I left Gaza on December 18 after spending five weeks in Khan Yunis. These were some of the most harrowing days I have lived through in my eight years of working as a doctor with MSF.
Entering Gaza was scary. Even though I was in Egypt for three weeks preparing for the Gaza mission, no one really knew what kind of security situation my team and I were going to face. We planned to go to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza to support the staff there. But despite being in touch with people there, we had no way to really know how the situation was.
When we arrived, there were still plenty of staff members around since a majority of the attacks until then had mainly been focused in the north and Gaza City. Whilst lots of attacks had occurred in the South as well, Khan Yunis itself didn’t have to evacuate. However, the city was absorbing evacuees from Gaza City, which was putting a further strain on healthcare facilities.
When I arrived at Nasser hospital, I found a big IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camp as most hospitals in Gaza are doubling up as shelters. When I reached, the hospital had already exceeded bed capacity by 200 per cent. By the time I left, they were at 350 per cent bed capacity.
Inside the hospital, it was impossible to know which patients were more critically injured or who needed what kind of treatment. Providing the required level of care was difficult due to the lack of resources. Finding space to treat patients was almost impossible.
This story is from the January 11, 2024 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 11, 2024 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
No Singular Self
Sudarshan Shetty's work questions the singularity of identity
Mass Killing
Genocide or not, stop the massacre of Palestinians
Passing on the Gavel
The higher judiciary must locate its own charter in the Constitution. There should not be any ambiguity
India Reads Korea
Books, comics and webtoons by Korean writers and creators-Indian enthusiasts welcome them all
The K-kraze
A chronology of how the Korean cultural wave(s) managed to sweep global audiences
Tapping Everyday Intimacies
Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo departs from his outsized national cinema with low-budget, chatty dramedies
Tooth and Nail
The influence of Korean cinema on Bollywood aesthetics isn't matched by engagement with its deeper themes as scene after scene of seemingly vacuous violence testify, shorn of their original context
Beyond Enemy Lines
The recent crop of films on North-South Korea relations reflects a deep-seated yearning for the reunification of Korea
Ramyeon Mogole?
How the Korean aesthetic took over the Indian market and mindspace
Old Ties, Modern Dreams
K-culture in Tamil Nadu is a very serious pursuit for many