[News] Bearing Witness in Gaza: FloodGate Exclusive Interview with Dr. Mimi Syed

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestinechronicle.com
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/bearing-witness-in-gaza-floodgate-exclusive-interview-with-dr-mimi-syed/>
Bearing Witness in Gaza: FloodGate Exclusive Interview with Dr. Mimi SyedJune
2, 2025
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Dr. Mimi Syed in conversation with Romana Rubeo and Dr. Omar Akhtar in the
FloodGate podcast interview. (Design: Palestine Chronicle)

*By Romana Rubeo <https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/romana-rubeo>*


In a searing FloodGate interview, Dr. Mimi Syed recounts the destruction of
Gaza’s health system and the targeting of those who try to save lives.

In the latest episode of the FloodGate podcast, Palestine Chronicle
managing editor Romana Rubeo and Palestinian-American physician Dr. Omar
Akhter spoke with Dr. Mimi Syed, an American board-certified emergency
physician who twice traveled to Gaza in 2024—first in August and then again
in December—to work at Al-Aqsa and Nasser hospitals.

Her testimony is raw and unsparing. Drawing from her experiences on the
ground, Dr. Syed speaks about the total collapse of Gaza’s healthcare
system, the deliberate dehumanization of Palestinians, and the brutal toll
of war and siege on children and families.

 Her voice, both clinical and profoundly human, offers an urgent account of
genocide in motion. But above all, she refuses to be silent. Through her
words, we are reminded of the power of bearing witness.

Here are five major takeaways from the interview:

*Healthcare under Siege*

Gaza’s health system was already under immense strain after years of
blockade and repeated assaults.

What Dr. Syed witnessed in 2024, however, was a deliberate policy of
dismantlement—one that leaves doctors with no tools, patients with no hope,
and hospitals as little more than holding spaces for the dying.

“There were 36 functioning hospitals in Gaza before. Since then, it has
gone down. I mean it’s less than half and those hospitals are not fully
functioning, hey’re partially functioning.”

Even Gaza’s best-equipped facilities are now shells of their former selves,
starved of supplies and isolated from any sustainable support.

“Nasser hospital has something like a CT scan, the only CT scan that’s
functioning in that southern area. They are still lacking things like
gauze, clean water, medication, not even enough pain medication or
sedation,” she said.

*Beyond Injuries*

War is often reduced to casualty numbers, but Dr. Syed makes clear that the
deeper devastation lies in what those numbers obscure: hunger, disease,
grief, and the permanent scarring of a generation.

For Gaza’s children, injury doesn’t end with survival. In most cases, it
begins there.

“When you talk about malnourishment, for example, malnourishment in
prenatal, in women who are pregnant, you’re basically embedding it in the
rest of society for the future.”

She recounted the story of Mira, a child who was saved—but not healed.

“The little girl Mira, who, yes, we saved her life, but what about the
ongoing care? Repeated infection? Her mother sustaining an injury that is
debilitating for the rest of her life?” she said.

*Targeting of Medical and Media Personnel*

Dr. Syed described a reality in Gaza where being a healthcare provider or
journalist doesn’t grant protection—it increases your risk of being killed.

She commented on the tragic Rafah paramedic massacre, where 15 aid workers,
including eight members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, five civil
defense, and one UN agency employee, were killed by Israel last March.

“Each paramedic was shot, I think it was something like 20 times each. That
can’t be crossfire, that’s not a mistake,” Dr. Syed said.

Even more appalling is the sham process that follows such crimes. As she
noted, the very perpetrators are tasked with conducting the investigations.

“It’s unheard of to commit a crime and then to investigate your own crime,
sounds comical,” she noted.

*Free Speech under Threat*

Bearing witness to atrocity comes with a heavy price—not only in Gaza but
in the United States as well. Dr. Syed explained how physicians like
herself are threatened, blacklisted, or punished simply for telling the
truth.

“People like myself and my colleagues are being scared into being silent,
our licenses, our careers, our physical safety.”

However, Dr. Syed said she refuses to comply.

“I will use every energy, every ounce of energy in my body to speak out
against this,” she said, adding: “Shooting children in the head is wrong;
starvation is wrong”.

*Collective Action and Humanization*

At the heart of this interview lies a call to resist the dehumanization of
Palestinians.

For Dr. Syed, this begins with reclaiming their stories, naming the
violence for what it is, and standing visibly in solidarity—even when it
feels small.

“When people go out into the streets and protest, saying that it’s wrong
despite trying to be silenced, it sets the tone for other people to be able
to speak up.”

That solidarity, according to Dr. Syed, has a multiplying effect. But it
also has a purpose: to restore the humanity that colonial violence has
sought to erase.

“When you dehumanize an entire population like that, you can justify
shooting a small child in the head. That’s a true rhetoric. I’ve heard
people say that.”

Dr. Syed reminded that it is not enough to treat wounds; we must also treat
the world’s indifference to Palestinian suffering.

*(The Palestine Chronicle)*


*– Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The
Palestine Chronicle. Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and
academic journals. She holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and
Literature and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation.*
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