The tales of my medical students, by Dr Jehad Hammad

The tragic tales of four dreams shattered by the ongoing barbaric Israeli war on Gaza

Maysara Alrayes, a promising young doctor, graduated from Gaza’s Medical School and earned a Chevening scholarship for a Master’s degree in Health Administration at King’s College London. Upon returning to work for Doctors of the World in Gaza, he, along with six members of his family, was killed by Israeli missiles that destroyed their home in the city. Despite his brothers’ determined efforts to rescue them, they too fell victim to an Israeli airstrike.

The second story is Dr. Ahmad Shatat, a 30-year-old emergency medicine registrar at Alshifa Hospital. He and his wife, Dr. Doaa Shamoot, were building a peaceful life with their one-year-old daughter. Tragically, during the third week of the war, Israeli bombardment claimed the lives of his wife and child, shattering their dreamful home forever.

The third story is Dr. Alaa Alaqad, a newly graduated doctor engaged to Ibtihal Alastal, a soon-to-graduate medical student. Their plans for post-marriage training in the UK were abruptly halted when Israeli airstrikes in the second week of the war killed Ibtihal, her entire family, and destroyed their home, burying their dreams under the rubble.

The fourth story is Ezzaldein Allolo, a fifth-year medical student known for his talent as a painter and humanitarian work. He was elected as the humanitarian ambassador of the European Union. He volunteered in Alshifa Hospital during the war, enduring the harsh siege imposed by the Israeli army. During the siege of the hospital they were forced drink the normal saline so they would not die of thirst. Tragically, he received news of the death of 21 family members and relatives in an Israeli bombardment of their home. His mother was fortunately rescued with moderate injuries. In the midst of the moral desert the world is living in, the term “lucky” now signifies saving just one family member from the bombardment.

Maysara Alrayes, Ahmad Shabat, Alaa Alaqad, and Ezzaldein Allolo represent merely four stories out of the two million in Gaza, each telling a tale of heartbreaking loss and shattered dreams.

 

By Dr Jehad Hammad

Former Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine

The Islamic University of Gaza.

Gaza, Palestine

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