A Palestinian-American doctor is back in the Bay Area after spending more than a month in Gaza, treating patients.
Dr. Mohammad Subeh reunited with his family and friends after he landed at San Francisco International Airport Friday afternoon.
“Me and the boys ran, we just hugged him. I started crying, I think its all the emotion from the past five weeks,” said Naiema Din, Subeh’s wife.
Minutes after reuniting with his family, Subeh spoke about some of what he experienced while in Gaza.
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“A large group of patients would come in all at once, 60, 70 after a missile strike and you really have to go through the process of color coding them,” he said. “Is this a person who is dead? Someone who’s expected to die and so you should really focus your energies and resources on them? Is this someone who is critically ill who you could potentially save?”
Two weeks ago, NBC Bay Area spoke with Din and her children. While on the phone with Din, Subeh was telling her about two boys he had gotten to know.
“It was one of the hardest things to say goodbye to them because I literally spent every day with them, we fly kites right before sunset,” Subeh said.
Subeh and his family are now looking forward to spending time with each other.
“It’s Ramadan. So, I like having the early and late meals with him, we like to get Boba,” said Ahmad Subeh, Mohammad’s son.
It’s something they don’t take for granted. But Subeh is also thinking about the people in Gaza.
“It’s sad at the same time remembering that right now as we speak in this time, a child has been killed in Gaza and I am not there to help resuscitate that child,” he said.
Subeh said a permanent ceasefire is needed and he and his family now are hoping to continue to raise awareness about what he witnesses overseas.
“Every child that is killed, that is a human being that lost their life, unjustly,” he said.
