Spanish doctor evacuated from Gaza: “There are no bandages or painkillers to heal those injured in the bombings”
In the hospitals that continue to operate in Gaza, Raúl Incertis (Madrid, 41 years old) – the anesthesiologist of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) evacuated from Gaza – recalled this Monday in a virtual meeting with the press that the Doctors and surgeons have left “no bandages or painkillers to treat those injured in the bombings.” Due to the total blockade imposed by Israel, which prevents the access of the fuel that powers the hospital’s generators, health workers are forced to treat the injured not only to treat them without sedatives, but also to decide about the life and death of their patients.
“Doctors carry out triage to decide which patient has the best chance of survival based on the condition of their wounds and their age” by separating them from devices such as ventilators or incubators, the anesthesiologist explained. According to Doctors Without Borders, there are around 25,000 injured in Gaza. “The situation in hospitals is terrible,” added Doctors Without Borders’ medical coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territories, David Cantero, so much so that two days ago “wounds were being disinfected with vinegar.”
Incertis witnessed the “shocking frequency” with which the Israeli army continues to attack displaced Gazans in the southern half of the enclave. “In one night, I think October 26-27, more than 65% of the deaths in Gaza occurred in the south. I wonder if they told us to go south because what they are bombing is the south,” the anesthesiologist said.
Both Incertis and Cantero recalled that more than 300 Gazans working for the medical organization are still in Gaza. “At MSF we continue to call for a permanent, immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. “This killing, this bloodbath must stop,” demanded the organization’s representative in Palestine, who described the Israeli military offensive as “unimaginable collective punishment.”