The American doctor who helped save Senator Tammy Duckworth’s life 20 years ago is now in Gaza, facing grave danger along with other doctors if they attempt to leave the compound where they are trapped.


“We cannot leave. If we leave, it’s basically we were told it’s at our own risk,” Dr. Adam Hamawy, located in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, said via video call. “So if we leave the compound of the hospital, then we become legitimate targets.”


Hamawy reported hearing nighttime airstrikes around the hospital in Gaza while speaking to NBC News. Following the strikes, they await the arrival of casualties.


“We are tired, but we’re still working during the day. We’re doing the best we can with the resources that we have to continue the mission that we’re here for — to take care of the people in Gaza and the injured and the sick,” Hamawy said.


“We’re hoping to be able to go home and be relieved by another team soon,” he added.


Hamawy, from Princeton, New Jersey, is one of 10 American doctors among a team of 19 healthcare professionals from the Palestinian American Medical Association who traveled to Gaza this month to provide assistance at the European Hospital in the Khan Younis area of Gaza.