we are not numbers
emerging writers from Palestine tell their stories and advocate for their human rights
The world says and does little as Israel destroys Gaza’s health care system and denies our human right to medical treatment.
A medication chart managed by Wessam Abu Al-Kas, a nurse at El-Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital. Photo: Sara Awad
Here in Gaza, the genocide is in its second year of nonstop attacks that threaten each and every Palestinian. While Israel is killing innocent civilians with the most powerful weapons available, it is denying the basic human right of access to medical treatment to survivors.
My mother was recently hospitalized for over four months in serious condition. She was recovering from multiple surgeries, and I was her primary caretaker. Spending so much time inside hospitals made me realize just how critical these issues are. The needs are immense, but our hospitals are overwhelmed and there are scarce medical supplies and equipment.
I am witnessing a crisis — we all are — but the world just watches in silence.
Blockades against Gaza have always been part of Israel’s policy, but the magnitude of the full land/sea/air blockade that has been ongoing for over a year is unmatched. Israel has control over our borders and over everything that is “allowed” to enter the Gaza Strip. It is a human-made disaster, only made worse when Israel decided to cut off all medical aid at a time when the people of Gaza needed it more than ever.
Our doctors and nurses are helpless to deal with the massive injuries inflicted on our people through the war against us. Thus, injured people seek to escape Gaza to receive real medical treatment to save their lives, but often there is no way out.
In Gaza’s remaining hospitals, medical teams are working with limited supplies and equipment with an increasing number of patients, as ongoing rocket attacks mean a steady flow of injured people.
“I could not find a way to help my patients and reduce their suffering,” said Wessam Abu Al-Kas, a nurse at El-Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital. “This makes me depressed.”
A floor of Al-Wafaa Hospital that was rebuilt in 2025 after destruction by Israel. Photo: Sara Awad
In addition to being a nurse, Wessam is fighting her own battle for survival in a war zone. While talking to her, I saw pain and suffering that can never be captured on film.
Medical workers like her are overburdened, exhausted, traumatized, and terrified — working under pressure with limited supplies. Urine bags, for instance, are one of the most basic supplies for medical care. But the medical team ran out, and patients have had to resort to emptying their soiled bags and reusing them. Isn’t it supposed to be 2025, an era of development? Why is the world still watching in silence?
To make matters worse, hospitals struggle with a lack of ICU beds, when so many people are in need of intensive care. Medical staff are forced to triage patients and put them on waiting lists for ICU beds. This causes an increase in unnecessary deaths and steep declines in health.
Furthermore, the lack of fuel persists, impacting doctors, nurses, and patients. The electricity in the surrounding area had been cut off; only partial relief comes from solar power. Almost everyone was facing the consequences of lack of electricity, particularly the nurses needing light to provide medication and care. In addition, some patients are on 24/7 oxygen supply; they require electricity to stay alive.
I witnessed all of this with my own eyes. The world must pressure the Israeli government to ease the blockade so that hospitals can serve their purposes.
It seems that the denial of all the above is not enough for the Israeli occupation. Hospitals have been direct targets since the beginning of the genocide, and continue to be attacked.
In May 2025, for example, Israel bombed Nasser Hospital — the largest and most important hospital in Khan Younis — killing two people and wounding 12 others. And for what feels like the hundredth time, Israel ordered the evacuation of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern area, traumatizing patients and putting their lives at risk.
I have witnessed how essential medicines are for ill patients at hospitals, especially those injured because of the genocide. Nadwa Alwan was one such patient, an elderly woman I talked to in Al-Wafa Hospital. She has bedsores all over her body and needs a specific medication to alleviate the symptoms of her condition.
Since Israel restricted these and other medications, Nadwa has been forced to use expired medicine, which led to a serious illness. “I am tired of the pain,” she told me, tears streaming down her cheeks, “and I need medicine to reduce this suffering.”
Chronic illness feels close to home, because my adorable father, Hani Awad, has a chronic disease. He needs blood pressure medication, and he needs to take it continuously. However, after the Israeli occupation cut off Gaza’s access to medicine, my father has had to alter his brand. Now he keeps trying new medicine that does not work instead of the medicine that he had been using for more than a decade.
My father’s last blood pressure pill; new supplies of this particular medication are unavailable anywhere in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Sara Awad
One of the patients I like to visit with the most is Mai Ahmed, a 17-year-old girl who is suffering from injuries to her skull that caused paralysis on the right side. She is one of the most remarkable, talented, and sociable people I have ever known. I often visit at Mai’s bedside and we talk about life’s struggles — and every time I feel her energy reflecting on me. There are so many like her, but at different ages, and with different ways of expressing their pain.
Patients and medical staff in Gaza’s remaining hospitals are exhausted. The atmosphere in any hospital can be heavy, but in war time, the weight becomes suffocating. Israel’s blockade on life saving medicine — including that needed to survive injuries from the war — puts all of us in Gaza at risk. The lack of food, water, and food is compounded in the hospitals, which are also subject to attack at any time. We need a healthcare system, just like anyone else. And since it was international actions that destroyed ours, the international community must actively resolve this humanitarian crisis and ease the suffering inherent to it.
