Gaza surgeons operate in corridors as Israeli bombs fill hospitals
Published: 04:10 PM,Oct 31,2023 | EDITED : 09:10 PM,Oct 31,2023
Injured Palestinians wait to be attended to following an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. — AFP
GAZA: When Gaza's Indonesian Hospital received a sudden influx of patients badly injured by Israeli bombing on Tuesday, medics set up an operating room in a corridor because the main surgical theatres were full, they said.
Juggling dwindling supplies of medicines, power cuts and air or artillery strikes that shake hospital buildings, surgeons in Gaza work through the night trying to save a constant stream of patients.
'We take it an hour at a time because we don't know when we will be receiving patients. Several times we've had to set up surgical spaces in the corridors and even sometimes in the hospital waiting areas,' said Doctor Mohammed al Run.
He was speaking soon after bombardment damaged the Indonesian Hospital near the frontlines where Israel's military is pushing into the tiny, crowded Palestinian enclave, and with fuel supply for its generators about to run out, according to doctors.
Health authorities in the enclave say more than 8,500 people have been killed in Israel's assault, including 3,500 children.
In northern Gaza, where Israel has ordered a million people to leave their homes and head for the southern half of the enclave, hospital conditions have been particularly tough.
Officials at the Turkish Friendship Hospital said bombing had damaged a ward treating cancer patients.
'The bombardment caused great damage and put some electro-mechanical systems out of work. It also endangered the lives of patients and medical teams,' said Doctor Sobi Skaik, director of the hospital, the area's only cancer treatment facility.
Although a near-total communications blackout over the weekend has eased since Monday, many Gaza residents fear losing touch with friends and relatives again under the bombardment.
For emergency and medical services, the loss of phone and Internet caused significant operational problems.
Israel has blockaded Gaza, cutting off electricity, and refuses to allow in fuel. Hospitals have warned they may soon be unable to operate generators needed to maintain life-saving functions.
'In a few hours from now the power will cut due to the limited fuel available,' said surgeon Moaeen al Masry, adding this would lead to the deaths of patients in intensive care and surgical wards.
Gaza's Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al Qidra said the main generators for both the Indonesian Hospital and for Al Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, could be switched off late on Wednesday.
Last week, the Indonesian Hospital nearly ran out of fuel and had to cut electricity in much of the facility. After receiving some of Gaza's increasingly limited supplies it is operating again, but remains close to a total blackout, Al Masry said. — Reuters
Juggling dwindling supplies of medicines, power cuts and air or artillery strikes that shake hospital buildings, surgeons in Gaza work through the night trying to save a constant stream of patients.
'We take it an hour at a time because we don't know when we will be receiving patients. Several times we've had to set up surgical spaces in the corridors and even sometimes in the hospital waiting areas,' said Doctor Mohammed al Run.
He was speaking soon after bombardment damaged the Indonesian Hospital near the frontlines where Israel's military is pushing into the tiny, crowded Palestinian enclave, and with fuel supply for its generators about to run out, according to doctors.
Health authorities in the enclave say more than 8,500 people have been killed in Israel's assault, including 3,500 children.
In northern Gaza, where Israel has ordered a million people to leave their homes and head for the southern half of the enclave, hospital conditions have been particularly tough.
Officials at the Turkish Friendship Hospital said bombing had damaged a ward treating cancer patients.
'The bombardment caused great damage and put some electro-mechanical systems out of work. It also endangered the lives of patients and medical teams,' said Doctor Sobi Skaik, director of the hospital, the area's only cancer treatment facility.
Although a near-total communications blackout over the weekend has eased since Monday, many Gaza residents fear losing touch with friends and relatives again under the bombardment.
For emergency and medical services, the loss of phone and Internet caused significant operational problems.
Israel has blockaded Gaza, cutting off electricity, and refuses to allow in fuel. Hospitals have warned they may soon be unable to operate generators needed to maintain life-saving functions.
'In a few hours from now the power will cut due to the limited fuel available,' said surgeon Moaeen al Masry, adding this would lead to the deaths of patients in intensive care and surgical wards.
Gaza's Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al Qidra said the main generators for both the Indonesian Hospital and for Al Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, could be switched off late on Wednesday.
Last week, the Indonesian Hospital nearly ran out of fuel and had to cut electricity in much of the facility. After receiving some of Gaza's increasingly limited supplies it is operating again, but remains close to a total blackout, Al Masry said. — Reuters