A cohort of 168 Palestinian doctors have received their advanced medical certifications in Gaza amid the rubble of what was once the Palestinian territory\u2019s largest hospital.<\/p>\n
The graduation took place in front of the destroyed facade of the al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City on Thursday. It was a symbolic act of resilience as the doctors, calling themselves the \u201cHumanity Cohort\u201d, completed their Palestinian Board certifications under extraordinary circumstances after two years of Israel\u2019s war.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n The graduates had studied and sat for examinations while working nonstop inside Gaza\u2019s hospitals during two years of starvation, displacement and genocide. Some were also injured, arrested or had family members killed.<\/p>\n Gaza Health Ministry official Youssef Abu al-Reish described the ceremony as graduation from \u201cthe womb of suffering, under bombardment, among rubble and rivers of blood\u201d.<\/p>\n Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, al-Shifa\u2019s medical director, said Israel sought to destroy Palestine\u2019s human capital throughout its attacks on healthcare facilities, \u201cbut it failed in that\u201d.<\/p>\n Dr Ahmed Basil, one of the graduates, said earning advanced degrees in the most difficult of times inside a destroyed building sent a message that Palestinians love life and remain committed to scientific advancement.<\/p>\n The ceremony included empty chairs displaying photographs of healthcare workers killed during the war.<\/p>\n Al-Shifa Medical Complex has been repeatedly targeted since Israel\u2019s genocidal war began in October 2023.<\/p>\n The facility was invaded twice, first in November 2023, when Abu Salmiya himself was arrested and detained for seven months, and again in March 2024, when the complex suffered catastrophic destruction.<\/p>\n A World Health Organization assessment conducted in early April 2024 found the hospital had been reduced to what WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described<\/a> as \u201can empty shell with human graves\u201d.<\/p>\n The hospital has since been partially renovated but still largely lies in ruins.<\/p>\n The destruction of al-Shifa exemplifies a broader systematic campaign against Gaza\u2019s healthcare system.<\/p>\n Of the territory\u2019s 36 hospitals, only 18 remain even partially functional<\/a> as of mid-December, with all but three field hospitals operating under severe limitations. More than 18,500 critically ill patients, including 4,000 children, require medical evacuation that remains largely inaccessible.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
![\"Gaza](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AA-20251225-40075753-40075731-GRADUATION_CEREMONY_HELD_FOR_170_DOCTORS_IN_GAZA-1766735890.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C548&quality=80\")
\u2018An empty shell with human graves\u2019<\/h2>\n
Hospitals attacked, medics killed<\/h2>\n