17 of 20 U.S. doctors stuck in Gaza depart with the help of American officials, source says
Seventeen of 20 U.S. doctors stuck in Gaza have departed, with the physician known for saving Sen.
Seventeen of 20 U.S. doctors stuck in Gaza have departed, with the physician known for saving Sen. Tammy Duckworth's life staying behind, a source familiar with the situation said.
The 17 humanitarian aid volunteers were received by U.S. officials at the Kerem Shalom Crossing at the Israel border, the source said, after the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem helped to facilitate their safe passage.
Dr. Adam Hamawy, credited with saving the life of Duckworth, D-Ill., when she served in the Iraq War 20 years ago, was among three U.S. doctors who stayed behind, the source said.
The departures came after the doctors were all but trapped in Gaza by Israel's closure of border crossings ahead of an expected full-scale Israeli invasion of the city of Rafah. Israeli officials said earlier in the week they had reopened the Kerem Shalom Crossing, crucial to humanitarian aid.
Dr. Ammar Ghanem, an ICU specialist from Detroit who went to Gaza to volunteer his services, said earlier in the day that a group of American medical volunteers left Gaza on Friday through the crossing. It appears those 17 doctors composed this group.
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