American Doctor documentary shows Gaza hospitals under fire

"American Doctor," a documentary about three American doctors working in Gaza hospitals during Israel's military response to the October 2023 Hamas attack, is due to open in select US theaters on Aug. 21 after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.

Director Poh Si Teng's film focuses on orthopedic surgeon Mark Perlmutter, emergency physician Thaer Ahmad and surgeon Feroze Sidhwa. Teng said the documentary does not try to explain the rights and wrongs of the conflict, but instead concentrates on what the doctors saw in Gaza hospitals.

The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,221 people. Israel's military response has killed more than 73,300 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, whose figures the United Nations considers reliable.

Israel acknowledges it has intentionally hit medical facilities, but says it is targeting Hamas fighters using tunnels underneath hospitals. The three doctors in the documentary said they did not see tunnels in any of the hospitals where they worked in Gaza.

The film also includes a section on missiles striking first responders treating patients after a bombing at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Teng said she had to balance showing the scale of suffering with avoiding gratuitous images.