On October 17, as Adnan Sawada was working in Maryland, he received a panicked call from Gaza, hundreds of miles away. His 36-year-old nephew called and delivered some heartbreaking news. Adnan’s elder brother, his father, had recently passed away in a Gaza hospital.
In a phone interview, Adnan stated, “His son was screaming.” “They discovered him too late.”
Adnan’s brother Shaaban Sawada is among the innumerable Gazans injured in airstrikes who were subsequently denied medical attention at the overcrowded facilities in the enclave.
Over 6,500 people have died as a result of Israeli bombing of Gaza, which started following Hamas’s unexpected terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 that claimed 1,400 lives, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Al-Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza, is operating at 150% capacity, according to a statement released by the World Health Organization on Tuesday. Due to damage caused by airstrikes and a shortage of fuel to power electric generators, some have been forced to close down or operate partially. Fuel supplies in the Gaza Strip are expected to run out by Thursday, according to the UN.
At the al-Shifa hospital on Tuesday, there was total anarchy. Children wailing in agony filled the corridors, their tiny bodies slathered in blood and adorned with severe wounds.
When the war started, British plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah traveled to Gaza to provide assistance. He revealed that a sizable 40% of the patients he is seeing are kids. Many of them have large-scale burns covering a significant portion of their bodies.
“In the last day alone, we’ve had 600 people lose their lives and three times that number wounded,” Dr. Abu-Sittah stated, revealing the harsh reality. The already burdened system is under even more stress.
When Abu-Sittah arrived two weeks earlier, Al-Shifa was already running low on supplies. Simple bandages for all the burns hospital staff are now treating are lacking. The medical team has been compelled to utilize ketamine as an anesthetic because there is not enough anesthesia equipment or anesthesiologists available for surgery, according to Abu-Sittah. Although it can be used for general anesthesia, ketamine is usually limited to shorter procedures such as the treatment of fractures and dislocations.
Shaaban, the brother of Adnan Sawada, visited a hospital in Gaza, but he was never given anesthetic. According to Adnan, he was outside the building next door in southern Gaza when it was attacked. The explosion left his leg with deep cuts.
Adnan stated, “The hospital didn’t take him right away.” “I believe they delayed taking him because the hospital is overflowing with injured patients, particularly children.”
While Adnan was waiting for a doctor to visit Shaaban, his nephew informed him that Shaaban had bled to death.
Adnan stated, “He could have been saved.” “I’m not upset with the physicians. I’m upset at the lack of support.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to incite intense anxiety among Americans who have family there that their loved ones won’t survive.
A Palestinian-American man from Houston who still has a large family in Gaza stated, “We just don’t know if it’s going to be the last time you talk to them.” He asked that his identity not be mentioned because he thought his family might be targeted.
According to him, he has already lost one cousin to the fighting. After being in a blast and losing a hand, a second cousin was unable to receive hospital care. His aunt suffers from Type 1 diabetes and is nearing insulin runout. In her third trimester, another relative is carrying a child.
He stated, “Not only is my pregnant cousin unable to see a doctor for routine checkups, but we’re worried that given the current circumstances, she may have to give birth to the baby.” The cousin is an American citizen. It’s simply too much. It’s overpowering.