In Gaza, doctors have said they are doing surgery on patients without giving them pain medicine, not able to help people who are sick for a long time, and trying to heal really bad wounds with not enough medical supplies.
“We don’t have enough painkillers, so we have to let patients scream in pain for a long time,” a person told the media.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the health care in Gaza is really bad.
As of Sunday, 23 hospitals in Gaza were not working at all. Twelve were only partly working and one was barely working.
The health agency stated that air strikes and a shortage of supplies have made the health system even more stretched.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says that Hamas often uses hospitals and medical centers for its terrorist activities.
The IDF told the BBC that they didn’t attack hospitals, but went into certain areas to stop Hamas from using their equipment and to catch the terrorists. They said they were very careful when doing this.
It said it will let in help for people in Gaza, like medicine.
Help groups, like the WHO, have been stopped from getting to places and not allowed to help.
Gaza’s hospitals are very full and don’t have enough supplies, say healthcare workers. There are reports that some hospitals in southern Gaza are very full and are taking care of more patients than they usually do.
Four hospitals have been built in Gaza with a total of 305 beds, as reported by the WHO.
Israeli forces attacked a hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday, causing it to stop working.
The IDF found weapons and medicines with the names and photos of hostages at the hospital. They also caught many terrorists hiding there. Hamas is putting many innocent people in danger by using hospitals for their own violent purposes. They are not using the hospitals to help people, but to hurt them.
Workers at the hospitals nearby are saying that the operation at Nasser has made their job more difficult.
Yousef al-Akkad, who runs the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis, said the situation there is the worst it’s been since the war started.
“The situation was really bad before, so what do you think it’s like now with thousands more people who have been forced to leave their homes and are staying in the hallways and public areas. ”
He said the hospital didn’t have enough beds for the patients who needed treatment. So, the staff were putting sheets over metal frames and wood and putting many patients on the floor with nothing.
Other doctors in different parts of the Gaza Strip have also described similar situations. “We put people with heart problems on the floor and start to help them right away,” said Dr. Marwan al-Hams, the director of Rafah’s Martyr Mohammed Yusuf al-Najjar Hospital.
A group from Hamas chose the leaders of the hospitals in Gaza. Sometimes, these leaders were there before Hamas took over the area.
Medicine and things needed for treatment.
Doctors are having a hard time because they don’t have enough medical supplies to do their work. “We can’t find any oxygen,” someone told the media.
Dr al-Akkad said we don’t have enough medicine for anesthesia, supplies for the intensive care unit, antibiotics, and painkillers. “Many people were badly burned and we don’t have the right medicine to help with their pain. ”
A doctor said that surgeries were being done without pain medicine.
A group of doctors from the WHO met a little girl at a hospital. She had very bad burns on 75% of her body. The hospital didn’t have enough medicine to help her feel better.
Dr Mohamed Salha, who is in charge of Al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza, said that people were brought to the hospital for treatment on donkeys and horses.
“The catastrophe is when the patients have wounds that are decaying because they have been open for more than two or three weeks,” he said.
He said the doctors there had done surgeries using head torches because they didn’t have enough electricity.
Staff are away from their families.
The WHO says there are about 20,000 healthcare workers in Gaza, but most of them are not working because they are having a hard time supporting themselves and their families.
Dr al-Akkad said that the hospital has more staff and volunteers now because people who had to leave their homes came to help. But he said they didn’t have enough to handle all the patients and injuries they were getting.
After the bombings, he said badly hurt people come to the hospital and they look like the dish kofta made with ground meat.
“The hospital sees many people with different injuries like brain injuries, broken ribs, broken limbs, and sometimes even losing an eye. We see all kinds of injuries here. ”
He said that one patient might need five or more doctors who are experts in different areas to treat all of their injuries.
Some doctors are still working and can’t be with their families.
“Dr Salha in northern Gaza misses her family very much. They have been away for over three months and she wishes she could hug them. Her family is staying in the south to stay safe. ”
I am happy that I can help kids, women, and old people get medical care and stay healthy. I feel good about saving their lives.
We do not have space for patients who need long-term medical care.
Doctors told the BBC that people in Gaza with long-term illnesses suffered a lot.
“Really, we don’t have any beds for them, and we can’t keep in touch with them,” Dr. al-Akkad explained
“For anyone who used to have dialysis four times a week, now they only have it once a week. ” If this guy used to work 16 hours a week, now he will only work for one hour.
Some women are having their babies in tents without medical help because the hospitals that provide midwifery care are full.
“A person dies in one department, but a baby is born in the other. ” Babies are born and there is no milk for them. Dr Salha said that the hospital gives every child one box of milk.
People are going to hospitals because they have caught diseases in crowded and dirty places.
“Many people are sick and we can’t find a cure,” said Abu Khalil, who is 54 years old and living in Rafah, southern Gaza.
We have to leave early in the morning and wait in line, you might end up behind 100 people. “You come back with nothing. “