When Doctors Without Borders assigned Dr. Hung Shang-Kai to the Gaza Strip, his mission was to optimize the local emergency system. His work there came to a premature end, however, after the Israeli-Palestinian war erupted and he was forced to return to Taiwan. This book is his diary of that period, from two days before his arrival in Gaza to the two days after he left (July 9 to November 3, 2023).

Before Dr. Hung entered Gaza from Israel through the Erez crossing, he read books and watched videos to better understand Gaza’s historical and cultural background. While working and living there, he found that on most days the conditions were not as dangerous or stressful as he had imagined. In addition to his interactions with work colleagues and patients, his diary records aspects of daily life seldom mentioned in the news, such as the rolling blackouts that limited the availability of electricity to only eight to twelve hours a day. The lack of electricity and shortage of medicines greatly restricted the local medical services that could be provided.

After the sudden escalation of events on October 7, many doctors in northern Gaza, including Dr. Hung, continued to do their best amidst the chaos and explosions. A few days later, however, Doctors Without Borders was compelled to ask their international members to evacuate to the Rafah crossing point in the south as the organization continued to carry out humanitarian relief. In his diary, Dr. Hung recorded a detailed account of the cruel reality he witnessed over the next three weeks, as well as his feelings of fear and helplessness.

After his return to Taiwan, Dr. Hung published what he saw, heard, and felt, hoping to call attention to Gaza’s civilian victims – his book is not only a humanitarian appeal, but also conveys the suffering in Gaza that is now part of his own experience.