American Nurse: "My heart is in Gaza. It will stay in Gaza."


CNN's Anderson Cooper speaks with Emily Callahan, an American nurse with Doctors Without Borders, who gives a harrowing description of what she witnessed in Gaza as she was attempting to get out of the area.

Excerpts:

"They have no supplies. They also have no food and water. They are also sleeping outside on the concrete and did it in such a beautiful way that they were able to talk them down with love and kindness."

"There was no violence in their heart and it calmed everyone around them down as well."

Would you go back to Gaza?

"In a heartbeat? In an absolute heartbeat. My heart is in Gaza. It will stay in Gaza."

"The Palestinian people that I worked with both our national staff in the office as well as my staff at Indonesia Hospital were some of the most incredible people I've ever met in my life."

"Whenever a thing went off and we got the notice to move south of Wadi, Gaza, I was texting my my nurses at Indonesia Hospital and I said, we we lost a nurse weekend one."

"He was killed when the ambulance outside the hospital was blown up and I was texting them when we got the evacuation orders and I said, Did any of you move south? Did any of you get out or any of you coming down this way?"

"And the only answer I got was, this is our community. This is our family, these are our friends. If they're going to kill us, we're going to die saving as many people as we can. And I said, If I can ever have an ounce of the heart that you have, I will I will die a happy person."

"They were incredible. I would like to send out a reminder that there are civilians seeking shelter there and that my doctors and nurses didn't leave out of loyalty to their community. And I know that there is an idea being pushed right now that anyone that stayed behind is going to be considered some kind of a threat."

"And I want to remind people that the people that stayed behind [are] our heroes, the people that stayed behind, as they know they're going to die and they're choosing to stay behind anyway.

About Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)

More than 2.2 million people are currently trapped in Gaza, where heavy Israeli bombardment and indiscriminate attacks have turned a chronic humanitarian crisis into a catastrophe. With dwindling supplies of safe food, clean water, and health services, and without adequate shelter, children and adults, including the elderly, face a heightened risk of disease. Hospitals are overwhelmed and barely functioning at this stage.

READ MORE: How MSF is responding to the Israel-Gaza war


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