Felix Abt: Some doctors in Gaza explained that they can’t even use a cold compress because of the lack of water, others explained that they clean wounds with vinegar and detergent and operate on people without anesthesia and even without painkillers. Let’s take a concrete example: How do you treat a child whose body is covered in shrapnel—with severely damaged limbs and perhaps dozens of open wounds from “head to toe”—given the extremely limited resources you have at your disposal and the extreme conditions (such as non-sterile areas, no anesthesiologist to assist you, etc.) in which you are working?
Felix Abt: When there is a shortage of almost everything—supplies, staff, hospital beds and facilities—the health workers in Gaza not only have to make inhumane sacrifices, but also have to make serious decisions and practically decide which patient can continue to live and which has to die, “playing God” so to speak. In addition, you can be in constant fear for your life, as you could be hit by an Israeli bomb at any time. In fact, journalists and medical personnel seem to be among the main targets of the Israeli “defense” forces. How do you cope with this incredible psychological strain on top of the extreme working conditions?
Dr. S.A. Khan: The last question is easy…and with humor. The Gazans have a very dry wit and are extremely generous people…That’s probably why I get on with Gazans…I have described them as the ”Pathans [Pashtuns] of the Middle East”….an Afghan tribe!
“Swimming with the fish” as my Norwegian colleague Eric from Norway would say….When you sit, and eat, and you work together and stop for a smoke…you become part of the team but you then direct the team, as there has been no senior doctor for weeks at the hospital.
Felix Abt: On January 5, UNICEF reported that “cases of diarrhea in children are up 50 percent in just one week, with 90 percent of children under two now subject to ‘severe food poverty.’” Now, with thousands of children already dead as a result of the violence, it looks like a tsunami of child deaths is on the horizon. And the trickle of aid [the amount and type of which is controlled by the occupying forces] is not making the situation any better. How do you assess this situation?
Dr. S.A. Khan: I had a WhatsApp message that one of the patients I treated had [contracted] hepatitis A…the living conditions will only get worse from an already bad situation.
Felix Abt: Hamas has been trying for years to persuade Israel to release the countless Palestinians, including children, many of whom have been imprisoned for years without trial. After failing to do so, it tried to take Israelis hostage on October 7 to force the release of the Palestinian prisoners. As a result of the hostage exchange, the returned Palestinians stated that many of them had been horribly mistreated [including torture and rape] in Israeli prisons. Did you or your colleagues have the opportunity to talk to the returnees and possibly have them medically examined?
Dr. S.A. Khan: NO COMMENT. As a humanitarian, I treat all injured irrespective of who they are…but we also do not disclose those we have treated, unless we have permission from the patient.
Felix Abt: Is there anything else readers should know?
Dr. S.A. Khan: Stop attacking hospitals…a BIG FULL STOP…Let the humanitarian agencies do their work.
Felix Abt: Is there anything readers can do, such as donate money to the Mobile International Surgical Teams (MIST)?
Dr. S.A. Khan: [Any] money donated goes to buying kits and consumables….All MIST members are volunteers and do not profit from any of their endeavors. Visit our website to donate: www.mistngo.co.uk
MIST builds capacity and supports surgical centers in developing countries to become self-sustaining and provide excellent health care to local populations, regardless of the race, religion, or nationality of patients, and without adverse discrimination of any kind.
Pictures