AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org.

To talk more about Gaza, we’re joined now by Sandra Adler Killen, an emergency and pediatric nurse, an international board-certified lactation consultant. She just returned from a medical mission to Gaza. She was at Nasser Hospital and Al-Aqsa Hospital. It was her third humanitarian relief trip to Gaza.

Thank you so much for being with us. What did you find in the midst of this total siege, total blockade? How is it affecting the children? How is it affecting the pregnant women and the mothers who have just given birth?

SANDRA ADLER KILLEN: Yeah, so, thank you, Amy, again. I’m so happy to be here with you, and I’m so grateful for the words that were just shared in the last segment. And it was my birthday yesterday, and I can’t celebrate, either, after having been there and seeing what all my colleagues are going through, what the people of Gaza are going through.

We have this horrific trifecta of starvation, of lack of medicine and supplies, and bombings, that are dramatically impacting the lives of new mothers and newborns. We see incredible increase in malnutrition levels. I was embedded at Al-Aqsa and Nasser hospitals and seeing, walking down the halls — I was living there during the time that I was there, and seeing the gaunt faces of people, whether they were celebrating the birth of their new babies, new life, whether — you know, the family members that were there, they had nothing to share, nothing to celebrate, and yet here they were, wanting to rejoice in this new life, and not knowing what will happen in the future. So many children.

When I was there the first time, a year ago, I never, ever imagined, a year later, not only after seeing the horrors that I saw a year ago, and thinking, “Well, there’s going to be a ceasefire. Things will end. Things will get better. This can’t go on. The world will not let this go on,” but yet this annihilation is not only continuing, but the levels that I saw with my own eyes, it’s just — there are no more words to use — “unbearable,” “horrific,” “indescribable.”

You know, people can’t obtain any kind of care, because, number one, it’s not safe to travel to the hospital. There’s no ability for individuals to get prenatal care, if it’s too dangerous to travel. They have no money, no access to get there. Babies are being born in tents, first-time mothers, with nobody around to help. And these babies are dying of starvation, babies being brought into the hospital that I witnessed that were not survivable because of all of the blockades, because of the impacts of the bombings and the drone attacks and the inaccessibility. And then you have these incredible high levels of anemia, birth defects. I mean, I can go on and on — increase in amount of premature babies that I saw, so many premature babies not surviving, no room in the neonatal intensive care in one of the largest functioning hospitals now in Gaza.

So, for me to have returned a year from my first visit and seeing what my colleagues, what these amazing human beings are doing there in terms of showing up every day without pay, having been displaced, having family members of their own having been killed, and yet they show up every day, and with lack of food, lack of resources, and incredible capability and compassion and strength and love, it was such an honor, such a gift for me to be able to be there. And I will return, if possible.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Sandra, we only have about a minute, but I wanted to ask you — Israel is not only blockading food and supplies, but also the medical providers coming into Gaza. Could you talk about how difficult it is to get in?

SANDRA ADLER KILLEN: Yeah, correct. So many members have been banned, international, particularly doctors, nurses trying to support the teams there, whether dealing with mass casualties, like I did the first time I was there, and my focus on infant feeding and nutrition this time. It’s truly almost impossible to get team members in. I think 30 to 40% are being denied, after they’ve been approved by WHO. And so, for us, seeing — you know, there were just a handful of us at Nasser Hospital now. We’re the only compassionate witnesses. Because press are not allowed, media is not allowed in, we’re the only international individuals that can witness the true, the true level of what is transpiring there.

AMY GOODMAN: Sandra Adler Killen, we want to thank you so much for being with us, emergency and pediatric nurse, international board-certified lactation consultant, just back from Gaza.

That does it for our show. Special thanks to Kevin Rabinovich. Democracy Now! is produced with Mike Burke, Renée Feltz, Deena Guzder, Messiah Rhodes, Nermeen Shaikh, María Taracena, Tami Woronoff, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton. You can see our interviews with Mosab Abu Toha at democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.