As an obstetrician and gynecologist from Gaza, I have encountered many difficult situations and terrifying stories during my work in the emergency department at al-Shifa medical complex over the past eight months.

The hospital was a refuge for thousands of displaced people, with tattered tents everywhere, bodies piled up in the corridors, and medical staff working under immense pressure.

After an exhausting 36-hour shift, I would go “home” to what was actually my grandmother’s house, not far from the complex. I had been displaced there early in Israel’s attack, but it seemed a rational place to go since I believed its proximity to my place of work made it safe.

Al-Shifa is – was – the largest medical center in the Gaza Strip and the largest shelter for displaced people. I thought it would be impossible for war crimes to be committed inside it.

Yes, other medical workers and I had naive beliefs regarding the Israeli occupation’s threats to us…..more