Palestinians, supporters in Chicago condemn hospital attack and student suppression — CAIR-Chicago

Currently, I have three uncles, who are my mother’s brothers, (who) are living in the north of Gaza. Unfortunately, now with the loss of food, water, and medicine, they are suffering.

Many of my cousins in Gaza are inflicted with kidney disease, liver disease, eye infections, and finding medicine is nearly impossible. When found, the medicine is extremely expensive. Food and water is extremely difficult to find,” Rajaa Alrayyes told The Final Call.

William Asfour is also Palestinian and resides in Chicago. He explained that his family has suffered tremendously even before October 7, 2023. “There has been a blockade of aid to Gaza since June 2007. Israel has not allowed basic necessities into the area.

Israeli military has occupied Gaza since 1967. I have lost several family members because of the occupation. My grandfather died as a result of the blockade.

He had diabetes, and because the Israeli government cut off the water, food, electricity, and medicine, my grandfather did not have access to what he needed, and he passed away. There are many people that I will never see again because of the genocide,” he said.

Since October 2023, according to Chicago-based neurologist Dr. Gulrana Syed, Israel has conducted over 1,000 strikes against Gaza’s healthcare facilities. “We are calling on our politicians and healthcare institutions to condemn the bombings of hospitals which is illegal under international and humanitarian laws,” said Dr. Syed.

During the news conference, Dr. Syed represented her friend and Chicago native, Dr. Tammy Abughnaim, who is inside of Nasser Hospital in Gaza.

Dr. Abughnaim, posted an audio message on Instagram from Nasser Hospital, stating, “From 2:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m. almost nonstop, there were bombings. My original intention was to train doctors in ultrasound, however, things changed when the surgical ward of the hospital was bombed this morning.

We ran outside and saw that the second floor of the hospital was on fire and immediately ran back inside to the emergency department because we felt like there might be a second strike.

“We started preparing to receive casualties from the second floor, two people were killed. I saw a few others with minor injuries. I don’t think I can adequately describe what that felt like,” said Dr. Abughnaim.

According to Al Jazeera, Nasser Hospital is the largest in Southern Gaza and the March 23 attack hit the surgical building. “Like other medical facilities across Gaza, Nasser Hospital has suffered damage from Israeli raids and air attacks throughout the conflict,” Al Jazeera reported.

Shawntell Muhammad can be contacted at organicallybalanced@gmail.com.