Memories of war haunt Gaza’s doctors
The doctors in the Gaza Strip who worked during the late war recall the pain they went through when dealing with the victims, and speak of the psychological scars they bear in the war's aftermath.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — “It’s pure madness.” This was how the head of the reception department at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, Ayman al-Sahbani, described the situation experienced by the doctors who dealt with the thousands of wounded during the 50-day Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the health sector has suffered and was still suffering from numerous crises, including shortages of medicine and fuel and delayed salaries for doctors.
Sahbani is still haunted by death and torn bodies that he witnessed while working at the hospital. Every time he looks at his children, he remembers the children who died in his arms while he tried to save them.
Sahbani told Al-Monitor, “Whenever I hear the word ‘war,’ I am terrified, because it means going back to seeing children torn apart, missing my children for long periods, living in the midst of blood all the time, and a lack of mental and physical comfort.”
According to the spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qudra, the Israeli aggression on Gaza this past summer resulted in the death of 2,147 Palestinians, including 530 children and 302 women, while 10,744 people were injured, including 3,258 children and 2,089 women. “The number of martyrs among the medical staff has reached 23, and 83 were wounded,” Qudra said.
