DaysofPal- Doctors have been among the primary targets of the Israeli genocide war on the Gaza Strip that started on October 7, 2023 and which has claimed the lives of over 45,000 people to date.
Hundreds of doctors and medical workers have been killed, either along with their families or individually, as part of an Israeli effort to cripple the Palestinian health sector and force the displacement of Gaza’s population.
In addition, dozens of doctors and medical personnel have been arrested by Israeli occupation forces during the war of extermination or in raids on hospitals. Many of them were martyred under torture, while others remain in Israeli prisons.
Recently, Israeli occupation forces killed the family of Palestinian doctor Ashraf Matar, a physician at Kamal Adwan Hospital. Many other doctors have also been killed while on their way to work to rescue the wounded and injured.
The Israeli occupation forces continue to target hospitals, particularly Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, which faces relentless daily bombing despite being filled with wounded and sick patients.
One story that highlights the immense suffering faced by doctors is that of Dr. Taghreed Al-Amawi.
Dr. Taghreed Al-Amawi chose to remain at the heart of the battle in northern Gaza, refusing to evacuate. She carried an indescribable courage within her to continue her humanitarian mission to save lives amid the Israeli genocide.
On the day the Israeli war on Gaza began, Taghreed did not hesitate to fulfill her professional duty, continuing to work at Kamal Adwan Hospital despite the intensifying bombardment and the dangers threatening her life and those around her.
Twenty days later, in an unexpected moment, her third child, Mohammad, was born two months prematurely, necessitating his placement in an incubator and support with a ventilator.
Taghreed was unable to stay long beside her child, as the dire security conditions due to the Israeli bombardment prevented the transfer of Mohammad to another hospital. This forced her to leave the hospital physically while leaving her heart with her little one. She continued to monitor his health daily, despite the destruction of her home and the ongoing bombardment that left no safe place.
As days passed, amid wavering hope and constant anxiety, Taghreed tried to find solutions to save her child’s life. She managed to secure some necessary medications with the help of her colleagues in the enclave, but the crisis worsened with the depletion of fuel in the hospital and the shutdown of ventilators. In a moment of hope, Taghreed transferred the only available oxygen tank from her clinic to the hospital, where it was used to keep Mohammad alive for a time.
On November 20, 2023, after a bitter struggle with illness, Mohammad passed away as a martyr. The farewell was not as a mother would wish; Taghreed recounted her testimony, which was followed by the Palestinian Information Center and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. She lost her right to hold her child one last time and even the chance to bury him in a dignified place. Instead, Mohammad was buried in the courtyard of Kamal Adwan Hospital, in a scene that words cannot describe.
The tragedy did not stop there. With increasing bombardment and continuous displacement, Taghreed found herself displaced in the Jabalia Boys Preparatory School, among thousands of other displaced individuals.
Despite injuries and suffocation caused by gas bombs, Taghreed decided to be a bearer of hope, offering medical services to the displaced while the bombardment continued everywhere. This is the challenge she faced, but the spirit of solidarity and hope she embodies drove her to continue this humanitarian battle.
Her message was clear: despite the deep wounds the war has inflicted on her heart, she still demands the world to take action. “To everyone who has the capacity to help,” Taghreed says, “we in Gaza are facing a brutal genocide targeting the lives of children and women. We urge you to take immediate action to stop this horrific war.”
This is the story told by Taghreed: a mother who lost a child but did not lose hope. The story of a doctor who chose to be on the front lines to protect the lives of others, sacrificing everything to save an innocent life in the heart of a merciless war.
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