Opinion Today: What these doctors and nurses saw in Gaza

A survey of medical volunteers paints a horrifying picture.

View in browser|nytimes.com October 9, 2024 By Jeremy Ashkenas Graphics Director, Opinion In late July, an open letter signed by 45 doctors, nurses and medical workers from the United States began circulating online, describing their experiences volunteering in Gaza in the past year. Even for people steeped in the daily images of horror and suffering emerging from Gaza, what they had to say was shocking. One observation jumped out from the rest: The medical professionals had regularly treated small children, 10 years old or younger, who had been shot in the head or chest. I felt compelled to learn more about what these doctors and nurses had seen, and I wanted to build a more detailed record of who had witnessed what. Working with the lead writer of the open letter, Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma and general surgeon who worked in Gaza for two weeks this spring, we came up with a series of questions and sent it out as a survey to Dr. Sidhwa's network of fellow volunteers. The 65 medical professionals who responded wrote detailed descriptions of what they had seen in Gaza while working there, in many cases backing up their stories with photo and video evidence of widespread hunger, violence directed toward children, and a crippling absence of even the most basic medical supplies. Dr. Sidhwa's guest essay, which we published today, uses their testimony about the war in Gaza to argue that current U.S. law requires that America stop supplying Israel with weapons. As Dr. Sidhwa points out, these are some of the only independent observers Israel has allowed to enter Gaza since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Although many of them have family or cultural ties to Palestine, many do not, and were instead motivated by the same feelings of urgency that move doctors and nurses to volunteer in conflict zones worldwide. They were needed. They went. They saw. And they are now speaking out with what feels like a single voice. Read the guest essay: Daniel Benneworth-Gray 65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza "Nearly every day I was there, I saw a new young child who had been shot in the head or the chest, virtually all of whom went on to die." By Feroze Sidhwa Here's more from Opinion, curated by Times editors and personalized for you Menahem Kahana/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images We Should Want Israel to Win Even supporters of Palestinian statehood should want Hamas and Hezbollah to lose. By Bret Stephens Mark Peterson for The New York Times Mayor Adams's Damage to New York Began With the Police There are strong parallels between police misconduct and the indictments at City Hall. By Mara Gay Jamie Lee Taete for The New York Times Trump Has Something He'd Like to Sell You The former president's history of merchandising himself may be broadly revealing in unexpected ways. By Thomas B. Edsall Zack Wittman for The New York Times Hurricane Milton Is Terrifying, and It Is Just the Start We need to be honest about what has become the most expensive and deadly kind of natural disaster in the United States. By Porter Fox Damon Winter/The New York Times Jack Smith Owes Us an Explanation The Justice Department should not have allowed revelations about the Trump Jan. 6 case to be disclosed so close to Election Day. By Jack Goldsmith We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Games Here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Opinion Today newsletter from The New York Times. To stop receiving Opinion Today, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018