later yeah that must be so. hard Dr matar yes it is pain is too. intense. here. this is ambulance is.

coming oh what is that in the. background um now it is a new casualty. and. many paramedics are doing CPR and it is. for a child yes it is for a. child what are you looking. at many paramedics are rushing the child. into the emergency department and they. are doing CPR it is a wage child and it.

seems there is no surviving. family W. cnsf. yes how old is the child it looks like. 10 years. old what's happening. now. um people doctors and paramedics in the. hospital are speaking about an new.

bombing and there is dozens of um new. casualties are in. the in some time and they will reach the. hospital and new cases we are now. waiting new. [Music]. cases how are you. feeling I did not go home home since the. start of the.

conflict so I feel tired emotionally. physically mentally and in all aspects I. did not see my family since 7th. October where is your family they are in. the nose of God script they did not. leave the nose are they okay thankfully. yes they are okay um so far I don't know. what is happening. later and I feel very anxious about them.

and every time in the hospital I think. of them and I hope they are. fine Dr matar is the child okay what is. happening with that child I may enter. the Department and ask about them just. give me a few seconds okay stay on the. line.

hello. hi uh um yes I've seen the. kid the one who is being brought by the.

um. ambulance is he. okay no he's not okay um he's having a. severe head uh. trauma we could see the brain. matters through the W you could see his. brain through the wound he's still alive. but um he's having. what doctors say brain death he's.

unconscious he's having large crack in. his head so we are now um as doctors in. the ER Department are thinking of giving. him assisted mechanical ventilation or. not so the IC doctors in charge may not. incubate him because they may think this. is a hopeless case because if they did. there will no any good result so this is.

now situation of choosing uh between. which cases will benefit from treatment. or. not your colleagues are deciding whether. to try to save. him. yes. and that must be such a difficult. Choice it is.

what is your biggest fear at this. moment in this. conflict the first thing is that I don't. want to die in a cold. blood I am an innocent person the second. thing is I'm afraid on my family I don't. want my family to get injured or to die.

because they are also. innocent we are afraid on our families. more than we are afraid on. ourselves and we we don't just want to. Die In Cold. Blood what do you mean we don't want to. die in Cold. Blood I mean that we we are not Target. we are not.

s we as normal civilian. humans we need a seiz fire we need the. conflict to end and to have a normal. life a normal. life that includes staying safe at home. drinking a clean water seeing my friends. doing picnics sleep in a calm room sleep.

without the sounds of Bings going to. work returning back from work playing. football or sucker with my friends going. to the. beach every day I used to go there and. smell a breeze of the beach and listen. to the sound of waves listen to.

music I never listening to music I'm a. music lover and I love poetry I miss. writing about love about. dreams I was going to the gym before the. conflict started I miss going to the gym. actually the gym I go to uh has been. destroyed today I don't know why so I.

miss going to the. gym how old are you Dr matar I am 27. year. old I'm still a young. doctor you. are just I need normal life. back.

um now I can see the child who I told. you about is being taken to the place of. dead. people you see the child being taken. where into the place of the. people oh they took the child you told. me about to the. morg.

yes my friend who was working with him. he is giving me a sign that he's. dead it is. sad it is very. sad.

because a young. child yeah the young. [Music]. child what is your friend doing now. [Music]. um he returned to the ER Department to.

see new. casualties there is no time to get sad. over every. [Music]. case thank you for giving me the chance. to listen to me thank you you for. sharing. yourself you're welcome my friend it's.

my. privilege good night and wish a good. night for me also be safe. tonight thank you thank you I appreciate. that I. hope. [Music]. bye-bye. [Music].

[Music]. over the weekend is Israeli tanks and. troops were closing in on shifa Hospital.

gaza's main hospital where Dr abua had. been working and where Israel claims. that Hamas has a. base on Sunday Israel said it was. securing a route for civilians and. patients to leave and claimed it had. offered the hospital fuel to help keep. it. operating the tens of thousands of. refugees who had taken shelter there. have already fled but many seriously. wounded patients remain.

inside we've lost all contact with shifa. I have no idea what's happening there Dr. Abu has also left shifa and is now. working at a nearby hospital one of the. few in Gaza that is still accepting new. patients and we've run out of ketamine. here I'm having to do major major wound. dressing changes with nothing with the. patient screaming but because they've. been so neglected but some of them are. beginning to get infected and.

throt the situation is so. Bleak everything is. collapsed gaza's Health Ministry said on. Sunday that 23 out of the 35 hospitals. in the Gaza Strip are no longer. functioning. [Music].

here's what else you should know today. on Sunday the times reported that that. Federal authorities are investigating. whether New York city mayor Eric Adams.

pressured the New York fire department. to allow the opening of a Manhattan. highrise housing the Turkish Consulate. General despite safety concerns with the. building the time cited three people. with knowledge of the matter and said. that the alleged pressure took place. weeks before Adams's election two years. ago the FBI is examining Adams's. intervention as part of a broader public. corruption investigation that led to the. seizure last week of the mayor's.

electronic. devices today's episode was produced by. Lindsay Garrison relle Banja and Jessica. Chung it was edited by Lisa chow and Liz. oalen with help from Ben Calhoun fact. checked by Susan Lee and Michelle Banja. contains original music by Rowan Neo Pat. mccusker and Dan Powell and was. engineered by Alyssa Moxley. special thanks to taged alri Neil ker.

Hua sad Rajah abdurahim and Vivian ye. our theme music is by Jim brunberg and. Ben Lanser of. [Music]. wonderly that's it for the daily I'm. Sabrina Tavern see you. tomorrow. [Music].