American doctors trapped in Gaza begin evacuation, including NJ pharmacist and surgeon

Five Americans — including a New Jersey pharmacist who missed her daughter's college graduation — who had been trapped in Gaza after Israel sealed borders preventing their crossing, departed the besieged conflict zone early Friday. They were part of a medical team that went to the war zone to provide emergency medical care.

More: New Jersey pharmacist, doctor trapped in Gaza may be able to evacuate

Ghada Abukuwaik, from Totowa, said they left at about 6 a.m. local time, reaching the U.S. Embassy about four hours later. Other American doctors on the team were expected to follow, but it was not clear when they would be able to leave.

The 19-member team entered Gaza on May 1 and has been stuck there since Israel seized and closed the border crossing into Egypt, cutting off access to humanitarian aid and medical crews.

The team includes 10 Americans, including Dr. Adam Hamawy, a Princeton resident who saved the life of Sen. Tammy Duckworth in 2004 in Iraq, where he served as a combat trauma surgeon in the U.S. Army. Other medical professionals come from countries including Australia and Jordan.

Abukuwaik, CEO of CureMed Pharmacy, said the whole team should be allowed to leave, not just Americans. "The way we left is not the way we should leave," she said. "We came as a team."

She and others are also deeply worried, Abukuwaik said, because Israel has said it will not permit a team of replacement aid workers to enter Gaza. The team has been waiting in Cairo.

"What about the other people?" Abukuwaik asked. "We're just going to leave them this way? All the supplies and medication we brought with us, it's almost done, so what are they going to do?"

The medical team traveled to Gaza with the Palestinian American Medical Association under the umbrella of the World Health Organization. Another medical team, from the Texas-based nonprofit FAJR Scientific, also was trapped when borders were sealed. Dr. Mossab Nasser, CEO of FAJR Scientific, said his team also evacuated Friday.

The team is staying in Israel until it can coordinate travel home through Ben Gurion International Airport back to the United States, the State Department told the office of Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, on Friday.

Pascrell, among other state and federal officials, had pressured Israeli leaders to allow the team to depart.

'A million times worse'

The medical workers said they were shocked by the destruction, frequent bombings and lack of basic medical supplies, including anesthesia, wound care and blood.

“The reality is very different from the shots you see on TV. It’s a million times worse,” Nasser said in an interview with British TV host Piers Morgan, describing what looked like a place where a hurricane, earthquake and tsunami had all hit. “While looking at the destroyed buildings, I kept asking myself: How can you create and make such destruction in such a record time?”

His team of 12 Americans, three Britons, one Egyptian and one Omani had to flee their safe houses twice due to bombings. "The level of terror at night at night was unbearable," he said.

In an interview Thursday, Abukuwaik recalled “heartbreaking” cases, including a 10-year-old boy brought to the hospital whose family had been killed and who suffered burns on 70% of his body. He died three days later.

Another time, an orphaned boy, age 8, came looking for insulin for his 5-year-old brother, but they had none.

“You don’t have resources,” she said. “You don’t have medical equipment. You don’t have the right medication. Many medications are out of stock. Even though we brought with us many things, it went fast.”

One of the biggest needs, she said, is staff. Local staffing has been depleted, especially in recent days, as many in Rafah are evacuating with their families.

In a video posted on the Palestinian American Medical Association social media pages, Hamawy described seeing a “constant stream of injured civilians” and feeling the hospital shake from repeated bombings.

“This is a scale of destruction I have never seen before,” said Hamawy, who runs a plastic surgery business in Princeton. “I’ve been in wars. I have seen combat injuries and natural disaster, but not to this scale.”

Hamawy, in the video posted online, also urged the international community to help end the war.

“Call your congressman,” he said. “Call the newspapers. Petition. If you are a doctor, come here. Everyone has a skill and ability. Give money to organizations like PAMA or any organization sending aid or people here to Gaza. You cannot just sit idly by and deny what is clearly happening before our eyes.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ pharmacist, surgeon among Americans evacuating Gaza