The "Humanity Cohort" of 168 Palestinian doctors received Palestinian Board certifications in a graduation staged before the ruined al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City. The physicians trained and took exams while working through two years of war, shortages and repeated attacks on hospitals. The event highlighted both professional resilience and the wider devastation to Gaza's health system, where many hospitals are non-functional and thousands of patients need evacuation.
168 Palestinian Doctors Receive Board Certifications Amid Ruins of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital
Palestinian doctors who lost their lives in Israeli attacks were commemorated during the graduation ceremony held at al-Shifa Hospital [Saeed M M T Jaras/Anadolu Agency]
In a powerful act of defiance and dedication, 168 Palestinian doctors received their advanced Palestinian Board certifications in front of the ruined facade of al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City. The ceremony, staged amid rubble and damaged infrastructure, highlighted both the doctors' resilience and the dire state of Gaza's healthcare system after two years of intense conflict.
Ceremony of Resilience
Calling themselves the “Humanity Cohort,” the newly certified physicians completed rigorous training and examinations while continuing to work in Gaza’s hospitals under extreme conditions — including shortages of supplies, displacement, and repeated attacks on medical facilities. Many graduates reported having been injured, detained, or having lost family members during the war.
“This is a graduation from the womb of suffering, under bombardment, among rubble and rivers of blood,” said Gaza Health Ministry official Youssef Abu al-Reish.
Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, al-Shifa’s medical director, said the attacks aimed to destroy Palestine’s human capital but had failed. Dr Ahmed Basil, one of the graduates, described earning advanced degrees in a ruined building as a message that Palestinians remain committed to life and scientific progress.
Al-Shifa: Damage and Context
Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Gaza’s largest hospital, has been repeatedly targeted since the conflict escalated in October 2023. The facility was invaded in November 2023 — during which Dr Abu Salmiya was arrested and later detained for seven months — and again in March 2024, when it suffered catastrophic destruction.
An early April 2024 World Health Organization assessment described al-Shifa as what WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called “an empty shell with human graves.” Although parts of the complex have been partially renovated, much of the facility remains in ruins.
Impact Across Gaza’s Health System
Observers and rights bodies say the destruction at al-Shifa exemplifies a broader, systematic campaign against Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure. Of the territory's 36 hospitals, only 18 were at least partially functional as of mid-December, and most field hospitals operate under severe limitations. More than 18,500 critically ill patients — including roughly 4,000 children — require medical evacuation that remains largely inaccessible.
The WHO Health Cluster has documented 825 attacks on health facilities since October 2023, reporting 985 people killed and approximately 2,000 injured in those incidents. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 1,722 healthcare workers have been killed and 306 detained during the two-year period; at least five healthcare workers are reported to have died while in detention. Reports about released detainees and returned bodies have in some cases indicated signs of torture and abuse.
Rights Bodies and Allegations
The UN Human Rights Office has described a recurring pattern in operations against hospitals: initial air strikes and shelling, followed by ground sieges that prevent access, raids using heavy machinery, mass detentions of staff and patients, forced evacuations, and withdrawal that leaves facilities non-functional. Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq has characterized the campaign as the systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system.
Human Toll
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 70,942 Palestinians have been killed and 171,195 injured since 7 October 2023. Since the ceasefire announced in October of this year, the ministry reports 406 people killed, 1,118 injured, and an additional 653 bodies recovered from under rubble, noting that violations continue.
The graduation at al-Shifa — with empty chairs bearing photographs of healthcare workers killed in the war — served both as a memorial and a statement: despite profound loss and damage to facilities, Gaza’s medical professionals continue to train, certify and care for patients under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
