U.S. Doctors Stranded in Gaza Urge Government Assistance for Safe Return
Dr. Ahlia Kattan, a dedicated physician and mother, should have returned to California with her three children by now. Unfortunately, she is one of the 22 American doctors currently stranded in Gaza, facing challenges in returning home.
Dr. Ahlia Kattan should already be back home in California with her three young children.
Instead, she’s spending her days and nights at Gaza’s European Hospital on the outskirts of Rafah.
Dr. Kattan, an anesthesiologist and critical care specialist, is among 22 American physicians currently stuck in Gaza. The Israeli military offensive in Rafah shut down the city's border crossing to Egypt, which was the main entry and exit point for foreign aid workers.
Despite assurances to his kids that he would be home on Tuesday, Dr. Kattan remains stranded in Gaza. The World Health Organization is working to secure a safe exit for him and the other trapped physicians, but so far negotiations have been unsuccessful.
The crossing has been closed since the Israeli military seized it early last week. Israeli and Egyptian officials have not yet agreed on reopening it, instead blaming each other for the closure. This has resulted in foreign doctors being stuck in Gaza and others being unable to enter, as the humanitarian situation in the enclave worsens.
FAJR Scientific, a nonprofit organization based in the United States, brought Kattan and 16 other physicians to Gaza. They are now seeking assistance from the US government to coordinate their safe exit from Gaza, as they were supposed to leave on Monday.
Mosab Nasser, the organization's chief executive currently in Gaza, is urging the US government to work with the WHO to ensure the safety and swift return of US citizens stuck in a war zone. He mentioned that there is at least one team member who needs urgent medical evacuation among the 17 medics, consisting of 12 Americans, three UK citizens, one Omani, and one Egyptian.
Kattan and her husband, who is also an anesthesiologist, came to Gaza over two weeks ago. They were moved by the suffering they saw on TV and wanted to help.
"We knew that anesthesiologists were needed here for the civilians, especially the women and children. We knew we had something to offer," said Kattan.
‘This is what clean looks like in Gaza’
The FAJR Scientific team recorded video diaries of their experiences and the conditions they face inside the European Hospital exclusively for CNN.
In a video, Laura Swoboda, a nurse practitioner and wound specialist from Wisconsin, talks about hearing drones flying above. She mentions that despite feeling safe at times, the threat of violence still exists due to ongoing war.
The hazardous situations are not limited to just outside the hospital.
"We were not aware of how dire the situation is here. There wasn’t soap to wash our hands between infected wounds with maggots. There wasn’t sanitizer wipes to wipe down the tables after each patient,” Swoboda shared with CNN during a Zoom interview.
"People were just coming in, person after person after person. We’re out of gauze to clean the wounds. We’re out of advanced dressings, we went through all of our cleansers, we’re using whatever we can get our hands on at this point."
"This is how cleanliness is maintained in Gaza," Kattan states in a video showcasing an operating room, where plastic overalls are seen scattered on the operating table.
Prior to a surgery to revise the amputations of a quadruple-amputee, Kattan discusses the shortage of anesthetics. She shows a single vial of Propofol, explaining how the medics managed to bring it with them all the way from the US.
A photo of husband and wife team Dr. Sameer Khan and Dr. Ahlia Kattan, both working with FAJR Scientific at the European Hospital in northern Rafah.
A photo of husband and wife team Dr. Sameer Khan and Dr. Ahlia Kattan, both working with FAJR Scientific at the European Hospital in northern Rafah.
FAJR Scientific
No way out
FAJR Scientific is working under the guidance of WHO and they are trying to arrange for an evacuation. Another medical team, organized by the Palestine American Medical Association, is also present at the European Hospital. Out of the 19 members in the PAMA team, 10 are from the US.
Dr. Adam Hamawy has a conversation with CNN's Zain Asher and Bianna Golodryga.
Dr. Adam Hamawy has a conversation with CNN's Zain Asher and Bianna Golodryga.
Clipped From Video
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The volunteers on the FAJR Scientific mission were aware of the risks of traveling to a war zone, according to Kattan. However, being stuck in Gaza was not something they had anticipated.
Now, Kattan is conflicted between wanting to return home to her children and feeling guilty for wanting to leave Gaza when the Israeli military could escalate its offensive and the demand for medical personnel is predicted to increase.
Missing my kids in the morning is tough. Waking up without them next to me is hard. But the hardest part is knowing I can leave eventually. I get to go home and be safe, knowing my kids are safe too.
I've made friends here who are in the same boat. They're my age and have kids the same age as mine. But unlike me, they don't have the same security and basic needs.
After over two weeks of experiencing the overwhelming pressure at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Gaza, Kattan mentioned that she and her fellow doctors simply wish to depart Gaza if there are others available to take their place.
"We are parents who long to be with our families, we are doctors here, and we have colleagues whom we cannot leave behind."
Editor's P/S:
The plight of Dr. Ahlia Kattan and her fellow American physicians trapped in Gaza is a sobering reminder of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the war-torn region. Their desperate efforts to provide medical aid amidst the escalating violence highlight the dire need for international intervention to protect innocent civilians and facilitate the evacuation of aid workers. The shortage of essential medical supplies, including anesthetics, paints a grim picture of the challenges facing healthcare professionals in Gaza.
It is deeply concerning that Israeli and Egyptian authorities have failed to agree on reopening the Rafah border crossing, effectively cutting off vital humanitarian assistance to the beleaguered enclave. The lack of safe passage for aid workers is a serious violation of international law and must be addressed immediately. The international community has a moral obligation to pressure both Israel and Egypt to prioritize the well-being of civilians and ensure the safe passage of humanitarian aid and personnel.
