Israel Hamas War: US Evacuates 17 American Doctors From War-Torn Gaza, 3 Still Stuck

Source: India News, Breaking News, Entertainment News | India.com

New Delhi: Israel and Palestine have been at war for almost eight months now and the destruction and loss of life being caused by this war is heart breaking. It all started when 5000 rockets were fired on Israel from Gaza, by the terrorist organisation Hamas on October 7, 2023. Since then, the Israel Palestine Conflict turned into a full-fledged Israel Hamas War - thousands have lost their lives, so many are still held hostage and a lot of people from other countries have also been facing the effects of war they have nothing to do with. A lot of people are stuck in the war-torn area because the Israel borders were shut and these people also include doctors from the United States, who were stuck in Gaza, after the Israel borders were closed. In a latest development, 17 of these American doctors have been evacuated with the help of the US Embassy.

As mentioned earlier, seventeen of the 20 American doctors who were stuck in Gaza after Israel shut the border crossing from Rafah to Egypt have safely departed the enclave, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday. "They're out. There was 20 American doctors, 17 are out now, came out today. And all 17, they wanted to, they wanted to leave -- I won't speak for the other three, but just, I can assure you that any of them that wanted to leave are out now," Kirby said.

The Americans who made their way out did so with the support of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, said a State Department spokesperson. "We have been in close contact with the groups that these US doctors are part of, and we have been in contact with the families of these US citizens," the spokesperson added. The Embassy team travelled to Kerem Shalom crossing to receive the doctors at the border, the source added, without providing details about how the doctors travelled to the border crossing.

CNN reported, citing that the three American doctors who opted not to depart Gaza did so understanding that the US Embassy may not be able to facilitate their departure in the same manner, the source familiar said. They added that it "was an extremely unique operation." CNN reported that the aid organizations will face challenges getting doctors back into Gaza following the departure of 17 of the 20 American doctors who were stuck there after Israel shut the border crossing from Rafah to Egypt.

One of the doctors who decided to stay behind is Dr. Adam Hamawy, who helped save Sen. Tammy Duckworth's life 20 years ago in Iraq, according to a source familiar with the matter. Hamawy travelled to Gaza with the Palestinian American Medical Association and did not feel right leaving without other doctors coming in to take over, CNN reported citing source. Many members of Congress, including Duckworth, are working with the Biden administration to push Israel to do more to get aid and humanitarian workers into Gaza, and to get the protections needed for those workers. Earlier this week, a top USAID official said that Israel was not doing enough to ensure the safety of aid works.

"The deconfliction measures are not where they need to be yet, given the complexity of the environment. So those conversations are ongoing, they need to continue and they need to get to a place where humanitarian aid workers feel safe and secure and able to operate safely. And I don't think we're there yet," said Sonali Korde, assistant to the administrator of USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, noting that Gaza is a "very dangerous place to work."