A nightmare in Gaza’s hospitals: operations without anesthesia and the use of vinegar for disinfection
The British newspaper The Guardian highlighted the worsening humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip amid the current escalation in the Strip and the continued Israeli bombing and targeting of hospitals.
The Guardian said that Gaza’s hospitals stopped working due to running out of water and fuel, and paramedics say that some doctors had to perform the operation without anesthesia and use vinegar instead of disinfectant.
The Guardian continued: “Hospitals in Gaza stop working due to the exhaustion of water and fuel needed to operate generators, while they are crowded with huge numbers of victims and civilians seeking shelter from the Israeli bombing.”
Doctors, health directors and international relief organizations describe the matter as a “nightmare”, including forcing doctors to perform surgeries without or with simple anesthesia, or by the light of mobile phones, and in some cases using vinegar instead of disinfectant.
Not only are Gaza’s hospitals overwhelmed with thousands of patients suffering from severe injuries as a result of the constant aerial bombardment, they are also filled with tens of thousands of people seeking shelter, making it even more difficult to care for the wounded.
Doctors talk about the crises in Gaza
Dr. Medhat Abbas, Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said: “We do not have fuel to operate backup generators, and the first to be affected are the operating rooms, intensive care units, and emergency rooms.” He continued: “We have large numbers of victims in hospitals that deal with surgical cases, and the problem is The staff is exhausted and we do not have any medical supplies, and we consume in a day what we used to consume in a month.”
Abbas said: “We perform surgeries on some patients in hospital corridors, on the ground and by the light of mobile phones, and some of them underwent surgeries without anesthesia.”
Destruction of the northern Gaza Strip
Limited quantities of medical supplies have been allowed to cross the border between Egypt and Gaza in recent days, but Israel refuses to allow them to be distributed in the north, where most hospitals are located, as the Israeli government wants to destroy the entire northern half of the Gaza Strip and the Strip has been evacuated ahead of the planned ground offensive.
The World Health Organization says it has not been possible to distribute fuel or medical supplies in the north due to the absence of security guarantees, and no new fuel has been allowed into Gaza since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, starving hospital generators as well as the water desalination and pumping plant. Water necessary for the water system.
Over the past few days, aid officials had been optimistic that fuel would eventually be included in aid convoys crossing from Egypt, but on Tuesday evening, Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari was adamant that this was not the case.
Hajari said: “The fuel will not enter Gaza because Hamas uses it to meet its operational needs. If necessary, Hamas can return the fuel it stole from UNRWA – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees – and give it to hospitals.”
