This volunteer doctor arrived in Gaza during the ceasefire. On Tuesday, the war began again

Yasmine Hassan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 23, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

It was astir 2 oregon 2:30 successful the greeting erstwhile Dr. Feroze Sidhwa was startled retired of slumber by the sound of the doorway to his surviving quarters smashing into the closet down it. It was March 18 and Israel had resumed its bombing run successful Gaza, bringing a forceful extremity to the ceasefire agreement.

The 43-year-old is presently connected his 2nd unpaid travel to Gaza, moving astatine the Nasser Medical Complex successful Khan Younis. He entered the territory connected March 6, erstwhile the sounds of warfare were silenced.

But soon, the all-too-familiar sounds of chaos and explosions filled the air, and Sidhwa was plunged into yet different wide casualty event. 

"On the greeting of the 18th, things changed beauteous dramatically," helium told CBC News successful a video telephone connected Thursday. "But I expected the onslaught to resume successful afloat unit portion I was present truthful it wasn't precisely a surprise." 

The ceasefire went into effect connected Jan. 19, a three-phased woody that included hostage and captive releases portion delaying talks connected Gaza's aboriginal to a adjacent signifier of the truce.

WATCH | Israel resumes airstrikes, crushed attacks: 

The archetypal phase, a 42-day play chiefly focused connected hostage releases, expired connected March 1 without statement connected a 2nd phase.

On March 18, Israel resumed its bombing campaign, resulting successful astir 600 dead, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and leaving the archetypal signifier of the ceasefire successful shambles.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this was "just the beginning" arsenic Israel launched a crushed penetration to enactment unit connected Hamas to merchandise each remaining hostages. 

Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon based in California, says helium and his colleagues were astatine the exigency country astatine Nasser wrong 15 minutes of being woken up and helium was seeing patients 10 minutes aft that.

He was successful his archetypal country of the time an hr later. 

Shrapnel injuries

He says 1 of the archetypal things helium had to bash that time was explicate to a begetter that his girl would not past her injuries. 

"There was this three-year-old miss with aggregate shrapnel injuries to her look and head, agonal breathing [signifying that oxygen is not getting to the brain] and a precise anemic pulse," helium said. "Even though she was technically not dormant yet, she was going to dice and determination was thing we could bash astir it." 

The infirmary saw betwixt 250 and 300 radical that day, of which "40 oregon 50 per cent were women and children," he said.

All the injuries helium saw were from shrapnel, helium said.

"Very tiny but precise almighty shrapnel that is penetrating people's bodies, posing injuries to their hearts, their lungs, their abdomen and their brain." 

He says helium participated successful six operations connected Tuesday during the archetypal question of surgeries — 3 children, 2 women and 1 middle-aged man.

He said the continuous bombing run lasted from 3 to 5 hours portion helium was attending to patients. "Once you commencement working, you truly get mislaid successful that." 

Hundreds of deaths, injuries

In a connection to CBC News, Doctors Without Borders said its teams responded to an "influx" of patients successful confederate and cardinal Gaza connected Tuesday. 

At Nasser, wherever Sidhwa is based, the squad received 55 dormant and 113 injured, the connection said. A tract infirmary successful the metropolis of Deir al Balah received 10 injured; astatine the city's Al Aqsa Hospital, aesculapian workers received 20 dormant and 68 injured patients. 

Sidhwa says surgical operations stopped successful the day aft aesculapian teams yet gained immoderate semblance of power implicit the exigency room. 

Gazan radical "cannot spend specified unit and devastation to commencement again," and a sustained ceasefire is needed, said the Doctors Without Borders statement. The enactment besides called connected Israel to let assistance and basal goods into the territory.

Tom Fletcher, a elder United Nations official, said successful a briefing to the UN Security Council that the organization's "worst fears materialized" with the resumption of hostilities successful Gaza.

It besides returned "abject fear" to the radical successful the territory, helium added.

Uneasy astir ain safety

The warfare was sparked aft a Hamas-led onslaught connected Oct. 7, 2023, killed astir 1,200 radical and took immoderate 250 others captive, according to Israeli tallies. 

Israel responded with a subject run successful which much than 49,000 Palestinians person been killed, according to Gaza health officials. Thousands much are feared inactive buried and uncounted nether the rubble.

But portion the ceasefire brought immoderate comparative calm to the portion portion it lasted, the effects of the warfare could beryllium seen some wrong and extracurricular the hospital. 

While helium spends overmuch of his clip successful the hospital, Sidhwa says helium hasn't ventured retired into the neighbourhood since Tuesday, "for evident reasons." 

But earlier the attacks, helium spent clip observing the apocalyptic country of the streets and buildings of Khan Younis. 

"Every gathering is damaged successful immoderate way, each azygous one," helium said.

"Some of them are pancaked, immoderate of them... the floors person conscionable each collapsed connected each other, immoderate person the beforehand shorn off," helium said. 

While helium wasn't amazed by the resumption of the war, Sidhwa said being a unpaid medic successful Gaza does marque him consciousness uneasy astir his safety.

"It's hard to unreal [the explosions] don't frighten you," helium said, "but if 1 wants to enactment successful the Gaza Strip, 1 indispensable judge that the Israelis tin termination you astatine immoderate moment."