Moroccan doctor shares harrowing experiences from humanitarian mission in Gaza Strip

Ya Biladi

3 days ago

You just returned from the Gaza Strip after a humanitarian mission. How was your initiative organized?
I took the initiative myself. I submitted a request to the Moroccan Coordination of Doctors for Palestine to join a humanitarian mission in the Gaza Strip. This volunteer-based organization enables medical professionals to participate in international missions, whether under the auspices of UN organizations like the WHO or through other NGOs.
How was the work organized on-site, given the extreme lack of resources due to limited humanitarian aid?
Along with colleagues from several countries, I was assigned to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. We joined teams of Palestinian doctors already working on-site. There were seven of us in total, and as an ear, nose and throat doctor (ENT), I worked as part of a multidisciplinary team including cardiology, traumatology, neurosurgery, urology, general surgery, and internal medicine. Our team included doctors from Morocco, Jordan, the U.S., Germany, and France.
Medical specialties were allocated to emergency units, while surgical teams were deployed to operating rooms. Our mission coincided with an especially difficult period, marked by intensified Israeli strikes and ground operations in Gaza. We dealt with nonstop emergencies, including severely injured rescue workers, and provided daily consultations.
What did the cases you treated reveal about the scale of the massacre?
At the time of our mission, Nasser Hospital was the only fully operational hospital in the southern Gaza Strip. The European Hospital had been forced to shut down due to the occupation, and only the private Kuwaiti Hospital remained active.
Most of the cases we treated were emergency cases. In ENT, I saw many patients with cervical trauma from gunshot wounds and maxillofacial fractures, dozens of similar cases. Beyond those, some patients had temple perforations from explosions, others had developed fistulas, abscesses, or serious infections due to the lack of aseptic conditions.
What cases impacted you the most as a surgeon working in a war zone?
The cases that marked me most were gunshot wounds. I vividly remember a patient shot in the eye, the bullet lodged in his neck. We managed to remove it, but he lost vision in one eye.
Another patient had been shot again, this time the bullet pierced his larynx, hypopharynx, and spine. We operated and managed to save the ENT structures, but he was left quadriplegic. He can now only move his head.
I also recall a case involving a patient shot in the back. Strangely, the bullet ended up in his nasal cavity, an anatomically rare trajectory we couldn't find documented in medical references. Thankfully, his ENT structures weren't affected.
What kind of international aid is needed based on what you witnessed?
The people of Gaza need everything. They are incredibly dignified, but they've lost everything, starting with medical infrastructure and supplies. From what I observed at Nasser Hospital, equipment is lacking, but teams do their best with what they have. What's urgently needed is a steady supply of basic medical items, compresses, gloves, Betadine, sterilization products.
We mustn't underestimate the pressure this one hospital faces, it covers the needs of nearly 700,000 people living in nearby camps. According to the figures we were given, it serves almost a million people.
If international aid is to be effective, we need to establish field hospitals, send more medical missions with full equipment and supplies, provide infant food, child vaccines, and a reliable supply of medicines. Due to shortages, even our prescriptions had to be limited.
Equally important is providing hygiene products to prevent a deterioration in sanitary conditions that would trigger widespread infections.
Has the Moroccan Ministry of Health responded to calls from the Coordination of Doctors for Palestine?
As far as I know, there has been no official response from the Ministry to the letters sent by the Coordination. From my experience, it seems all preparations were made directly with international organizations. There was no guidance or assistance from the Ministry.
I handled everything on my own, contacting the coordination, arranging my travel, and joining the mission team. The return was also done individually.
I sincerely hope the Ministry steps in to support these missions, helping expand their impact so they benefit Gaza's civilian population more effectively. Greater institutional support would allow the mobilization of more medical personnel—doctors, nurses, aides, and technicians.
Many Moroccan doctors who return from Gaza say they'll never forget the resilience and dignity of the people. What will you remember most?
I saw women, children, and civilians who had nothing to do with the conflict living in unimaginable conditions, hunger, disease, displacement, and instability. Mothers have lost their homes, their families, and risk their lives daily to feed their children.
The stories we heard and the things we saw are heartbreaking, beyond anything you can imagine without witnessing it firsthand. I'm now a direct witness, and I can say the images shown to the world don't even come close to reflecting the cruelty that people there face every day.
We saw people with absolutely nothing, yet the world seems indifferent. But we are all made of the same substance, breathing the same air, loving life the same way.
This indifference is alarming. It tells us that if this happened somewhere else, no one might come to help. One day, it could even be me, it could be anyone. History repeats itself, and unless we revive our core human values, nothing will unite us.
The people of Gaza are holding up a mirror to the international community, revealing its selfishness. I hope the world hears their cry before it's too late.