Harrowing testimonies from international doctors who worked in Gaza

A recent British study documented horrifying testimonies from dozens of international healthcare workers who treated Palestinians in hospitals in Gaza during the ongoing Israeli genocide against the region.

The study, published by the British Medical Journal, surveyed the opinions of 78 humanitarian healthcare workers, most of whom were from Europe and North America, regarding the nature of the injuries they dealt with while in Gaza between August 2024 and February 2025, during work periods ranging from two weeks to 12 weeks.

According to the study, the injuries documented by the medical staff were "unusual" and exceeded what they had witnessed in other conflict areas, as they classified more than 23,700 severe injuries and nearly 7,000 injuries caused by weapons, figures that nearly match data from the World Health Organization.

The lead researcher of the study, British surgeon Omar Al-Taji, described the injuries as "the worst ever," noting that two-thirds of the participants had previously worked in conflict zones, but they all agreed that what they saw in Gaza "surpassed all imagination," condemning the prevention of healthcare workers from around the world from entering Gaza.

The study indicated that more than two-thirds of the weapon-related injuries were the result of explosions amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment, at a rate more than double that recorded in other recent conflicts.

The study also recorded enormous rates of third and fourth-degree burns, which penetrate the skin, with Al-Taji reporting that he saw children "with burns so severe that their muscles and bones were visible."

The doctors' testimonies documented mothers pleading for the lives of their dead children.

The report included a special section for the testimonies of healthcare workers, where one doctor conveyed that "the worst was the mothers pleading for the lives of their dead children," while others spoke of children expressing a desire to commit suicide after losing their families.

Many of them also indicated that they were forced to perform surgeries under harsh conditions, amid a severe shortage of equipment and support, which led them to make difficult decisions about rationing care to save those with a greater chance of survival.

Al-Taji arrived at the European Hospital in Gaza last May, just days before the start of the major Israeli attack on the city of Rafah, and stated that the hospital received dozens of patients with serious injuries on consecutive nights, forcing doctors and nurses to donate blood to compensate for the severe shortage of supplies.

Rick Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization representative in the Palestinian territories, warned last August that "this arbitrary ban" on the entry of healthcare workers into the sector leads to more avoidable deaths.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel – with American support – has been committing genocide in Gaza, resulting in more than 65,500 martyrs and 167,376 injured, most of whom are children and women, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 442 Palestinians, including 147 children.