Dr. Dia'a Daoud said he was haunted by his first trip to Gaza in March of 2024.
The emergency physician from the Orlando area was on a volunteer medical mission coordinated by the U.N.'s World Health Organization.
At the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis, where he was stationed, Daoud said he treated infants and children with scant resources.
He described suturing up a head injury on a young boy, who recited passages from the Quran to endure the pain, since there wasn't enough anesthesia.
Nurses rotated shifts for three days straight, manually ventilating a patient, he said.
On one of the days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Daoud said he tried to resuscitate a 6-month-old child.
"We do not have beds, we do not have ventilators to rescue him," he recounts his colleagues telling him.
"I just held his hand and looked at him. What did this child do to humanity? What did this child do to deserve that?" said Daoud.
He was one of many patients Daoud couldn't save.
In those three weeks, Daoud said he witnessed "horror stories" no one should have to see. But he also came to know the patients and their families who had nowhere else to go but the emergency room.
Daoud returned home to Florida. And, more than a year later, the European Hospital was hit by airstrikes the Israeli army said were targeting a Hamas command control center below.
Few hospitals remained in Gaza at that point, none of which were fully functioning. International medical staff also faced increasing barriers to enter the Gaza strip.
"So I asked myself, 'Should I go again?,' " Daoud said, remembering the desperate conditions he worked in before. "You help 100 people [and] 1,000 more is going to come with the same exact injuries ... people screaming left and right without medications."
About 2 million Palestinians in Gaza relied largely on outside aid and were at risk of famine due to the blockade imposed by Israel. In August, a group of international organizations declared famine for the first time in Gaza for more than half a million people.
Israel's siege was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 and took 251 hostages.
Since then, more than 67,000 Palestinians were killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.
"I realized that I'm going to an area that has no supplies, an area that has been besieged for two years," said Daoud.
For that reason, he decided to join a group of health care workers, journalists and activists on what's known as the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of boats aimed at bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea.
The grassroots movement started in 2006. Attempts to reach Gaza have mostly been intercepted by Israeli forces, including a recent fleet carrying European lawmakers and Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
The last time flotillas made it to Gaza was in 2008.
The initiative isn't affiliated with any government or political party. Participants, who come from various countries, believe the movement brings attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Daoud said it was also a way of letting Palestinians know they aren't forgotten.
"We still remember you. The world hasn't forgotten about you. If all of the governments have forgotten about you, we haven't," said Daoud.
On Sept. 30, his fleet set sail on the nearly 1,000-mile journey across the Mediterranean Sea from Otranto, Italy, to Gaza. On board were 2,000 pounds of medical supplies and other types of aid.
On Oct. 8, Daoud said Israeli forces took control of the ship and detained those on board.
"Every single one on that ship was ready to die," he said.
The flotilla passengers were taken to the Port of Ashdod, where they were told to kneel with their heads down for hours, Daoud said.
They were eventually taken to the Ktzi'ot Prison in the Negev Desert, where he said he and others were interrogated.
"They zip-tied us, blindfolded us, and had us go onto a bus with sub-zero temperatures," said Daoud, "I eventually passed out from the extreme temperature."
For three days, Daoud said soldiers cursed at them and played sounds of gunfire through speakers to keep them awake.
During their detention, a ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S. was struck between Israel and Hamas. On Saturday, Daoud and those with him were freed.
"We were crying because we had hope," said Daoud, "The amount of torture that we had is nothing compared to what the Palestinians are enduring every single day."
The Turkish government secured their release, and Daoud was able to fly home, landing in Miami.
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While the ceasefire deal brings some relief, Daoud said there's a long road ahead.
"Starting a ceasefire is not really the whole plan. Making sure that everybody continues to work on this ceasefire is what we want," said Daoud.
As for returning to Gaza, Daoud said he hopes to soon, although he believes there are risks after being held by the Israeli military.
