At least 168 Palestinian doctors have completed their advanced medical training in Gaza amid an ongoing genocide, graduating among the ruins of what was once the largest hospital in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The graduation ceremony was held on Thursday before the shattered remains of the al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City.
The event stood as a stark symbol of endurance, as the doctors, who named themselves the “Humanity Cohort,” successfully earned their Palestinian Board certifications despite the devastation wrought by nearly two years of Israel’s genocidal war.
Throughout this period, the graduates continued their studies and examinations while simultaneously working inside Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals, enduring prolonged starvation, repeated displacement, and relentless violence.
As part of the ceremony, empty chairs were placed at the site, each bearing photographs of healthcare workers who were killed during the genocidal war.
Gaza Health Ministry official Youssef Abu al-Reish described the moment as a graduation from “the womb of suffering, under bombardment, among rubble and rivers of blood,” according to Al Jazeera.
One of the graduates, Dr Ahmed Basil, told Al Jazeera that achieving advanced qualifications under such extreme conditions, inside a destroyed structure, conveyed a clear message, that Palestinians cherish life and remain steadfast in their commitment to scientific progress.
Al-Shifa Medical Complex has been repeatedly targeted since Israel launched its genocidal war in October 2023. The hospital was first raided in November that year, during which its medical director, Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, was arrested and detained for seven months. A second assault followed in March 2024, leaving the complex almost entirely devastated.
Out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, only 18 are still partially operational as of mid-December, while all but three field hospitals are functioning under severe constraints. More than 18,500 critically ill patients, including around 4,000 children, are in urgent need of medical evacuation, a process that remains largely out of reach.
The WHO Health Cluster has recorded 825 attacks on healthcare facilities since October 2023. These assaults have resulted in the deaths of 985 people and injuries to nearly 2,000 others.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israeli strikes over the past two years have killed 1,722 healthcare workers across Gaza.
