Palestinian woman rescued from rubble as Gaza hospitals struggle under Israeli airstrikes

People attempt to rescue Palestinian woman, Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, August 20, 2025.
Reuters

A 23-year-old Palestinian woman, Saja Hamad, was rescued from the rubble of her home in Nuseirat, central Gaza, after it was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday.

Hamad was treated for multiple injuries at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Video footage verified by metadata shows her trapped under debris while rescuers worked to clear the rubble.

“I just found myself under the rubble, everything (fell) over my face, debris. I was screaming calling for my family, I thought they were dead,” Hamad described the moment.

“I did not expect they would still be alive. I thought I will end up alone,” she added, weeping as she recounted the ordeal at the hospital.

Her sister, Saada Hamad, described the attack and its aftermath: “Suddenly, the girl (Saja) started screaming, people came, and the civil defence came to rescue her. She was injured, her pelvis was fractured and her head was stitched.”

Saada also highlighted the repeated displacement of her family, “We have no houses left, no furniture, nothing. This is the 14th time I’ve been displaced, I have no strength left. Even if the Israelis come in, I am not leaving. I want to die in my place.”

Hospitals in Gaza are stretched to breaking point, struggling to treat casualties from ongoing airstrikes while also coping with high rates of child malnutrition.

According to the World Health Organization, only 19 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain operational, providing just 2,000 beds for more than 2 million people.

“Continued hostilities and military presence inhibit patients from accessing care, obstruct staff from providing care, and prevent WHO and partners from resupplying hospitals,” WHO said. Medical staff face impossible conditions, handling multiple mass casualty incidents each day while trying to deliver urgent care.

"Hospitals in Gaza are handling up to eight mass casualty incidents per day, and children suffering from malnutrition are particularly vulnerable," United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in its Gaza Situation Report in July 2025.

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