Palestinian doctors hope ceasefire will revive Gaza’s healthcare sector Israel-Palestine conflict news

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Palestine – In the dimly lit corridors of al-Amal hospital in western Khan Yunis, one of 17 partially operational health facilities in Gaza, a rare sense of hope grips staff and patients.

Mediators have announced a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to end the 15-month war on Gaza, and although the Israeli Cabinet has not yet approved the agreement, optimism is infectious.

For the first time in months, orthopedic consultant Dr. Khaled Ayyad speaks with confidence as he assures patients will soon receive the medicine and procedures they urgently need and that hospitals will be able to provide them due to Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries to Gaza. Are unable to.

“We have done the impossible. “We have to improve the way we handle cases so serious and with such high numbers that it took so long to get here,” Ayyad explains.

On October 7, 2023, a month after the war began, he, along with other medical staff and patients, was forced by Israeli forces to leave his post at the Palestinian Red Crescent-run Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City. The 53-year-old surgeon had since been operating from Al-Amal in what he described as “minimal capabilities”.

According to a January 7 report by the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym, MSF, during Israel’s war on Gaza, “every medical center or humanitarian delivery system has been destroyed or is in danger of being destroyed.” Has been.”

Ayyad suffered two Israeli attacks on al-Amal hospital in February and March and faced displacement with his family, including his six children, to the arid area of ​​al-Mawasi in southwestern Gaza. He says he is lucky to have survived: More than 1,000 health workers have been killed, and many have been detained by Israeli forces.

“The cases I investigated included 70 patients and injured people a day, in addition to the hospitalized cases in the departments, which is no less than eight cases,” Ayyad told Al Jazeera. As he speaks, countless patients and visitors crowd the hospital wards, as external clinics and corridors fill with those seeking care.

Patience

Ayyad explains that until the fixation plates needed for the operation became available, he often resorted to temporary measures to treat fractures. “Soon they will be,” he says with a big smile, reassuring Hani al-Shakra, a patient whose collarbone was broken on Monday in an Israeli attack near the Deir al-Balah home in which he took refuge. .

Unable to return Ayyad’s enthusiasm due to his pain, al-Shaqra says he cannot wait for the ceasefire to come into effect so he can undergo his necessary surgery.

“Amidst this carnage, the care I received is expected, especially since everyone faces great difficulties in receiving treatment or even reaching hospitals. I am optimistic… that treatment is possible after the ceasefire,” he says, speaking carefully, taking care not to move his arm or the sling that is helping take the weight off his shoulder.

He added, “I just hope it happens soon before my condition gets worse.”

Talks to reach a ceasefire and end a war that has killed more than 46,700 Palestinians had repeatedly failed over the past year until mediators announced on Wednesday that a deal had been reached.

The inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States on Monday was a de facto deadline, and the ceasefire is scheduled to go into effect the day before. With this, large supplies of much-needed humanitarian aid are to be allowed to enter the enclave following a severe reduction in aid delivery, which was exacerbated by the closure of the Rafah crossing with Egypt in May, through which most supplies pass. Used to come.

‘There is still a lot more work to do’

While Ayyad hopes the arrival of humanitarian supplies will bring some relief to Palestinians in Gaza, he knows he and other medical workers have a lot of work to do.

“Many of the wounded we sent away with temporary treatment will need to be operated on appropriately again once supplies become available,” he says.

Dr. Adnan al-Zatma, a general surgeon who worked with Ayyad, emphasizes the enormity of the challenges.

Putting aside the obvious shortage of medicine and supplies, he cataloged the devastation he saw throughout the hospital: from X-ray machines and power generators destroyed during the Israeli invasion to charred wards, bullet-riddled walls and bulldozed entrances. To the gates and roads. To be taken to the hospital.

“The ceasefire will be a relief, but it will not be magical,” al-Zatma says.

According to Dr. Haider al-Qudra, executive director of the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Gaza, the health care sector is operating at less than 10 percent of its pre-war capacity. According to MSF, due to Israel’s 17-year blockade of Gaza, the state of the pre-war healthcare system was already less than it needed. It is now in a dilapidated condition.

“Thousands of patients have suffered because of the health care collapse,” al-Qudra says.

“This includes deaths, disabilities, and serious complications from people unable to access appropriate care during the war,” he added, highlighting that facilities such as Al-Amal Hospital and Al-Wafa Hospital were the most affected during the war. Was not doing it.

“For many patients, rehabilitation was their only way to regain mobility or basic functions. The loss of these services has been devastating,” he says.

Major hospitals such as Al-Quds and Al-Shifa were heavily damaged, and facilities such as Al-Amal Hospital suffered significant infrastructure damage.

Despite these challenges, Red Crescent hospitals treated more than 500,000 cases and received an additional 900,000 patients into their primary care centers during the conflict. Al-Amal hospital alone is handling 1,500 cases a day, along with two field hospitals and 10 primary care centers in northern Gaza.

‘gradual improvement’

“The ceasefire will allow for a gradual improvement in the health care system, supported by international aid,” says al-Qudra. Once supplies become available, “the Red Crescent plans to set up five field hospitals and 30 primary care centers across Gaza, including a main center in each of the five governorates”.

He says coordination with international organizations such as the Red Cross and the World Health Organization is aimed at facilitating the entry of medical supplies from the occupied West Bank, where Red Crescent warehouses hold significant stocks.

“These supplies, along with the arrival of Arab and international medical teams, will revitalize Gaza’s healthcare system,” says al-Qudra. “Reopening hospitals, albeit slowly, and improving mobility throughout Gaza will restore some sense of normalcy. The ability to work without fear of targeting will also improve the situation for medical teams.

“The ceasefire provides a ray of hope for everyone. Like everyone else, the medical staff is exhausted. “The health care system, battered by persistent war, needs a chance to recover and is prepared to embark on a long road to recovery,” he concluded.

This piece was published in collaboration with Agab.