Challenges face Gazans seeking treatment in West Bank
Some of Gaza’s injured are receiving medical attention in the West Bank, but Israeli restrictions are making it difficult to get more of the wounded across.
NABLUS, West Bank — After Mahmoud al-Masri, 15, was injured, he met his brother for the first time in his life, while their mother was waiting for them in the Gaza Strip. He arrived in Nablus to get treated after the family home in Khan Yunis was bombed during the recent Israeli aggression. He underwent several surgeries after suffering a fractured foot, with cuts in his tendons and arteries.
“I was walking near the house when it was bombed by Israeli reconnaissance aircraft," Masri told Al-Monitor. "I fell on the ground and sustained an injury to the foot. I held it and ran. A while later, I fell on the ground and could not stand anymore.”
Masri was relieved when he arrived to Nablus for treatment since it was a chance to meet his brother. “I was supposed to go to Al-Makassed Islamic Charitable Society Hospital in Jerusalem, but I was transferred to Nablus," he said. "I remembered that my brother lives there. I have never seen him in my life before, because he is banned from entering Gaza. I spoke with him on the phone before I reached Nablus. The joy of seeing him made me forget the pain I was feeling. We cried in front of people.”
A source from the Ministry of Health in Ramallah said on condition of anonymity, “The wounded are brought from the Gaza Strip via the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, after the hospitals in Gaza select the names and the cases [to be moved to the West Bank].” The source told Al-Monitor, “The cases [selected] are in urgent need of surgeries and immediate treatment that are not available in Gaza because of a lack of doctor teams, equipment and medical devices. The ministry then coordinates for the transport of patients out of the Strip.”
