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'We Cannot Remain Silent About What We Saw.' US Doctors Who Volunteered In Gaza Demand Ceasefire In Letter To White House
By Sahar Akbarzai, CNN
(CNN) — A group of 45 American physicians and nurses who volunteered in hospitals across Gaza have sent an open letter to US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris sharing their experiences and demanding an immediate ceasefire and arms embargo.
The signatories unanimously described treating children who had suffered injuries they believed must have been deliberately inflicted. "Specifically, every one of us on a daily basis treated pre-teen children who were shot in the head and chest," they wrote.
"We wish you could see the nightmares that plague so many of us since we have returned: dreams of children maimed and mutilated by our weapons, and their inconsolable mothers begging us to save them. We wish you could hear the cries and screams our consciences will not let us forget."
Many in the group have public health backgrounds and experiences volunteering in other conflict zones such as Ukraine and Iraq, according to the letter. "We believe we are well positioned to comment on the massive human toll from Israel's attack on Gaza, especially the toll it has taken on women and children," reads the letter posted to X on Thursday by Dr. Feroze Sidwa, who spearheaded the writing of the letter with the other physicians.
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The doctors and nurses' letter calls on the Biden administration to participate in an arms embargo of both Israel and all Palestinian armed groups, and to withhold military, diplomatic, and economic support to Israel until a permanent and immediate ceasefire is achieved. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
It comes at a critical time for the White House, as it urges the Israelis to accept a ceasefire agreement. Biden met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, a day after the Israeli leader addressed the US Congress about the conflict. Sources told CNN the president was expected to be as forceful as he has ever been in pushing Netanyahu to agree to a deal.
"We believe our government is obligated to do this, both under American law and International Humanitarian Law, and that it is the right thing to do," the letter said.
The 'only independent monitors' in Gaza
Dr. Adam Hamawy, a US plastic surgeon and former US Army combat trauma surgeon, told CNN on Thursday, "there's no one getting firsthand accounts other than physicians. We feel like we have to speak out because…we're witnesses to this.
"In Gaza, there's no independent monitor," he said. "If you're not going to believe the Palestinians, then you should believe 50 doctors who've gone there at different times and places."
Apart from Palestinian journalists living in Gaza, there has been no media access to the enclave since October 7, with a few exceptions of entry under official escort.
Hamawy signed the letter to recount what he saw with his own eyes. "We all saw a complete devastation of a society, of people's lives, of health care structure," he said.
Hamawy has worked as a surgeon in Sarajevo, in New York City on 9/11, and in Iraq, where he performed life-saving surgery on US Senator Tammy Duckworth in 2004 after her helicopter was hit by an RPG. But he said those experiences in other conflict zones were not comparable to what he had witnessed in Gaza, adding that 90% of those he had seen killed there were women and children.
Hamawy worked at the European Gaza hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis in May of this year where he performed about 115 reconstructive surgeries and treated mostly children under 14 years old. He worked on amputations, burns, and gunshot wounds to the face, he said.
The surgeon alleges that a gunshot wound on the face of one of his patients, a male teenager, most likely came from an M16 or sniper rifle because the wound was a small entrance wound. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on this allegation.
Another patient was a little boy who picked up what he thought was a can of tuna to bring back to his family in Rafah, Hamawy recalled. But the metal object was in fact an unexploded cluster bomb, according to Hamawy, who said that after opening it in front of his family, the child lost his left arm, both his legs, and three fingers on his right arm.
'No kid gets shot twice by a sniper by mistake'
Dr. Mark Perlmutter, a Jewish American orthopedic hand surgeon from North Carolina and president of the World Surgical Association, told CNN that he decided to go to Gaza after receiving photographs of an X-ray of a poorly performed surgery in the battered enclave.
The photos were sent to him by a first-year medical resident who had been forced to perform the surgery and requested Perlmutter's expertise. When Perlmutter asked why senior surgeons hadn't done the operation, the resident explained that they had been killed in a bombing.
Perlmutter told CNN that during his trip, he saw significant violence inflicted on children, who accounted for around 90% of those attending the emergency room while he was working at the European Gaza Hospital.
Describing a hospital overrun, Perlmutter said after every bombing, he would find injured children laid across the floor, their loved ones panicking and crying.
"Some are dead, some will die in front of you, and some you can save. You try to save the ones you can save," Perlmutter said.
He recalled two patients aged around six years old, who had suffered gunshots to their heads and chests – wounds which suggested they had been deliberately targeted, he said.
"No kid gets shot twice by a sniper by mistake," Perlmutter said, adding that the shots were "dead center" to their chests.
CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on these allegations.
As Perlmutter tried to treat the children with head injuries, he said, their "brains poured out" in his hands, in what he described as a personally traumatic moment.
In signing the letter, Perlmutter told CNN that he hopes "the average American can feel the pain we feel on a daily basis. They'll never see what we saw but they should feel what we saw."
'Everyone in Gaza is sick, injured, or both'
Launched in response to Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on October 7 which killed at least 1,200 people, Israel's monthlong military offensive in Gaza has left more than 39,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Gazan Health Ministry. The letter's signatories estimate that the true toll of the war could be in excess of 92,000, if it included deaths from starvation or disease and bodies still buried under the rubble.
