December 30, 2008

"Just let me die"

Due to a lack of electricity, surgeries are being conducted by the light of cellular phones, and hospitals no longer have room to take in those deceased, A doctor in Gaza said that a patient he had to work on without anesthesia cried out these words.

With Israel's blockade on the admittance of medical supplies and food within the border, Gaza is in the midst of a serious humanity drama, going into the fourth day of Israeli operations. With death tolls reaching 364 and the number of wounded surpassing 1,400, there are practically no doctors, hospitals or medicine to be found in the region. With a total patient capacity of 2,000, private clinics and hospitals are unable to handle the increasing capacity of hose wounded. The city is limited to six hours of electricity access. Finding clean water is equivalent to a miracle. Due to Hamas' coming to power and 19 months of an Israeli blockade, medical supplies have practically been depleted.

'I constantly hear moaning'

Doctors are praying that help will come as soon as possible. The drama taking place at the city's largest hospital, Sifa, is like a memorial of hopelessness... Despite the destitute conditions, doctors are doing all they can to bring the wounded back to life. Describing the conditions to England's Guardian newspaper, doctors stated; "The corridors are completed filled with stretchers. Meanwhile, not only are there not enough doctors to treat the patients, there is also not enough medicine. Surgeries are being conducted without using anesthesia. Due to the electricity cuts, patients can not be put on medical equipment, nor do the morgues have enough room to take in corpses. The sounds of patients moaning in pain are constantly heard in our minds. In fact, I can still hear the words of a patient who was drenched in blood having had his leg ripped off, saying; for God's sake, just let me die."

THE INJURED ARE BEING TREATED AT HOME

"Because there is no electricity, surgical operations are being done with the light from cellular phones. Due to the constant flow of wounded patients coming into the hospital, corpses are piled one on top of another in a corner of the corridor. Patients nauseated by the blood leaking from the corpses, scream for help from doctors. Many patients are being treated at home due to the lack of space in the hospitals. Meanwhile, the hopeless looks from parents trying to find their children, cuts to the heart."