Hyderabad, July 8 -- Thousands of kilometres away from Hyderabad, amid the rubble of bombed hospitals and the cries of injured children, hope often arrives wearing a doctor's coat.

For Dr Yousufuddin Sheikh, an orthopedic surgeon trained at Deccan Medical College, medicine is not merely a profession - it is a humanitarian mission that transcends borders, politics and religion. Whether it is Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan or Syria, his organisation, the Doctors of Rahman Midland International Aid Trust (DOR-MIAT), has repeatedly stepped into conflict zones to bring relief where suffering is greatest.

Now in India, Dr Yousufuddin is leading another mission - mobilising humanitarian medical aid for the people of war-ravaged Gaza. In a significa...