Last week the World Health Organization said the polio virus had been found in sewage samples, putting thousands of Palestinians at risk of contracting a disease that can cause paralysis.
For months, the health care system in Gaza has been collapsing under relentless Israeli airstrikes, power outages and a shortage of medical supplies, according to the United Nations and previous CNN reporting.
Under such conditions, the American medical workers warned that epidemics could lead to the deaths of tens of thousands more children. The displacement of people to areas with no running water or toilets "is virtually guaranteed to result in widespread death from viral and bacterial diarrheal diseases and pneumonias, particularly in children under the age of five," the letter said.
"Everyone in Gaza is sick, injured, or both," with few exceptions, their letter said. "We are not politicians. We do not claim to have all the answers. We are simply physicians and nurses who cannot remain silent about what we saw in Gaza." the letter said.
Reporting contributed by Tala Alrajjal, Sam Fossum and Eugenia Ugrinovich.
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Rapid City Man Pleads Not Guilty To Raping A Child
A Rapid City man is facing life in prison after being charged with rape of a child.
Charles Johnston pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree rape, one count of attempted first-degree rape, one count of sexual contact with a child under 16 years of age, and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor at the Pennington County Courthouse Thursday.
The state alleged Johnston had attempted to rape a 13-year-old between Jan. 1, 2017 and Sept. 14, 2023; he eventually raped the victim.
In the state of South Dakota, rape in the first-degree, a class C felony, has a maximum sentence of life in prison with a minimum of 15 years and a $50,000 fine.
Judge Matthew Brown clarified attempted first-degree rape is half of a class two felony with a maximum sentence of twelve-and-a-half years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Sexual contact with a child under 16 is a class three felony with a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 15 years in prison along with a $30,000 fine. The maximum penalty for sexual exploitation of a minor, a class six felony, is two years in prison and a $4,000 fine.
Johnston faces up to life in prison and a $213,000 fine if found guilty on all counts. The next bond hearing is Aug. 22 at 2:30 p.M.
The Democrats Lied. I'd Rather Dance With The Devil Then Vote For Biden.
I'd rather dance with the devil then vote BidenThe left has been caught perpetuating what might be the biggest fraud in political history. Now that they can no longer cover for Joe Biden's true physical and mental condition, they want him gone.
But these are the same people who have assured us Biden is "fine." These are the same people who told us that Biden was "vibrant, energetic" and "hard to keep up with."
In November 2019, former Vice President Joe Biden leaves the Providence home of Sally Lapides and her husband, Arthur Solomon, longtime Democratic supporters, while raising money for his presidential campaign.
Those were lies.
We now know Biden is not capable of being president and has not been capable for some time. Yet he is the left's candidate.
Of course that begs the question: what else do we not know about? What other lies are being perpetuated by the current administration?
Given the smoke that exists in our current political and world environment, I bet the number of lies is frightening. Power is an addictive and dangerous drug.
Both presidential candidates are unworthy. One is a hyperbolic jerk who regularly twists the truth. The other has engaged in a stealthy fraud supported by an entire administration and party.
So how does one choose? I suggest it is better to dance with the devil, you know.
William Kloss, Dublin
Letter to the editor: Donald Trump preaches hate. Democracy won't be safe in his deceitful hands
Vance brings billions to the Trump tableHow can U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance help Donald Trump reclaim the White House?
Vance is a newbie on the political scene and doesn't bring along any of the usually desired voting blocs. However, Vance brings to the ticket one essential constituency in Trump's eyes: billionaires, and specifically one billionaire, Peter Thiel.
Thiel, a conservative libertarian, contributed $15 million to Vance's Senate campaign. Trump wants access to Thiel's money and Thiel wants access to the White House.
'A night of hope': JD Vance accepts GOP vice president nomination. Read his RNC speech.
Once again, Trump shows that his government can be bought.
Tom Baillieul, Columbus
Trump's MAGA agenda built on liesShould I be worried about the future of our democracy? Absolutely!
There is an existential threat coming from MAGA Republicans (Donald Trump, the wannabe autocrat, a convicted felon, 2020 election denier, etc., supported by a host of sycophants) and Project 2025.
The "unity" agenda promoted at the GOP convention appeals to the MAGA base and sounds great, but it is a distraction from reality; Examine the details.
The remaining two-thirds of the electorate will discover the actual plan behind the GOP agenda will ban abortions, extend tax cuts for the wealthy, cut Social Security and Medicare, reverse DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) progress and generally, hold back progress of average Americans.
Trump is unfit to be president, period.
He denies losing in 2020, and his rhetoric about his past presidency (the economy, employment) is total lies. He blocked a bipartisan immigration bill and now makes comments about immigration problems that are pure rubbish.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration's many accomplishments include healthcare, wage increases outpacing inflation, equity markets roaring and falling violent crime rate.
The 2024 election will establish our democracy when the voters consider Biden's truth and stability instead of the lies of his unqualified opponent.
Mike McGrew, Bexley
The vitriol is really stupidI am truly amazed; well, maybe not, regarding how stupid some people can be especially concerning their vitriol of former President Donald Trump.
As Forrest Gump said, "Stupid is as stupid does."
Curt A. Reph, Plain City
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Trump is the devil I know. At least he's not a liar like Joe Biden.
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