Colorado pediatrician travels to Gaza Strip to assist children in need

Dr. Barbara Zind of Grand Junction, the daughter of a Muslim and a Jew, went to Gaza to help children. Her timing was unfortunate, arriving just hours before Hamas unleashed a surprise attack on Israel.

When CBS News Colorado asked about her reaction, she said, "I'm astounded by how tragic it is, especially the targeting of civilians, and I fear because we know how Israel retaliates."

Zind went to Gaza as a pediatrician for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. Then the war began. 

"They have been targeting children's hospitals. One of them has been destroyed, which I visited last year," she said.

"The fighting has left many innocents dead or injured on all sides," she continued. "I feel awful. These are my patients, just like those in Grand Junction."

Unable to perform her mission, she witnessed destruction and deprivation. 

"The numbers of children injured from bombs and attacks, then add to it the number of children with chronic diseases that can't get medication," remarked the Colorado doctor.

As the fighting intensified, Zind moved from a hotel to a UN center in southern Gaza and was able to leave last week. 

"You do what you can to be safe, and then you just hope for the best," she said. 

After reaching Cairo, Egypt, she is now back in Grand Junction, while the war she left behind continues.