“Right now, eating fried eggs is like going to a fivestar restaurant,” said a Gaza resident who lived in Brazil for 16 years
Six thousand bombs in a week. This is the dramatic situation of the two million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. There, thousands have been forced to flee their homes to protect themselves from the bombing, and supplies of food, fuel and medicine are running low.
There is not a minute’s peace between bombings Red crescent, the Red Cross of Muslim Countries. And even if the rescue operations are successful, the insecurity in the hospital remains. In order to understand the real situation of medical care in the region, the Fantastic spoke to doctors working on the front lines.
Abdelkader Hammad is a surgeon living in England and staying in Gaza. He had a kidney transplant the day before the conflict broke out, but the operation had to be postponed. “We had to cancel everything and these patients need dialysis. But now, because of the airstrikes, it is very difficult to get hospital treatment. It’s heartbreaking,” he says.
1 of 3 Abdelkader Hammad traveled to Gaza to undergo a kidney transplant Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction Abdelkader Hammad traveled to Gaza to undergo a kidney transplant Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction
His colleagues asked him not to go to the hospital anymore to stay protected.
“They tell me the situation is terrible. Injured children remain in the hallways. Operating rooms were divided to accommodate more surgeries. Anesthetics, antibiotics, dialysis drugs… everything is running out. And energy only from generators,” he explains.
2 out of 3 doctors report injured children in hospital corridors in Gaza. — Photo: TV Glogo/Reproduction Doctors report injured children in the corridors of hospitals in Gaza. — Photo: TV Glogo/Reproduction
Plastic surgeon Ghassan AbuSittah also lives in the UK but is the son of Palestinian refugees. As soon as the war began, he went to Gaza before the border with Egypt was closed. “I knew the consequences for the people here would be catastrophic,” Reports.
3 of 3 Ghassan AbuSittah went to Gaza to help treat the injured. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction Ghassan AbuSittah traveled to Gaza to help treat the injured. — Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction
“The largest hospital in Gaza has become a refugee camp. People will seek shelter there and look for a place that they think is safe,” reports Ghassan.
Last Thursday (12), the doctor traveled from the region’s largest hospital, Al Shifa, to Al Awda Hospital, where Médecins Sans Frontières works.
“I was riding in an ambulance that was returning here after taking a patient there. On the way I saw rows of destroyed houses,” he explains.
The lack of electricity is another tragedy facing the population of Gaza. The only power plant stopped operating on Wednesday and the region now relies on solar energy and dieselpowered generators.
“Do you hear that noise behind me? They’re the hospital’s generators. We had our last operation and soon everything will be shut down to save diesel. The water comes from tankers. And as you hear, everything around us is bombed,” reports surgeon Ghassan.
Because he had worked so much in Gaza, the doctor specialized in war situations. He says what stands out among the most recent cases is the affected family.
“I reconstructed the face of a sixyearold girl at AlShifa Hospital. She was saved. But her mother and sister died when their house was hit. Her mother and father are doctors at the hospital. The father is traveling. “In the best case scenario, this girl will undergo many more facial operations over the course of her life,” he reports.
The latest news from the conflict this Sunday (15) suggests that Dr. Ghassan continues to conduct operations, but with fewer resources each day. Hammad is now in a UN shelter and has no plans to leave.
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