Canadian paediatric intensive care doctor Tanya Haj-Hassan describes dying children and grieving parents as a fact of her work, but adds: "But Gaza is that continuously," wiping away a tear. She is one of several doctors featured in Daniele Rugo's documentary Life Support, which chronicles their medical missions to Gaza since October 2023. The film is a quietly devastating account of hell on earth, made almost unbearable by the doctors' measured testimonies and video diary clips.
Doctors as Independent Witnesses
Israel does not allow foreign reporters into Gaza unless under military escort, making medics valuable independent witnesses. Gastrointestinal surgeon Nick Maynard, who has visited Gaza since 2010, says he has always seen destruction, but after October 2023, it was on a different scale. On his first night, ER doctor James Smith tried to count the number of explosions and lost track after several hundred. Reconstructive surgeon Victoria Rose arrived with 23 suitcases after appealing to UK plastic surgeons for supplies; on a later visit, she was permitted to cross the border with just one.
Heroism of Palestinian Colleagues
All the doctors pay tribute to the extraordinary heroism of their Palestinian colleagues, who work marathon shifts while often grieving personal losses. Maynard describes a Palestinian surgeon taking sitting-down breaks during an operation to avoid blacking out from hunger. Another Palestinian doctor brings her teenage children to work, reasoning that if they die, they will die together.
Targeting of Medical Infrastructure
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as command centres and to hide weapons – a charge Hamas denies. The doctors in the film talk about the targeting of medical infrastructure: Gaza's only cancer hospital destroyed, an IVF clinic gone with all its embryos. The film is hard to watch but impossible to look away from. Life Support is in UK cinemas from 10 July.
