British doctors who worked in Gaza during the war have issued grave warnings about the long-term health consequences for Palestinians, predicting that many will continue to die.

The widespread prevalence of infectious diseases, malnutrition-related health issues, and the destruction of hospitals—along with the killing of medical professionals—will lead to persistently high mortality rates even after Israeli shelling ceased.

British-Palestinian reconstructive surgeon, Prof. Ghassan Abu Sittah, who worked in Gaza’s Al-Shifa and Al-Ahli Arab hospitals, highlighted the severe malnutrition affecting children, stating that many “will never recover.”

Estimates suggest that deaths from the Israeli genocide in Gaza could eventually reach up to 186,000, a figure nearly four times higher than the 46,700 killings reported by Gaza's Health Ministry.

Prof. Nizam Mamode, a retired British transplant surgeon, warned that “non-trauma deaths” could exceed 186,000, citing the targeting of healthcare workers during the Israeli war. He noted that of the six vascular surgeons who once covered the northern Gaza Strip, only one remained, and no cancer pathologists were left alive.

Abu Sittah said entire teams of medical specialists had been wiped out, and it could take up to 10 years to replace them. “Certain specialties have been eviscerated,” he said, pointing out that there are no nephrologists or board-certified emergency medicine physicians left.

Gaza's health future hinges on rebuilding amid childhood trauma

The long-term health of Gaza’s population will depend on the rebuilding of the territory and its infrastructure, but Abu Sittah emphasized that housing is a major challenge for medical professionals considering returning to northern Gaza.

He warned that irreversible damage had already been done to many children, noting that “studies on people who survived the Second World War showed they are more likely to get NCDs [non-communicable diseases] if they had malnutrition as children.” He also cautioned that “you don’t recover” from such trauma.

The UN recently estimated that over 60,000 children in Gaza will need treatment for acute malnutrition in 2025, with some already having died. Another major concern is the spread of disease, exacerbated by the destruction of infrastructure like sewage facilities. Abu Sittah described the situation as catastrophic, with diseases like hepatitis, diarrheal diseases, respiratory illnesses, and re-emerging polio continuing to spread due to a lack of clean water, sewage systems, and healthcare infrastructure.

He also warned about the rise of drug-resistant bacteria, sharing an example where six out of seven patients he treated had “multiple drug-resistant bacteria.” Additionally, over 13,000 Gaza residents urgently need surgery for war-related injuries, which will strain the healthcare system for generations.

Both doctors highlighted the severity of the injuries they witnessed, with Mamode noting that up to 70% of those he treated were children. “You’d have a three-year-old in intensive care for a week and we’d be told, ‘The parents are killed, the siblings are killed. Wait and see whether anyone is going to turn up for them.’”

Abu Sittah, who has worked in other war zones, noted that half of his patients were children and that he had never performed as many amputations in a day as he had in Gaza.

Mamode also warned that the psychological effects of 15 months of fighting would become more apparent in the coming months, as people shift from survival mode. “When that pressure comes off, [the psychological impacts] are going to manifest themselves in all sorts of ways.”

Read more: War on Gaza orphaned over 17,000 children, Gov. says