Israel Is Blocking 11 American Doctors and Nurses From Leaving Gaza
The Israeli government is also preventing another group of health workers from entering the enclave, as thousands of Palestinians seek treatment.
Only days into Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas, 11 American doctors and nurses say the Israeli government is blocking them from leaving Gaza and returning to the United States.
The doctors, who entered Gaza on Jan. 9 with authorization and clearance from the Israeli government, were set to leave the enclave on Wednesday. But Israel denied their planned exit, telling the group they couldn’t leave due to an unspecified “incident” at a security checkpoint, affected doctors and a colleague in the US told Zeteo.
It’s unclear what incident Israel was referring to. COGAT, the Israeli agency that coordinates humanitarian aid entering Gaza, did not immediately answer specific questions about the group. One doctor said the only major incident the group was aware of involved Israeli forces firing on Palestinians returning to their homes in Rafah.
The group, part of the humanitarian organization Rahma, is currently stuck in northern Gaza and was also told by Israel they cannot even move to the south to leave the Strip “due to certain operational considerations that are currently in consideration regarding the activities on these days.”
Shehzad Batliwala, one of the trapped doctors, told Zeteo that many in the group are “needed to provide critical care to US citizens and others back home.”
The doctors and nurses hope they can leave in the coming days. After the delay, Batliwala said Israel initially told the group they wouldn’t be able to leave until next Tuesday, but has since suggested they may be able to leave on Sunday. In any case, the doctors and their advocates said they would remain skeptical until they’ve successfully left Gaza.
Another Team Prevented From Entering
At the same time, the doctors say Israel is also preventing another Rahma team of doctors, who are part of a larger convoy of health workers, from entering Gaza. They were also told that an “incident” occurred near the Kerem Shalom crossing on the Gaza-Israel border, leaving it closed for both entry and exit. They were forced to leave Israel and return to Jordan. It’s unclear if and when they may be allowed to enter.
“Denying entry to humanitarian workers, especially during a ceasefire period, makes no sense given the dire healthcare and humanitarian needs on the ground,” Batliwala said. “As someone currently in Gaza, I can confirm that there are patients urgently awaiting follow-up and surgical intervention, none of which is happening due to these restrictions.”
Dr. Adam Hamawy, a US Army combat surgeon veteran – whom Sen. Tammy Duckworth credits with saving her life after she was wounded two decades ago during the Iraq War – is among the convoy of medical professionals trying to enter Gaza. Hamawy, who was also among a team of doctors temporarily barred from leaving Gaza in May, told Zeteo that Israel has “continued to hinder entry and exit of medical and humanitarian workers since the beginning of this genocide.”
The convoy, led by the UN and Rahma, includes some 50 people. At least 14 are American, Hamawy said.
Test for Trump
Israel's decision to block the groups underscores the fragility of the first phase of a long-awaited ceasefire agreement, the first test for newly-elected President Donald Trump in the region. While the bombs have largely stopped in Gaza, Israeli forces have still continued its killing – particularly in the West Bank. Among the tens of thousands of people Israeli forces have killed, hundreds have been medical workers and volunteers – including American World Central Kitchen worker Jacob Flickinger.
Israel’s actions also renew concerns about the US government’s commitment to ensuring the Israeli government protects Americans in both Gaza and the West Bank. In the last year, the US continued to send billions in US military aid and provide diplomatic cover despite Israel’s actions against US citizens, including the killing of 26-year-old American Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot dead by an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank last September.
The State Department and White House did not respond to a request for comment. Zeteo also reached out to the offices of senators representing the states where the doctors trapped in Gaza hail, including Texas’ Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, California’s Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, Florida’s Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, Colorado’s Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, Ohio’s Bernie Moreno, and Arizona’s Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.
Only Hickenlooper’s office responded, saying they are “in contact with a Colorado doctor in Gaza as well as with the US Embassy.”
Read more of Zeteo’s coverage of the Middle East:
Thank you for covering this. My friend Dr. Mohamed Kuziez thanks you too. I don't know if my message to Prem yesterday helped prompt this, but thank you so much for covering it.
Of course, they are blocking them, holding them like hostages you might say. They don't want them to be able to share what they experienced there from the IDF and the crazy settlers. BIBI's government holds hostages so they can keep the lid on the atrocities they commit daily. DISGUSTING!