Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Ushakov: Russia and the United States agreed not to disclose the substance of the Putin–Witkoff talks.
Ushakov: No specific formulas were discussed during the meeting, but rather the essence of what was included in the US documents.
Ushakov: Several proposals and possible plans for a settlement in Ukraine were presented during the meeting.
Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov said the meeting between President Putin and Witkoff was constructive, practical in nature, and highly useful.
Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, and fired at young men as they resisted the raid.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Turkey: A new attack in the Black Sea targets a Georgia-bound Russian ship
Palestinian press sources: Two Israeli occupation soldiers were injured in the operation
Palestinian press sources: The man who carried out the stabbing operation at the entrance to a settlement north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank has been martyred
Israeli media report on a stabbing operation in the Ma'ayan Atarot area, confirm the attacker was killed, with one injury reported in the area
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer: Law enforcement agencies in New York have informed me of bomb threats targeting several of my offices.

Slow death, no anesthesia; Abu Sitta recalls horrors he saw in Gaza

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: AFP
  • 8 Jan 2024 01:14
  • 14 Shares
3 Min Read

Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu Sitta says the aggression on Gaza surpassed the horrors of all the wars and conflicts he had worked in.

  • x
  • Ghassan Abu Sitte
    Doctor Ghassan Abu Sitta, a Palestinian-British plastic surgeon specializing in conflict medicine, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Institute for Palestine Studies in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu Sitta spent 43 days under fire in Gaza. What he witnessed during his voluntary work in the besieged Strip's hospitals left him with a lot to tell about the Israeli atrocities committed against civilians.

When he left Gaza because he could no longer perform surgeries due to a shortage of medical equipment, he decided to advocate for the Strip through other means.

Speaking to AFP, Abu Sitta details the testimony he provided to the British police regarding attacks against civilians and the types of weapons used, hoping it will lead to trials for war crimes.

The results of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, where Abu Sitta arrived on October 9 as part of the Doctors Without Borders team, surpassed the horrors of all the wars and conflicts he had worked in before, including Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and southern Lebanon.

"It's like the difference between a flood and a tsunami; the scale is entirely different," he expressed, emphasizing the large number of casualties, martyred children, the magnitude of the disaster, and the intensive bombings, causing the Gaza healthcare system to be overwhelmed within days of the war's start.

Having worked for weeks in hospitals in #Gaza during the Israeli aggression on the Strip, renowned British-Palestinian plastic surgeon, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta bore witness to the horrific crimes that were committed there.#PalestineGenocide#GazaUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/aOVCQuh0lF

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 11, 2023

The Palestinian doctor pointed out that from the beginning, the capacity was lower than the number of patients that had to be treated, adding that doctors had to make difficult decisions about whom to treat.

He recounted the case of a 40-year-old man with a head shrapnel injury who needed X-rays and examination by a neurosurgeon, but those were not available as told to the patient's family who stayed around the stretcher he was placed on that night until his martyrdom in the morning.

Anesthesia and painkillers quickly ran out in hospitals, forcing Abu Sitta to perform painful cleaning procedures for wounds on injured individuals without the possibility of relieving their pain. He made it clear that this was the only available option, or else see the wounded succumb to widespread inflammation in the blood.

Abu Sitta also confirmed that he treated people with burns caused by white phosphorus, which is prohibited by international law, explaining that it is an injury that can be distinguished from other injuries and that phosphorus continues to burn into the deeper parts of the body until it reaches the bones.

Since returning to Britain, the Palestinian doctor has spent most of his time alerting political leaders and humanitarian organizations to the situation in the Gaza Strip. In this regard, he said that he is trying to help the patients in Gaza as much as he can by conveying their voices abroad.

He also noted that he informed the London police about the injuries he witnessed, the types of weapons used, and the use of white phosphorus, as well as the attacks against civilians.

Elsewhere, Abu Sitta, who narrated how he survived the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital massacre on October 17, concluded by stressing that "ultimately, justice will reach these individuals, after five or ten years, or when they are in their eighties, when the balance of power in the world allows justice for the Palestinians."

Read more: 'Israel', in pursuit of more damage, pain, goes after heritage in Gaza

  • Gaza Strip
  • Palestine
  • Israeli aggression
  • Israel
  • Israeli occupation
  • Ghassan Abu Sitta
  • Gaza

Most Read

13 elite Israeli troops were wounded in a confrontations in Beit Jinn, Syria.

13 elite Israeli troops wounded in confrontations in southern Syria

  • West Asia
  • 28 Nov 2025
Russia and China are not part of the Resistance Front, but they are playing an important role in building structures to bypass US power and thus facilitate a multipolar and freer world. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

The Resistance Front and BRICS

  • Opinion
  • 29 Nov 2025
Four killed, ten wounded in targeted California shooting in Stockton

Four killed, 10 wounded in 'targeted' California shooting

  • US & Canada
  • 30 Nov 2025
Point-blank killings: 'Israel' executes 2 Palestinian youths in Jenin

Graphic footage: IOF execute 2 Palestinians from point blank in Jenin

  • Politics
  • 27 Nov 2025

Coverage

All
In Five

Read Next

All
Pope Leo XIV waves as he boards a flight back to the Vatican after his visit to Lebanon at Beirut International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, December 2, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Pope Leo urges Trump to avoid military action in Venezuela

Palestinian journalists carry posters and mock coffins with pictures of their colleagues who were killed during the war on Gaza during a symbolic funeral in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, October 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Gaza: 257 journalists killed by Israeli occupation since war began

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addresses supporters during a swearing-in event for government-organized community committees at the presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, December 1, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Cuba condemns US military threats and intervention in Venezuela

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at Mt. Herzl, in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, Thursday, October 16, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu ties Syria talks to DMZ in occupied Golan Heights

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS