American doctors stranded in Gaza are asking for the US to cut off arms shipments to Israel. The physicians described a horrific scene of mass suffering in Rafah caused by the Israeli offensive in the city. President Joe Biden had promised to cut off shipments of some arms to Tel Aviv if Israeli forces attacked Rafah, a city that served as a refuge for over one million displaced Palestinians.
(Article by Kyle Anzalone republished from News.AntiWar.com)
Speaking with the Washington Post, Dr. Adam Hamawy compared the suffering in Gaza to other war zones but said the victims are now children. “Think of the injuries that you see in war, with blood everywhere, with shrapnel that’s supposed to kill soldiers and military personnel and take out tanks and bunkers,” the former Army medic explained. “Now think about that going through a child’s body.”
Illinois State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, who is serving as a representative for the doctors to the federal government, said the doctors want to see an end to US support for the genocide. “We’re doing both things: trying to make sure our government is pushing for basic protections for aid workers and, more globally, trying to stop our government from funding the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” Rashid said.
The State legislator has communicated with Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth. Duckworth claims she is “shaking every tree” to ensure the safe passage of the doctors, and some US outlets have credited Duckworth for now working to save Hamawy’s life. However, Duckworth voted in favor of a recent $17 billion military aid package for Israel, saying “that would help Israel eliminate the threat posed by Hamas.”
Hamawy told the Post he believes American politicians need to witness the results of the destruction wreaked by American-made weapons in Gaza. He described working on multiple children with severe burns and amputations within a few hours. Hamawy said he also recovered the fragments of a Lockheed Martin-made munition at the home of a medical student.
Mahmoud Sabha, a second American doctor stranded in Gaza, wrote in the LA Times the physicians were “shocked by the cruelty” of the Israeli actions. He warned that cutting off the Rafah crossing has not only blocked the flow of aid but new aid workers to replace those rotating out. Sabha reports the health of the American doctors in Gaza is declining.
He also explained that if Israel forces hospitals in Rafah to evacuate, as the IDF has in other regions of Gaza, it will be a death sentence for those who have amputations and serious burns. “If the hospital were abandoned or their families were forced to evacuate, I have no clue how these patients would survive, especially those with amputations restricting their movement.” Sabha added, “I imagine the patients saying a final goodbye to their loved ones.”
While President Biden said he would end some US arms shipments to Israel if Tel Aviv launched an assault on Rafah, nearly two weeks into the operations, Washington has failed to act. On Thursday, Israeli forces pushed into central Rafah, with satellite imagery showing widespread destruction
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