Senator Tammy Duckworth is trying to get doctor who saved her life in Iraq out of Gaza
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US Senator Tammy Duckworth is trying to get a surgeon she said saved her life out of Gaza as aid workers remain trapped in the embattled enclave.
The Illinois Democrat told NBC News that Dr Adam Hamawy gave her critical care while she was wounded during the conflict in Iraq. The former National Guard member lost both legs and partial use of her right arm after a rocket-propelled grenade hit her helicopter in 2004.
Now she says that the doctor and other aid workers with the Palestinian American Medical Association are stuck in Gaza now that Israel has closed the region’s Rafah crossing.
Speaking to The Independent, Ms Duckworth said that she’s spoken with the Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog and the Department of State on the matter.
“We’re trying to get this particular group’s names on the priority list so that they can get through the crossing and try to arrange a safe passage for them,” she said at the US Capitol.
Dr Hamawy traveled to Gaza earlier this month with a team of 19 healthcare professionals from the medical association to provide emergency care at the European Hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis region.
The mission was conducted under the umbrella of the World Health Organization, the medical association wrote in a news release. Ten out of the 19 members are US citizens, while other members are from Jordan, Egypt and Australia.
The organization is asking President Joe Biden’s administration to get them out of Gaza.
“We at PAMA urge the US government, President Biden, the US State Department and all official bodies to bring our American doctors and nurses back to their families,” the statement read.
Ms Duckworth said that even as the doctor’s group is trying to get out of Gaza, another is trying to get in with more medical supplies.
“This is an ongoing humanitarian crisis that we’re trying to address,” she said.
A representative for the Biden Administration told NBC News that they are working to get the group out of Gaza and are monitoring the situation.
“We continue to work to see if we can get them out, but not going to have more to share at this moment, will let you know if that changes though,” the source told the outlet.
