Amid genocide, Gaza dentist's brave struggle in makeshift clinic

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 Mar 2024 21:51

Despite the ongoing war and the lack of proper facilities, Gazan dentist Najdat returned to his clinic to retrieve essential equipment, including his dentist's chair and set up a tent clinic to continue treating patients.

Screengrab showing Doctor Najadt Saqer performing a medical procedure on a child in a tent in Gaza. (AFP)

An AFP report details the brave struggle of Dr. Najdat Saqer, a dentist in Gaza, who has been operating in a makeshift tent to attend to his patients' needs.

Saqer, 32, used to practice in his clinic located in Nuseirat in central Gaza. He was forced to move after it sustained severe damage due to Israeli bombardments.

Despite the ongoing war and the lack of proper facilities, Saqer returned to his clinic to retrieve essential equipment, including his dentist's chair, and set up a tent clinic to continue treating patients.

"Most of the dentists had either left and gone abroad or their clinics were damaged, so I got the idea to set up a makeshift clinic," he said.

"I went to my clinic and managed to retrieve my dentist's chair and other equipment and had them transported here in a rickshaw, before setting up a tent."

The report details how Saqer maintained his composure as he comforted a young boy he was treating. AFP noted that the noise of the drone overhead competed with the sound of his drill.

"The biggest obstacles are the lack of electricity, water, and dental equipment, which are not available. And even if they are available, they cost a lot," he said.

The UN warned that Gaza's healthcare system is on the brink of collapse, as none of its hospitals have been fully functional in the past two months.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday said that with only 10 hospitals remaining barely functional, about 9,000 patients in Gaza require to be urgently evacuated for treatment.

Prior to the start of the war, Gaza had 36 operational hospitals, the WHO says. In a prior assessment, the WHO estimated that 8,000 patients require to be urgently evacuated.

Before the war, between 50 and 100 patients were transported daily to the occupied West Bank, with half of them seeking treatment for cancer.

Evacuation is urgently needed, but given the current circumstances, it is currently impossible as some individuals risk being killed if they try to evacuate.

A report by Euro-Med published earlier today revealed that 13 Palestinian children in and near the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City were executed by Israeli troops.

They were aged between 4 and 16.

Latest estimates from Gaza's Health Ministry reveal that over 32,623 have been killed and over 75,092 injured since the war began.