2024-03-03 12:45:00
With hospitals approaching the breaking point
Many hospitals in Gaza are now either closed, overcrowded, or on the verge of collapse, prompting doctors to set up tents in the streets to treat patients.
In an interview with the British Sky News network, some Gaza doctors described the situation in the Strip as “catastrophic,” noting that diseases are spreading in refugee camps, especially among children.
Among those doctors is Dr. Raja Okasha, a pediatrician from northern Gaza. The fighting forced him to leave his home and move south to Rafah.
Okasha is now performing his surgeries in a tent on the street in a refugee camp.
He told Sky News: “I decided to open this medical tent to treat refugees for free. Especially since the health system in Gaza now lacks hospitals and health centers.”
He added: “The situation in the camp is catastrophic. Food is unclean, people drink salt water because there is no fresh water, and viruses and bacteria are alarmingly widespread among children due to their weak immunity. There is an outbreak of some epidemics such as (hepatitis A). “The situation is very bad here in this camp.”
Okasha continued: “The most difficult cases I treat are respiratory problems, which are common among children, especially newborns, 3 months old and less than a month old.”
Respiratory problems are common among children in Gaza (Reuters)
He continued: “We receive children who are unable to breathe. Such cases require hospitalization, but unfortunately the hospitals here are either closed, on the verge of collapse, or full. In the only children’s hospital in Gaza, there are 3 to 4 children in each bed.”
Okasha stressed the necessity of providing medicine to patients who desperately need it. Pointing out that there is a significant increase in cases of postpartum depression among new mothers.
Dr. Muhammad Al-Raqib, a young gynecologist from Khan Yunis, confirmed that he sees between 50 and 70 pregnant women in his tent every day.
Al-Raqib said: “Women here suffer a lot, as you know, as conditions are not suitable for them during pregnancy or after childbirth. They need good clean water available all the time, they need clean bathrooms, and these things are not available. For this reason, many pregnant women in the Gaza Strip suffer from urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and skin diseases.”
He added: “There are some serious cases that require transfer to the hospital, such as cases of severe bleeding. “Many times, pregnant women die because they do not receive proper care, and other times they lose their wombs.”
He continued, saying: “You know, they may say that Gaza is a place of death, but for me, I know that Gaza is a place of life. Gaza will never lose hope. The medical tent is just one place to spread hope.”
According to Reuters, people are eating animal feed and even thick aloe vera leaves to survive, and medics say that children have begun to die in hospitals due to malnutrition and dehydration, and the United Nations says it faces “tremendous obstacles” in bringing in aid.
Yesterday (Saturday), Doctors Without Borders confirmed that providing aid inside the Gaza Strip is almost impossible, due to Israel’s complete disregard for the protection and safety of medical and humanitarian missions and their crews, in addition to preventing people’s access to life-saving aid.
A Palestinian woman feeds her newborn baby dates instead of milk amid food scarcity and milk shortages in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip (Reuters)
“What is truly horrific is the blatant absence of humanitarian space and the lack of supplies that we are witnessing in Gaza,” Lisa Macinair, MSF’s project coordinator in Gaza, said on the “X” platform.
She added: “If people are not killed by bombs, they suffer deprivation of food and water, and die due to lack of medical care,” according to what was reported by the Arab World News Agency.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced today (Sunday) that the toll from the Israeli bombing had risen to 30,410 dead and 71,700 injured since October 7th.
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