Two North Texas doctors will depart from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport this weekend on an international medical mission to Gaza.
Dr. Hina Cheema, a Dallas-based obstetrician-gynecologist, says she traveled to Gaza two years ago but admits she will likely be unrecognizable after ongoing heavy fighting between Israel and Hamas since October.
“They don’t have basic medicines,” Dr Cheema said. “They are running out. There are no medical supplies coming in in the required quantities.”
Shima will be one of eight American health care workers heading to Gaza, who will volunteer with MedGlobal, an international humanitarian organization that provides medical support.
She packed all the medical supplies she would need for the two-week mission, because she added that these supplies were not expected to be readily available at any remaining medical facility in Gaza.
Her departure comes as The United States began dropping food aid pallets via C-130 cargo planes into Gaza on saturday. It is enough for 38,000 meals for a population facing widespread malnutrition, especially among children.
“I feel like everyone I meet and talk to is trying their best to do everything they can,” Cheema said.
Shima says her best shot now is to talk about the medical mission to continue raising awareness of the scale of the unfolding humanitarian crisis, even if it means staying in a war zone, far from her family, for the next three weeks.
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