Chicago doctors return from working in Gaza hospitals: 'The worst destruction I've ever seen'
CHICAGO - As fighting spreads throughout the Middle East, local doctors who have been working in Gaza are back home.
The doctors and other emergency aid workers live and work in the Chicago area but have been traveling to Gaza to work in hospitals and treat some of the thousands who have been wounded.
"My hope in speaking to you all is to convey the humanity of the Palestinians. Every single healthcare worker that I've spoken to says, ‘share our stories,’" said Dr. Tammy Abughnaim, an emergency room doctor.
The doctors and aid workers spoke Wednesday at the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago, describing their experiences in Gaza during multiple trips over the past few months.
"I've been to plenty of very difficult places and thought I was prepared. When I went into Gaza in January, I was nowhere prepared. It's the worst destruction I have ever seen," said John Kahler, an aid worker.
The doctors said more than 1,000 healthcare professionals have been killed and 15,000 Palestinians are waiting on medical evacuation lists and can't get the help they need.
"Right now, the border between Israel and Palestine, Rafah and Gaza, is shut down. The Israeli military stormed this border on May 6 and since then, we have not been able to evacuate the children out of the Gaza Strip. Not just children injured by the Israeli military, but children who've been diagnosed with cancer who need chemotherapy," said Dr. Thaer Ahmad, an emergency room physician.
We reached out to the Israeli Consulate in Chicago for a response.
Consul General Yinam Cohen said:
"Over the past year, (more than one million tons) of aid has come into Gaza via land, air and sea routes. This effort is done in partnership with the U.S., the United Nations and Arab partners. While we take the utmost care in ensuring that this aid makes it into Gaza, it should be confirmed that the aid makes it into the hands of the Palestinians in need, and not into the hands of Hamas terrorists."
One doctor who recently returned said that not only are medical supplies hard to come by in Gaza, but doctors in emergency rooms are even having trouble finding soap to clean themselves and patients before surgery.