LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Next, we have one doctor's experience of Gaza. In about a minute, you'll hear a graphic account of what he witnessed. Mihir Chaudhary is an American trauma surgeon. He recently volunteered at one of Gaza's last functioning medical facilities, Nasser Hospital. His five-week stay was marked by intense violence, then the start of the ceasefire, when Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange for hostages.
MIHIR CHAUDHARY: I was there during a very particular arc of the genocide, I think, and got to experience a range of emotions with Palestinians in Gaza.
FADEL: And you call it a genocide. I know that's something Israel and the U.S. deny, but it's something international human rights groups, top genocide scholars say is happening in Gaza. Why do you call it that?
CHAUDHARY: Yeah. I'll be honest with you, Leila. I think it was clear that every life-affirming structure that existed prior to Israel's attacks in Gaza had been either completely destroyed or rendered unfunctional.
FADEL: Dr. Chaudhary saw the results of that destruction in the lives and bodies of his patients. He shared detailed allegations with us of violence, starvation and torture.
CHAUDHARY: Every age - men, women, elderly, children - were being attacked in very grotesque ways. You know, I saw many, many children who were shot through the head, shot through the abdomen, the chest. It was very clear to me what was being done by the Israeli military in Gaza.
FADEL: Now, you examined patients on your last day who had been held by Israel and were returned to Gaza as part of this ceasefire deal. What did you see when you examined them?
CHAUDHARY: Every single Palestinian captive that I saw - I saw around 40 of them total. Every single one had signs of very advanced malnutrition - even more advanced malnutrition than some of the patients I'd been seeing in Gaza, actually. Completely wasted away. There was very little muscle mass left, very little strength even in being able to walk over to the examining table. Each one had scabies infection, which is, like, a skin infection that occurs in very overcrowded jail and prison environments. They reported to me that they were forced to drink toilet water. They were given kind of the minimum amount of food to survive, maybe around one meal a day. And as it got closer to their release, they reported increasing levels of physical attacks and abuse.
FADEL: Did you see signs of that on their bodies?
CHAUDHARY: I did, actually. Yeah. On examining them, I felt, like, rib cages that were chronically deformed from fractures. I saw one young Palestinian whose right arm was completely deformed from an attack and a intentional breaking of his arm. I saw areas where patients had had prior surgeries or wounds that they reported were intentionally targeted for attack to maximize kind of suffering and pain.
FADEL: They're saying the prison guards were doing this to them?
CHAUDHARY: The prison guards were doing this, yes. Yes. Two patients had fresh wounds that they told me were from gunshots that were done to them by the Israeli guards that were not treated - that were kind of in a state of chronic infection from poor treatment.
FADEL: And what else did they say about their treatment?
CHAUDHARY: A common story was that their wrists would be bound, and they would be forced to crouch naked in groups for very extended periods of time. Many of them reported chronic back pain and musculoskeletal issues after those things were done to them.
FADEL: Does any one patient in particular stick with you from your time in Gaza?
CHAUDHARY: Yes, actually. I remember one older Palestinian man. He reported to me that he had been held, also without charge, you know, in Israeli prison for over two years and that he experienced frequent beatings. But he had this kind of faith or belief that no matter what Gaza will go through at the hands of Israel, that there will still be liberation and justice. One thing which I feel like was definitely true of my experience in Gaza was an incredible strength that emanates from the spirituality and faith of the people in Gaza, and I definitely felt it in that man's story.
FADEL: Dr. Mihir Chaudhary, a trauma surgeon who is back from Gaza after treating patients at Nasser Hospital with the nonprofit Glia. Thank you so much for speaking with us.
CHAUDHARY: Thank you so much, Leila.
FADEL: We reached out to the Israeli military with what Dr. Chaudhary said he witnessed as he examined the released detainees. The military said that any abuse of detainees violates the law and is strictly prohibited, that detainees get regular medical exams, appropriate care, three meals a day and constant access to water. And, quote, "detainees are not forced to remain in a crouching position."
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