Forty percent of injured at Gaza's Al Shifa hospital are children
5 Min Read
Among the children are a five-year-old boy with crush injuries, a nine-year-old with facial burns, and a fourteen-year-old boy with a severe open skull fracture.
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A Palestinian man carries a wounded girl into Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a surgeon who recently arrived in the Gaza Strip from the UK to assist in humanitarian efforts, said he has seen "nothing like the absolute devastation," he has witnessed in the last 72 hours in Al-Gaza Al-Shifaa Hostpial, The Independent reported on Wednesday.
"It’s like a tsunami of wounded people," Dr Abu-Sittah told the newspapers from Gaza's largest medical hospital and complex, Al-Shifa.
The announcement follows UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' statement that the humanitarian conditions would "deteriorate exponentially" following Israel's declaration of a full blockade in a region that had already endured a sixteen-year-long blockade.
Dr. Abu-Sittah, a plastic surgeon, also holds the position of clinical senior lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London. He notes that the medical personnel at Al-Shifa are overwhelmed by the influx of injured children, fatalities, and a severe shortage of medical equipment.
"As always with the war in Gaza, the percentage of children is much higher than in other conflicts because they are being targeted in their homes," said Dr Abu-Sittah, adding that the Gaza population has an average age of 18 and that this youth is evident in their patient demographics, with children comprising as much as forty percent of the over 650 individuals treated at the hospital.
'The hospital itself is at capacity... around 30 to 40 per cent of the wounded are children.'
— GB News (@GBNEWS) October 11, 2023
British-Palestinian Surgeon, Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, discusses the Israel-Hamas war and says the Palestinian healthcare system 'will collapse within a week unless aid is allowed in'. pic.twitter.com/WMZxPgQYz5
Read more: Israeli airstrikes, siege wreak havoc in Gaza's hospitals
"Too shocked to speak"
He recounts the case of a fourteen-year-old girl who suffered extensive burns, covering 70 percent of her body, including her face, due to explosions and chemicals employed in IOFweaponry. "She is unrecognizable. The most common injury we deal with is burns. But we also see alot of blast injuries and shrapnel," he said.
Among the other children are a five-year-old with crush injuries, a nine-year-old with facial burns, and a fourteen-year-old boy with a severe open skull fracture.
"The boy, with the open fracture, his parents have died. He’s completely on his own. A lot of these kids are now on their own, they were in their homes when they were attacked and they’ve lost their parents. They’re too shocked to speak."
Psychological warfare
A year ago, a report by Save the Children revealed that 80% of children in Gaza grappled with mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. This marked a decline in the situation compared to their report from four years prior.
"It’s not just the kids, the parents are absolutely devastated because so many of them have no homes to go back to- they sleep on the grounds and come back to be with the kids," says Dr Abu-Sittah. "Staff are also affected, one of my colleagues just lost ten of their neighbors and their home this morning and they have to come straight back here to work."
He added that essential supplies like chlorhexidine, an antiseptic commonly used for treating burns, have run out and that the staff has to resort to using soap and water for wound cleaning, increasing the risk of potentially life-threatening infections. There is also a shortage of orthopedic equipment like plates and screws.
"All of this is consumed at an amazing rate for multiple wounded patients who need daily dressings," he continues. "The system was already overwhelmed because of the siege and now it’s just so much worse."
Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah (left) arrived in Gaza yesterday from London and had to shelter from bombs. His uncle's house was destroyed.
— Peter Gillibrand (@GillibrandPeter) October 10, 2023
Despite this, he kept operating.
Dr Abu-Sittah says it's the bloodiest he's seen it since helping at every conflict since 80s. pic.twitter.com/EYRdEfbUki
Widespread homelessness
Dr. Abu-Sittah has previously lived through several conflicts in Gaza, including those in 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021.
"2014 was like a meat grinder. But, I’ve never seen anything like this in all the years I’ve worked, just the sheer numbers in only three days. Unless the humanitarian corridor is opened the system will collapse very soon."
He further noted that there is widespread homelessness after people have been displaced following the destruction of their homes
"The problem is where do you send them? There’s nowhere to send these people who have come in because they were bombed at home. It’s like a refugee camp."
"Everyone we have seen has been a civilian. I’m worried that this is going to be drawn out and absolutely devastating beyond anything I’ve ever seen in my life. There is a sense that they have been given a carte blanche to do the unimaginable here in Gaza."
“The hospital itself, even though its day three, is already at capacity.”
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) October 10, 2023
Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah describes how the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza has become a refugee camp. pic.twitter.com/f9Q21Lz8mN
Read more: Gaza suffering exacerbated: 263,000 under threat of displacement
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Tuesday called on the global community to defuse the "explosive powder keg" situation in Palestine.
He also demanded the Palestinian Resistance factions release all the settlers they are taking captive during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
According to intelligence received by his office, Israeli airstrikes have damaged residential towers in Gaza City and other residential structures throughout Gaza, as well as schools and UNRWA grounds, resulting in civilian fatalities.
He warned that "Israel's" siege of Gaza is illegal under international humanitarian law because it deprives civilians of necessities for survival and risks exacerbating the Strip's already dire humanitarian situation caused by the years-long initial siege by the same occupation entity.
