From Gaza to Kyiv, a Palestinian doctor lives between two wars

Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — In Ukraine, he is Alya Shabaanovich Gali. He’s a doctor with lines of patients waiting for him. To family in Gaza, he is Alaa Shabaan Abu Ghali. He’s the one who left. Gali moved decades ago. He went to medical school in Kyiv and married a Ukranian woman. Through calls, he kept up with family in Gaza. But mostly, their lives played out in parallel. On July 8, wars collided for Gali. Weeks after learning of relatives’ deaths in Gaza, the medical center where he works was hit by a missile. He tried to help as patients and colleagues died around him. He says it was surreal, and he’ll remain in Ukraine, living between two wars and feeling the weight of his family’s pain in Gaza.