08/30/2026
Photos from Back from Gaza: The Systematic Destruction of Healthcare
“The only people that are being allowed into Gaza right now are emergency medical teams, mostly doctors. The work I did in 2 weeks was a drop in the bucket—no, a drop in the ocean—of what they need. Now, I feel a responsibility to tell the stories of the people of Gaza and to report on what the world isn’t seeing, what is being ignored or purposely obscured…There is no ceasefire in Gaza. We heard bombs and gunfire every day and saw mass casualty events every day.
There are also people in Gaza dying because they are unable to access the type of health services they need, even at Shifa hospital where I was stationed, which was once a state of the art institution, but had been bombed and invaded by the Israeli military and is no longer fully functioning.
It’s a crime against humanity and a crime against the field of medicine.
Moreover, Israel has been in control of Gaza borders for decades, and they have not allowed in the amount of medical supplies needed to sustain Gaza’s healthcare system, leading to patients receiving suboptimal care that would be considered malpractice.
There is no cardiac surgery in Gaza. There is no chemotherapy in Gaza. Israel also restricts medical evacuations and I’ve seen patients who died because they were not allowed to evacuate to get the care they needed.”
Quote from panelist Dr.Safanah