Surgeon serves in Gaza amid Israeli airstrikes: “Parents brought in lifeless bodies, begging us to revive them”
In one harrowing incident, my heart filled with grief as two severely injured boys lost their parents in a tragic air strike. Their desperate situation only deepened my sorrow. We tried to resuscitate one of the boys, but we could not save him as burns covered his body from head to toe. Beside him, his sister lay with a deep gash on her forehead, revealing her fractured skull. As I watched the two children, lost in thought, I wondered, “What did they do?”
- 1 month ago
October 17, 2024
Dr. Mohammed Tahir, a British-Iraqi orthopedic surgeon, completed two medical missions in Gaza, performing 290 surgeries and treating over 1,100 patients amid the ongoing conflict. | Photo courtesy of Fajr Scientific
GAZA — Living in London, I received daily news about Palestinians being murdered and oppressed since October 7, 2023. Unable to tolerate it any longer, I felt compelled to act. Being an orthopedic and peripheral nerve surgeon, I asked myself, “If not me, who?” Within weeks, I planned to embark on my first mission inside Gaza. In April 2024, I seized the chance to cross into Rafah before the blockades began.
Alongside a team of 17 professionals from FAJR Scientific, I carried suitcases packed with medical aid, surgical equipment, medicine, anesthesia equipment, and food. As soon as I arrived, my heart shattered. Stationed at the European Hospital in Gaza, I quickly realized the situation was far worse than I anticipated. Though I thought I was mentally prepared, the reality in Gaza far exceeded anything I could have imagined.
Read more stories from Gaza at Orato World Media.
Hospital transformed into refuge as Palestinians flee Israeli airstrikes
As I stepped into Gaza, I encountered thousands of desperate Palestinian families crammed into tents and shelters. Displaced families crowded the corridors and stairways of the hospital, making it difficult to step inside. Tirelessly, the staff at the European Hospital worked to keep people alive as their workplace turned into a refuge. The hospital transformed into a makeshift refugee camp.
Witnessing the children and women sleeping on the floors, in the corridors, and on the stairs, both inside and outside the building, shattered my heart into pieces. Many families sought refuge in the hospital, trusting the presence of foreign doctors offered protection. They viewed us as human shields against Israeli air strikes. When rumors spread that we might evacuate, fear and panic gripped the hospital, with everyone terrified they were about to die.
Nothing could justify what I witnessed at the hospital. Parents often brought in their dead children, begging us to revive them even though they showed no signs of life. They would leave, carrying their children’s bodies in cardboard boxes. As the burden grew, we faced harsh decisions, often allowing critically injured patients to die to preserve our limited resources.
Doctors and volunteers unite to sustain Gaza’s health system
At the hospital, I worked alongside other foreign and Palestinian doctors, focusing on teaching and training local medical staff and students. Palestinian medical students eagerly sought any knowledge we could offer, even as their universities faced destruction. These young volunteers, unpaid and undeterred, showed up every day, determined to support their collapsing healthcare system.
When Israel launched its attack on Rafah, bombs landed just a few hundred meters from the house I stayed in. Loud explosions shook the walls, and artillery fire roared outside. One night, realizing it was no longer safe, we ran out still wearing our gowns, and transferred to the European Hospital, where we slept on the floor. The situation worsened quickly. The hospital ran out of fuel, and the generator frequently failed during operations, plunging the wards into darkness. Rapidly, medical supplies dwindled.
A few days later, Israeli forces seized Rafah. On May 18, 2024, after our first mission, I left Gaza through Kerem Shalom [a border crossing at the junction of two border sections: one between the Gaza Strip and Israel, and one between the Gaza Strip and Egypt]. Believing there was still unfinished work, I signed up for a second mission while traveling to Jerusalem on my way back to London. Undoubtedly, I needed to return as soon as possible with my excellent team. Honestly, I felt like I belonged nowhere else.
Surgeon confronts unimaginable horrors: children injured and orphaned as airstrikes intensified
After one month, on June 18, I returned to Gaza for my second medical mission. During this time, Gaza transformed into an apocalyptic, dystopian landscape, with everything destroyed. I resumed work at the European Hospital. However, after two weeks, the Israelis declared the area a conflict zone, forcing us to evacuate. As a result, we moved to Al-Shifa Hospital, where I spent four weeks witnessing the horrific deaths of children and women. With the intensifying airstrikes, I witnessed UN personnel dying right in front of me.
In one harrowing incident, my heart filled with grief as two severely injured boys lost their parents in a tragic air strike. Their desperate situation only deepened my sorrow. We tried to resuscitate one of the boys, but we could not save him as burns covered his body from head to toe. Beside him, his sister lay with a deep gash on her forehead, revealing her fractured skull. As I watched the two children, lost in thought, I wondered, “What did they do?”
On another sorrowful day, the resuscitation room filled with severely burned children who suffered from head wounds. Sadly, some of them died in front of us. I vividly remember a one-year-old girl arriving with burns covering 80 percent of her body, her head half-blackened from the severity of her injuries. Swiftly, we carried her to the resuscitation room and cleaned her body. As I lifted her in my arms, I felt her weightless.
She was just a child, for God’s sake! Despite our efforts to save her, she died. Next, a six-year-old boy arrived. He suffered an explosive injury, which burned his body, broke his neck with a piece of metal, and caused abdominal injuries. Urgently, we treated his wounds in the resuscitation room while general practitioners focused on his abdomen. However, tragically, he died the next day.
