November
19, 2023
Volunteers experience grueling hours, face lack of medical
supplies and a collapse of healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.
Deir
el-Balah, Gaza – Abdelrahman Abu Shawish did not expect to be making
life-altering decisions for his patients so soon after graduating from medical
school at Gaza’s Azhar University.
The
25-year-old, who lives with his family in the Nuseirat refugee camp, began
volunteering in the surgical department of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on October
10 and found himself deciding whether a wounded person requires a full or
partial amputation of their limbs.
“The
injuries that I saw in the [May] 2021 war more or less looked the same,” he
told Al Jazeera. “But this time around, I’ve seen so many different types, from
varying degrees of burns to amputated limbs, to deep lacerations and different
types of shrapnel.”
The
hospital, which was meant to serve the central town of Deir el-Balah, has
become the Gaza Strip’s main treatment facility due to the complete collapse of
hospitals in Gaza City and northern Gaza.
Nearly
two-thirds of the strip’s hospitals – 26 out of 35 – have stopped functioning
following weeks of bombardment by Israeli forces on the territory, which began
on October 7. At least 1.5 million Palestinians have been displaced from their
homes and the massive aerial and ground assault on Gaza has destroyed much of
its infrastructure, including more than half the homes.
Furthermore,
the total siege imposed by Israel on the enclave means hospitals have run out
of fuel, electricity and clean water.
“We
have very limited medical supplies,” Abu Shawish said. “When dozens of wounded
people come to the hospital as a result of an Israeli attack, we often can’t
treat them all at once because we need to sterilise our tools as we don’t have
enough.”
The
lack of resources means doctors can do little more than the minimum required to
keep their patients alive. Proper treatment is out of the question.
“We’re
unable to remove all the shrapnel from a wounded person’s body, only the pieces
that threaten their lives,” Abu Shawish explained. “That’s still dangerous, as
shrapnel can cause infections that lead to multiple organ failure, but we hope
they can follow up once the war is over.”
The
young doctor, who had studied German in preparation for going to Germany for
his residency, said he has had to downgrade his aspirations for his career.
“I
had big dreams before the war but now I just hope for me and my family to stay
alive,” he said.
‘No
time for rest’
After
his family home was destroyed in the Israeli shelling of the al-Zahra
neighbourhood south of Gaza City, Mohammad Abu Salem began volunteering at
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on October 19 and has only seen his family twice since
then.
Also
just 25 years old, Abu Salem, who specialised in physiotherapy at the Islamic
University in Gaza City, said Israeli massacres of Palestinians have become an
everyday reality in the Gaza Strip.
“I
knew working in a hospital in general would be hectic, but working in a
hospital during a war is on a whole new different level,” he said. “You don’t
know what is going to happen tomorrow, whether you will live or die. But giving
up is not an option.”
The
physiotherapy department sees all patients after their initial treatment in the
emergency room, after which they go on to other departments such as the
surgical unit or paediatric wing. Abu Salem talks to patients about the nature
of their wounds, the complications that might arise, and how to avoid such
risks.
“The
other day my own brother came in injured – thankfully it wasn’t serious,” he
said. “But the stress of treating people you know… can be very debilitating.”
Nearing
total collapse
In
the emergency room, Alaa Kassab points out patients whose limbs have turned
blue, explaining that shrapnel has likely done so much damage that the limb
isn’t oxygenating and may need to be amputated.
Incidents
like this, especially the large number of children she has seen lose limbs to
amputation, have impacted her to the point where she is not able to speak
sometimes.
Instead
of talking to her family at home, she needs to sit in silence to recover most
days.
Kassab
finished her medical studies at the Ain Shams University in Cairo and returned
to her hometown of Deir el-Balah last February.
“I
had this dream of finishing my medical internship year, then travelling
overseas to complete my studies by specialising, before eventually going back
to Gaza,” she said. “What I’ve seen in the past two weeks since volunteering
has only made me more determined to be a doctor.”
The
hours are long and gruelling, and Kassab has never seen some of the wounds she
is having to treat now.
“There
isn’t a day where we can rest,” she said, adding that she works from noon until
3am the following day. “The number of wounded people never lets up. It’s why I
decided to volunteer, because I knew that doctors are under an immense amount
of pressure and the situation is very tough.”
Kassab
said the hospital is nearing a total collapse of services. Without enough
surgical tools, fuel, medical supplies or personnel, they will soon not be able
to treat any more patients, she said.
“Of
course, I am here to serve my people, and I don’t regret that for a second,”
she said. “But the situation in the Gaza Strip is very bad.”
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