These American doctors went to help in Gaza. Now they’re trapped.
At least once a day, a group of American doctors and nurses stranded in Gaza get word that they might be able to leave the enclave. They have waited all week, and that moment hasn’t come. “We’ve come to terms with the fact that we don’t know when we’re leaving," said Dr.
Adam Hamawy, a 54-year-old plastic surgeon from South Brunswick, N.J., who missed his daughter’s graduation from Rutgers University on Tuesday because he couldn’t get home. The crew of 19, including 10 Americans and one U.S. permanent resident, arrived in Gaza on May 1 for a medical mission that was set to span almost two weeks.
But Israel’s seizure on May 7 of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt left them trapped, and they aren’t alone: Civilians have been prevented from leaving Gaza—and aid from entering—through the Rafah crossing, which had been one of the main arteries in or out of the besieged territory. The doctors came to provide urgent medical assistance in Gaza, where most of the healthcare infrastructure has collapsed during Israel’s war with Hamas, now in its eighth month. They face a critical shortage of medical supplies, as they use up sutures, antibiotics and sterile equipment that they brought for a two-week mission.
The group was scheduled to leave Gaza on Monday but was told there was no longer a safe corridor. They have been waiting at the site of their volunteer work, European Hospital, on the northern edge of Rafah. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration is “working to get the impacted American citizens out of Gaza" and has engaged with its Israeli counterparts on the subject.
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