Little light, no beds, not enough anesthesia: A view from the 'nightmare' of Gaza's hospitals
Little light, no beds, not enough anesthesia: A view from the 'nightmare' of Gaza's hospitals
In the besieged Gaza Strip, hospitals are nearing collapse as doctors work under the most trying conditions. Medical supplies are dwindling and fuel is running out even as the death toll is mounting and hospitals are overflowing with more patients than they can handle.
When the Israeli bombing intensifies and the wounded swamp the Gaza City hospitals where Dr. Nidal Abed works, he treats patients wherever he can — on the floor, in the corridors, in rooms crammed with 10 patients instead of two. Without enough medical supplies, Abed makes do with whatever he can find – clothes for bandages, vinegar for antiseptic, sewing needles for surgical ones.
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are nearing collapse under the Israeli blockade that cut power and deliveries of food and other necessities to the territory. They lack clean water. They are running out of basic items for easing pain and preventing infections. Fuel for their generators is dwindling.
Israel began its bombing campaign after Hamas militants surged across the border on Oct. 7 and killed over 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and abducted more than 200 others. Israel’s offensive has devastated neighborhoods, shuttered five hospitals, killed thousands and wounded more people than its remaining health facilities can handle.