Two Australian doctors working in Gaza have described harrowing scenes inside Al-Shifa Hospital, where relentless Israeli airstrikes and shortages of medical supplies have pushed the enclave’s largest medical facility to collapse.
We’re making this video because we could die at any moment.”
“70–80% of our patients are children and pregnant women.”
“I delivered a beheaded woman who was nine months pregnant.”
“Can someone please stop this terror and horror?”
—Australian doctors, speaking from Gaza pic.twitter.com/MaubDTxu3V
— sarah (@sahouraxo) September 20, 2025
Dr Nada Abu Alrub, a GP from Queensland, and Dr Saya Aziz, an anaesthetist, said they were working under catastrophic conditions as casualties mounted. In a video message shared online, Dr Abu Alrub recounted having to deliver a baby by emergency C-section from a nine-month-pregnant woman who had been killed and decapitated in a bombing. The infant miraculously survived.
“It’s a nightmare,” Dr Abu Alrub said. “We don’t even have painkillers — the only thing available is ketamine. All we can do is try to make people comfortable as they die in front of their families.”
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The doctors said hundreds of patients are treated on the floor due to a lack of beds, soap, gloves, and anaesthetic. Families are forced to bring their injured loved ones on mattresses salvaged from rubble. “Healthcare is not collapsing — it has collapsed,” Dr Aziz said, calling the situation “a stain on our humanity.”
🚨 Australian Doctors in Gaza: “Healthcare Is Not Collapsing — It Has Collapsed”
Dr. Nada Abu Alrub and Dr. Saya Aziz, two Australian doctors volunteering in northern Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, have released a harrowing video describing mass death under relentless bombardment.… https://t.co/nmdytih0OW pic.twitter.com/CaV5hr2Y7Q
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) September 20, 2025
The testimony comes as Israel has intensified its bombardment of Gaza City, ahead of an anticipated ground offensive to seize the densely populated urban center from Hamas, the group it has been fighting since the October 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel. Those attacks killed around 1,200 people and triggered Israel’s ongoing war, which has since killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Al-Shifa Hospital, once the main referral center in Gaza, has repeatedly come under fire and is struggling to cope with mass casualties. Dr Abu Alrub said more than 1,500 people remain trapped under rubble near the hospital, and strikes have hit close to its entrance multiple times in recent days. “We were told we would be given an evacuation order. No evacuation order was given,” she said.
The Human Rights Commission and aid groups have warned that Gaza’s health system has effectively collapsed, with international organizations urging Israel to protect medical facilities under international law. But doctors inside say even hospital staff are fleeing south to protect their families.
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“This is intentional psychological warfare,” Dr Aziz added. “The worst part is it’s all children and women and young families.”
As Israel expands its campaign, the plight of civilians and medical workers in Gaza has sparked growing calls from humanitarian groups and some governments for a ceasefire