#602 - Gaza Doctor (Aziz Rahman, MD)

Firsthand Medical Mission Gaza Account From Nasser Hospital

This episode shares a vivid, on-the-ground account from Dr. Aziz Rahman, an interventional radiologist who spent two weeks working at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza. He describes daily life inside one of the last functioning tertiary hospitals, the incoming waves of trauma patients, and the operational realities of providing emergency care under bombardment and severe shortages.

How Doctors Enter Gaza: Jordanian And Israeli Checkpoints And Logistics

Medical teams travel via Amman, Jordan, and face a layered approval process that includes Jordanian checkpoints, extensive Israeli vetting, and final clearance at Gaza entry points. Acceptance can change at the last minute, meaning clinicians may fly to Jordan without guaranteed entry. Travel time is often extended by hours of checkpoint processing, turning what might be a three-hour trip into a 14–16 hour ordeal.

Selection And On-site Sleeping Arrangements

Small international teams share a doctors’ lounge and call rooms within the hospital. International clinicians sleep on the hospital’s upper floors with local staff providing simple meals. Because international journalists are largely barred, visiting clinicians become crucial witnesses, offering firsthand medical testimony to outside media and colleagues.

Patterns Of Injuries And Mass Casualty Incident Response

The hospital frequently faces mass casualty incidents (MCIs) bringing hundreds of patients in hours. Two injury patterns dominate: accurate head-and-neck gunshot wounds and blast/shrapnel injuries from explosions. Pediatric trauma is common and devastating. Triage zones used in the ER include green (minor), yellow (moderate), red (critical) and black (expected to die); resource scarcity forces heart-wrenching decisions about ventilator allocation and prioritization.

Resource Constraints And Clinical Workarounds

Facilities experience chronic shortages of blood, ventilators, medications, anesthesia, and surgical supplies. Teams practice extreme improvisation—providers act across roles, performing nursing tasks or basic procedures when necessary. Neonatal and pediatric units suffer from formula shortages and malnutrition-related complications, and the hospital is treating textbook-level infectious and nutritional illnesses seldom seen in well-resourced settings.

Humanitarian Aid And The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Controversy

The episode explores how aid distribution and control shape outcomes: a new mechanism called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has faced criticism for militarized logistics, lack of UN coordination, and transparency problems. Aid lines are dangerous; civilians waiting for food have been killed while queuing. Local markets are hyperinflated, and gangs with alleged external support have been accused of looting and resale, further complicating access to basic food and medicine.

Emotional Toll, Psychological Trauma, And Public Health Consequences

Repeated exposure to mass death, brain injuries, and pediatric trauma exacts a deep psychological toll on local clinicians and visiting staff. Many Gazans display profound trauma, some appearing numb after multiple losses. Long-term public health effects include malnutrition, developmental harm in children, respiratory illnesses from burning furniture for fuel, and generational psychiatric trauma comparable in scale to other large historical atrocities.

What Listeners Can Do And Medical Community Recommendations

• Amplify verified reports: Share credible clinician testimonies and documented medical data.
• Support established medical relief groups: Advocate for UN-led humanitarian channels and vetted health NGOs.
• Pressure policymakers: Encourage diplomatic and logistical solutions that allow unfettered delivery of food, medications, and supplies.

Dr. Rahman’s description combines moments of devastating loss with small triumphs: the life rescued after cardiac tamponade relief, and the warm gratitude of families. Those testimonies make the medical and human stakes impossible to abstract—this is a clinical crisis and a humanitarian emergency with long-term consequences for an entire generation.

Key takeaways: medical workers are uniquely positioned to report what they see; Gaza’s health system is collapsing under sustained attack and supply restrictions; and immediate, coordinated humanitarian actions focused on food, fuel, medicines, and pediatric nutrition are essential to prevent irreversible public-health decline.