Amid Gaza’s dire healthcare crisis, a gastroenterologist working through the humanitarian crisis explained that medical staff halt operations to seek food, reflecting the current devastating situation in the region.
Doctors Operating Under Dire Conditions
Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure has been systematically destroyed, with just a few hospitals operating partially due to limited electricity access, scarce supplies, and inadequate staffing.
Dr. Hasan Sabbah, an orthopedic surgeon in Al-Aqsa Hospital, Dajr al-Balah, reported that most patients arrive with multiple traumatic injuries requiring multiple specialists for a single operation.
Brutal Living Conditions
Hospitals often have over 70% malnourished children patients, with mothers unable to provide basic sustenance.
“I’ve seen doctors interrupting surgeries to say, ‘I’m hungry, need food, need protein, need anything to continue working,'” Sabbah recounted, highlighting the extreme hunger medical staff face.
International Inactions and Political Implications
“We feel completely powerless in Gaza,” said Dr. Bassam Zakut, head of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society.
Zakut emphasizes the urgency for international action including humanitarian aid, ceasefires, and protection for medical staff, urging the international community to address the severity of the situation.