Operations performed in corridors as Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital beyond capacity

GAZA, Palestine

Doctors are carrying out operations Wednesday in the corridors of the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the Gaza Strip, as all rooms and departments are working at full capacity.

Medical personnel in the hospital have to undergo surgeries on children without anesthesia because of a lack of equipment while many other patients are waiting for their turn, despite having serious injuries or bleeding.

Marwan Abu Saada, a consultant surgeon and director of international cooperation in the Palestinian Health Ministry, told Anadolu that the scenes are normal in hospitals in the Gaza Strip and the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

“As you can see, these places (corridors) have become recovery rooms for patients because there are no beds. More than 800 wounded people are lying on treatment beds, in addition to the maternity, preterm, dialysis, and emergency wards being filled with patients,” he said.

Abu Saada said teams have to perform under difficult conditions and they had to leave patients in corridors after surgery as all short-stay units are full.

He described the situation as "catastrophic.”

"The capacity is completely full in recovery," he said.

"Running of fuel will lead to a major disaster, especially for patients in intensive care, nurseries, dialysis, and operations. Tomorrow, the last drops of fuel will run out in Al-Shifa Hospital, and if fuel is not brought in, the health system in the largest hospital in Palestine will fail,” he said.

The Health Ministry did not succeed in evacuating patients from emergency departments due to the deterioration of the security situation as a result of the continued Israeli bombing, he said.

There has been “severe pressure” on medical personnel stemming from the lack of supplies, medicines, beds, medical consumables and equipment necessary for intensive care, he said.

"There are not enough anesthetics. Some operations are performed without anesthesia,” said Abu Saada “The shortage of some medicines, such as antibiotics, affects the service, as serious wounds contain dirt, projectiles and burns that require certain types of antibiotics that are not available in the local market or hospitals.”

He urged the immediate evacuation of patients from the Gaza Strip to Egypt because their ability to receive other patients has become very limited.

Manar Fayyad, an anesthesia and resuscitation specialist, told Anadolu that surgeries are performed inside corridors and operating rooms with simple anesthesia and without artificial respirators.

"Medical teams are forced to use low-quality anesthesia to save the lives of the injured,” said Fayyad, adding that it poses a threat to life.

Last week, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari did not rule out the possibility of Israeli forces attacking the Al-Shifa Hospital.

The Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, launched a surprise cross-border offensive against Israel on Oct. 7.

The death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has climbed to 8,525, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said Tuesday.

“The victims include 3,542 children and 2,187 women, while 21,543 other people were injured,” spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told a news conference in Gaza City.

More than 1,538 Israelis have been killed in the conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected growing calls for a cease-fire, saying it would be a "surrender" to Hamas.

An Israeli blockade of the Strip has also cut off Gaza from fuel, electricity and water supplies.

Reduced aid deliveries are unable to satisfy the needs of the more than 2 million residents in the enclave.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar