Medical students and nurses in Gaza are now performing life-saving surgeries amid a collapsed healthcare system caused by Israeli strikes and aid blockades.

Gaza’s healthcare system, shattered by over two years of Israeli military operations, has forced medical students like Eman Eyad and nurse Islam Abu Assar to assume frontline roles as senior doctors have been killed, displaced, or exhausted. Despite repeated Israeli strikes on hospitals like al-Shifa—targeted in October 2023 and March 2024, with claims of a Hamas command center that human rights groups say lack credible evidence—students continue performing surgeries and treating patients under dire conditions, lacking formal training. With medical supplies scarce and blockades restricting aid, trainees and staff endure extreme trauma, personal losses, and exhaustion while sustaining care in a collapsing system, according to international reports accusing Israel of deliberately targeting health facilities.