Young boy’s dream of riding a bicycle shattered by shrapnel wound
Amid the relentless bombings, I witnessed people arriving at the hospital with their limbs and bodies torn apart. Children came in with mutilated faces, and medical staff amputated limbs due to the severity of their injuries. I felt devastated as I saw them suffering from severe burns and maggot-infested wounds. After months of treating injured individuals, doctors and nurses struggled to grasp the severity of the situation.
During this time, I drew strength from my family and friends’ love, which helped me focus and feel supported. As I worked from morning until the early hours of the next day, the days and nights blurred together. I often finished at between 4:00 and 6:00 a.m., losing all sense of time. Working around the clock, I kept pushing myself forward without rest or sleep.
One day, while I treated injured individuals, a 10-year-old boy arrived with burns covering 65 percent of his body. He also endured a significant shrapnel wound on his foot, rendering it immobile. Successfully, we resuscitated him. During his recovery, he remained in the resuscitation room as the intensive care room remained occupied. Every day, I visited him, engaging him in conversation to provide comfort.
I promised him I would buy him a bicycle if he survived. However, as he began to improve, I noticed his foot remained immobile. Determined to investigate, I took him to the operating room to examine the nerve damage. Shockingly, I discovered the major nerve in his foot was completely destroyed. As a result, he would never move his foot again. My heart broke as I wondered how he could ever ride a bicycle with such a severe injury.
Surgeon performs hundreds of surgeries in war-torn Gaza
Loud booms often echoed in the background, signaling the arrival of cars at the hospital. As sirens blared, victims screamed and poured in. Although I primarily worked in the operating room, I often rushed to the emergency room to support the overwhelmed staff as they handled the influx of patients. Immediately, I intervened to save lives, moving patients to the operating room. Throughout my time in Gaza, I treated almost 1,100 people and conducted nearly 300 surgeries.
Later, we traveled to northern Gaza after local teams identified a need for a peripheral surgeon—a specialty unavailable in the region. So, I went north to assist those who were completely abandoned. Many chronically injured individuals cried in severe pain from morning to night, unable to sleep. I still recall a woman with intense arm pain and paralysis in her hand. When I operated on her, her pain disappeared, and she regained mobility in her hand. Joyfully, she hugged me tightly as her beautiful words touched my heart.
Amidst the total blockade in northern Palestine, residents remained without food like vegetables and chicken; only canned goods from aid programs. We brought fruit, but I felt shocked to discover they had no fresh produce. Cheerfully, I approached my staff and said, “I’m looting our apples.” As I presented the apples, people joyfully laughed and jumped up and down, seeing an apple for the first time in months.
After two weeks in northern Gaza, I returned to Al-Shifa Hospital. I kept extending my stay because time, people, and resources felt insufficient. Even if I dedicated my whole life to this cause, it would not be enough to resolve the deadly conflict. I wanted to stay longer in Gaza, but unfortunately, after two months, the mission commander told me it was time to leave.
Struggling between two worlds: the emotional toll of leaving Gaza behind
Leaving Gaza felt like the hardest moment I ever experienced in my life. As I said goodbye to friends and colleagues, it felt like I left a part of myself behind. After working for two months, more than 18 hours a day, and facing heartbreaking situations, I returned home completely exhausted. I reconnected with my family including my mother, siblings, and friends, and began to gain weight after losing 12 kilos. Looking in the mirror, I struggled to recognize my reflection and questioned who I had become.
Gaza always offers more to do. As I walked through the streets of London and saw everyone acting as if nothing happened, I struggled to process it. It felt as if I existed in two different worlds on the same planet, moving in opposite directions simultaneously. For this reason, I need to return to Gaza as soon as possible.
When I woke up at home for the first time without the sounds of bombings and gunshots, my thoughts immediately went to the people I left behind. While in London, I learned that a shooting in Gaza killed one of my medical students. As I worked in a war zone for the first time, the risk of losing loved ones became palpable, leaving me in anxiety and personal anguish.
Surgeon transforms life after Gaza experience, dedicates himself to humanitarian work
I went to Gaza with one purpose: to serve humanity. Without worrying about the situation or how dangerous it might seem; fear never consumed me. Today, I continue to conduct remote clinics over the internet to see my patients and prepare for my next mission, even though I am far away. As soon as I do something for them, I start feeling better.
Visiting Gaza amid the horrific war changed my life forever. At first, when I arrived, I did not know what to expect; I only knew I had to help as many people as possible. Now, equipped with greater knowledge, I strive to restore humanity in a place where people often face dehumanization. Now, I actively work to resist genocide, uphold the sanctity of life, and safeguard the future of our world.
I once lived as a normal person – a surgeon who desired a good life, a nice apartment, a nice car, a wife someday, a family, vacations, and happiness. Nevertheless, my experience in Gaza transformed me entirely. As I witnessed a sea of injured, lost, and suffering people in the hospital, I thought, “My God, how can this be allowed to happen?” I decided to stop relying on others to bring about change.
If I want to see the world I envision, I must drive the change myself. This is why I dedicate my life to humanitarian work. After Gaza, I have another mission in Iraq. In addition, I plan to travel to Honduras, the Philippines, and other impoverished regions to aid those in need. The painful experience in Gaza has opened my eyes and now I no longer live for myself but for others.
