Painful stories: Observations of a pediatrician at a Gaza hospital | Press conference

In an article published by The Independent, writer Tom Bennett relayed the account of Dr Seema Gilani, a pediatrician who recently left Al-Aqsa Hospital in the center. Gaza– A touching story from a serious injury I witnessed.

Among these painful stories is that of an 11-year-old girl whose tissues were severely burned and her limbs were stiff. She could barely stop screaming and was in a miserable condition.

Likewise, another one-year-old's leg was amputated and his diaper was covered in blood.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah is “the most important remaining hospital in central Gaza.”

destroy

When Dr. Seema Jilani first arrived at the hospital in late December, she saw black smoke billowing from the destroyed building about 600 meters away.

A few days later, the disaster area was only 400 meters away. According to Dr. “When you go up and down the stairs every day, you see a noticeable increase in tensions, and people are becoming increasingly concerned that hospitals are becoming more and more crowded,” Sima said.

When the explosion approached the hospital, about 70% of the medical staff had evacuated, including Dr. Seema and her team.

One of the most high-profile incidents the hospital experienced was an Israeli airstrike on a two-story building near the hospital's entrance, which killed at least 20 people.

In recent weeks, hospitals have been packed with civilians seeking asylum, with families, pregnant women and children jostling for space in the chaos.

According to the doctor, many local health care workers were sleeping in the facility, with some staying up all night “looking for food and water,” while others were forced to evacuate their families from one area to another.

painful scene

The pediatrician remembers watching staff identify some of the dead and injured among their acquaintances.

“At one point, four of the five patients in the recovery unit were children,” she said. “I was shocked and horrified that I had to care for so many children and babies due to bombings and air raids.”

But the scene that impressed her most was the scene where a 23-year-old rescuer had his leg amputated.

The hospital ran out of morphine, so the replacement medication he initially received was insufficient. He begged for water but was not allowed to eat anything because he was undergoing surgery.

She said that she did a very simple thing, took some water, wiped his forehead with cold water, wiped off the blood on his face, removed the dust, and wiped the water on the gauze on his face. on his lips, and then, despite his serious injuries, he completely calmed down and wanted nothing more than to die with dignity.