Foreign doctors blocked, baby formula denied: 'Israel' strangles Gaza
3 Min Read
Foreign doctors bringing hope to Gaza’s wounded were barred from entry, while even baby formula was blocked at the border, leaving families and children to endure an ever-deepening humanitarian nightmare.
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An undated image of Dr. Mimi Syed while treating a severely wounded Palestinian child amid the Israeli genocide in Gaza (@Memers1st / X)
"Israel" has barred two foreign physicians, one American and one French, from entering the Gaza Strip, following direct orders from the Shin Bet security agency, Haaretz reported.
Dr. Mimi Syed from the United States and Dr. Catherine Le Scolin-Quere from France were scheduled to return to Gaza on Thursday to volunteer in local hospitals. However, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli body 'overseeing humanitarian operations', informed them only hours before their planned crossing that they would not be allowed entry.
Israel has just denied Dr. Mimi Syed (@Memers1st) entry into Gaza for a medical mission, despite two prior volunteer trips. She says barring foreign medical workers is part of a larger Israeli campaign of "systematic and deliberate destruction of the healthcare system." pic.twitter.com/M7ICffwWkX
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) August 21, 2025
Syed had previously volunteered in Gaza twice during the ongoing Israeli genocide, in August and December 2024, while Le Scolin-Quere joined her during the December visit. Both were part of a mission organized by an American charity deploying US doctors to crisis zones worldwide.
"I had 18 documented cases of children that came in with gunshots to the head, neck, abdomen, chest"
— Eva Karene Bartlett (@EvaKBartlett) July 6, 2025
Thank you Dr. Mimi Syed, @Memers1st, for sharing what you saw in Gaza under Israeli genocide & for going to Gaza.
Dr. Mimi Syed is an American emergency doctor who has twice… pic.twitter.com/D9XNv3ABiy
The two had flown from their home countries to Jordan, from where they intended to cross into occupied Palestine and proceed to Gaza. Instead, on Wednesday evening, they were told their permits had been revoked. A nurse accompanying them was granted entry approval but chose to return home, saying there was no point in going alone.
The doctor believes media criticism prompted ban
After leaving Gaza in December, Syed gave interviews to several international media outlets in which she condemned the Israeli military’s conduct. She recounted being forced to pronounce dozens of children dead after they were shot or struck by airstrikes.
"I think the greatest thing I learned in Gaza is that it's impossible to ignore the truth," she told Haaretz. "After you see what's happening there, it becomes very simple to distinguish between good and bad."
In Gaza, "living conditions are just deplorable. They are not compatible with human life," says Dr. Mimi Syed. Syed is an emergency medicine physician who found every child patient had chronic diarrhea from drinking untreated water, leading to extreme rates of organ failure. pic.twitter.com/ZsdjxKAAcp
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) December 31, 2024
On Thursday, Syed said she believes her public criticism played a key role in the decision to deny her re-entry.
My dear @trklou, even if God himself came down and verified this xray to be authentic, there would naysayers. I have also fought this fight with my little Mira whom I treated when I was in Gaza who had a bullet lodged in her head. When I showed the CT image to the world, I was… pic.twitter.com/qPvYXS9afc
— Dr. Mimi Syed (@Memers1st) July 2, 2025
"They don't let journalists enter, and they kill the Gazan journalists who are there, so the doctors who come there reveal the truth to the world," she said. "But they don't want us to tell about what is happening in Gaza, especially now, when they're planning to invade Gaza City."
Aid convoy turned away as brutal Israeli blockade tightens
The doctors’ expulsion coincided with another obstruction of humanitarian relief. On Wednesday, a truck carrying baby formula for Gaza was turned back at a border crossing. The driver was informed that the vehicle could not pass because it was an open truck rather than an enclosed one, a rule that organizers said had never been previously enforced.
In a similar vein, the United Nations confirmed that it continues to face obstacles in bringing food, fuel, medical supplies, and personnel into the enclave. Of the 79 aid requests submitted last week, only 45 were fully approved and carried out.
The UN has repeatedly warned that malnutrition remains a serious concern, with cases continuing to rise amid an unbalanced diet.
Read more: Italian doctors refute Israeli coverup of Palestinian woman's death
