As two more hospitals were closed down as a result of Israel’s relentless bombardment of the enclave, an Australian doctor at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital claims she has lost count of how many amputations she has had to have performed.
“I initially believed I’d never seen anything like this, but over the next few days I’ve seen… more,” I said. An anaesthesiologist named Dr. Saya Aziz told Al Jazeera, “I have lost count of the number of amputations I’ve had.
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When we take these patients into the [operation] theatre, they are alive, they are bleeding to death, she said, noting how prevalent are dangling toes and flesh and people with missing limbs in the recess of the hospital.
Dr. Aziz, who recently joined the barely functional medical facility, claims that the hospital fills up with large numbers of patients as soon as hospital staff members hear a huge bomb.
You’ll hear the screaming, screaming, and chaos of family members arriving with patients, she said.
The doctor added that Israel has halted entry of medical supplies into Gaza while the hospital’s operating room is also in a sordid state with flies all over.
“Everything is just soiled,” he declared. We have no gauze, no dust, and no gun powder to wash the patients with. I would like to have some towels to use this. I can’t wash them with any liquids. I can’t give them any pain relief. Aziz said, “My heart breaks.
Healthcare harmed by Israeli attacks
Al-Shifa Hospital was once the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, but the majority of it has since been destroyed as a result of numerous rounds of bloody Israeli airstrikes on the ground since the start of the conflict in October 2023.
Israel has repeatedly targeted Gaza’s healthcare facilities, including through the United States’ closest ally, Israel.
In the 23 months of gruesome fighting that numerous human rights organizations, including the UN, have labeled a genocide, hundreds of doctors have died.
The head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, was tortured to death in an Israeli prison months after being detained in December 2023. The Kamal Adwan Hospital’s director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, was detained in November. He is still imprisoned in Israel.
According to the 1949 Geneva Convention, targeting medical facilities, medical personnel, and patients are regarded as war crimes.
One hospital’s nursing staff member and his wife were also killed by Israel’s attacks on Sunday, according to Aziz.
One of their surviving children, an 11-year-old, had burns on his face. She cried out, “I couldn’t even give him any pain relief.”
He continued, “I could see my father, I never even said goodbye to him,” according to Mohammad, who is his name.
Israel has frequently defended its deadly attacks on Gaza’s healthcare systems by claiming to be attacking Hamas, despite never providing any supporting evidence.
However, Al Jazeera-linked media reports have provided proof that Israel targeted doctors and hospitals during the gruesome conflict that has claimed more than 65,300 Palestinian lives.
As tanks poured deeper into Gaza City, the Gaza Health Ministry reported on Monday that two hospitals in the city were canceled due to the growing Israeli ground offensive and the damage brought on by Israeli airstrikes.
As Israel vows to seize Gaza City, which had more than a million residents before the most recent Israeli offensive that started a few weeks ago, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee.
Israel’s continued repression of aid entry has caused a famine to spread to Gaza. So far, at least 440 people have perished in the wake of starvation.
According to a statement from the health ministry, an Israeli bombardment a few days ago severely damaged al-Rantissi Children’s Hospital. Additionally, it reported Israeli assaults that occurred close to St. John’s Hospital, forcing the hospital’s services to be suspended.
As part of its genocidal policy against the Strip, the occupation “violently and systematically targets the healthcare system in the Gaza governorate.”
No facilities or hospitals offer safe passageways for patients and the injured, according to the ministry.
However, doctors at the major urban center’s al-Shifa Hospital say it is impossible to leave patients despite Israel’s attacks.
Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the hospital’s director, told Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili on Saturday that “our medical crews are still carrying out their humanitarian mission in this hospital complex under significant pressure.”
Source: Aljazeera
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