In an article published by the British newspaper The Independent, writer Tom Bennett quoted the touching stories told by Dr. Sima Al-Jilani – a pediatrician who recently left Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza – about the serious injuries she examined.
Among these painful stories is the story of an 11-year-old girl who suffered severe tissue burns to the point of stiffness in her limbs. She could hardly stop screaming, while she was in a tragic condition.
Likewise, the story of another one-year-old child whose leg was amputated, while his diaper was stained with blood.
According to the head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah is “the most important remaining hospital in the central region of Gaza.”
Devastation
When Dr. Seema Jilani first arrived at the hospital in late December, she saw black smoke rising from destroyed buildings about 600 meters from the hospital.
Days later, the devastation was only 400 meters away. According to Dr. “Every day, going up and down the stairs, you notice that the tension is clearly rising as people start to feel more and more worried about what it means that the hospital is becoming more and more crowded,” Sima said.
As the bombing approached the hospital, about 70% of health workers had evacuated, including Dr. Seema and her team.
One of the most notable events the hospital experienced was an Israeli air strike targeting a two-story building near the hospital entrance, killing at least 20 people.
The hospital has been filled in recent weeks with civilians seeking shelter inside, with families, pregnant women and children fighting for space in the chaos.
According to the doctor, many members of the local medical staff sleep in the facility, and some spend their nights “looking for food and water,” while others are forced to evacuate their families from one area to another.
Painful scenes
The pediatrician remembers that she saw members of the staff identifying some of the dead and wounded among their acquaintances.
“At one point, four of the five patients in the recovery room were children,” she said. “I was extremely shocked and horrified at the number of children and infants I had to take care of as a result of the bombing and airstrikes.”
But the scene that stuck in her mind more than others was the scene of the 23-year-old aid worker whose leg was amputated.
The hospital ran out of morphine, so he was initially treated with inadequate replacement medications. He was begging for water, but since he was scheduled to undergo surgery, he was not allowed to eat anything.
She stated that she did a very simple thing, as she took some water and wiped his forehead with cold water, wiped his face of the blood, removed the dust from it, and put some water from the gauze on his lips, and then he calmed down completely despite the severe injuries that befell him. He only wanted to die with dignity. .