Doctors under siege: Australian physician reveals horrors of Gaza’s healthcare collapse

The anesthesiologist, speaking to Al Jazeera, said the number of amputations he has had to perform has become uncountable, as two other hospitals in the area have been shut down amid relentless Israeli bombardment of the besieged enclave.

“On the first day, I thought I’d never seen anything like this. In the days after, I saw even more. The number of amputations I’ve performed—I’ve lost count,” he said.

He added that Sunday’s Israeli strike killed one of the hospital’s nurses and his wife, leaving behind their only surviving child, an 11-year-old boy with severe facial burns.

“I couldn’t even give him painkillers. His name is Mohammed, and he kept asking: ‘Can I see my father? I didn’t even say goodbye to him.’”

Once Gaza’s largest medical complex, al-Shifa Hospital has been largely reduced to rubble after repeated sieges and bombardments by Israeli forces since the war began in October 2023.

Gaza’s medical facilities have been repeatedly targeted, including with 2,000-pound bombs supplied by the United States, Israel’s closest ally.

Hundreds of doctors have been killed during the 23-month Israeli assault on Gaza, which many human rights organizations — including the United Nations — have described as genocide.

Among the victims was Adnan al-Bursh, head of orthopedics at al-Shifa, who died under torture months after his arrest in December 2023 in an Israeli prison. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, was detained in November and remains imprisoned in Israel.

Targeting medical facilities, healthcare workers, and patients constitutes a war crime under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Israel has repeatedly justified its deadly attacks on hospitals across Gaza by claiming they are targeting Palestinian resistance groups, though it has never presented evidence to substantiate these claims. Independent media reports, including Al Jazeera’s, have documented otherwise.

Yesterday, Gaza’s Health Ministry announced that two hospitals in Gaza City had ceased operations due to intensified ground assaults and heavy bombardments as Israeli tanks advanced deeper into the city.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee Gaza City as Israel threatens to capture it — a city that housed over a million people before Israel’s previous assault.

Meanwhile, famine is spreading as Israel continues to block humanitarian aid; at least 440 people have died of hunger so far.

The Health Ministry also reported that al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital was severely damaged by Israeli airstrikes days ago, while nearby St. John Eye Hospital was forced to shut down after being hit.

The statement added: “The occupiers are deliberately and systematically targeting Gaza’s healthcare system as part of their genocidal policy. No hospital or medical center has safe access routes for patients or the wounded.”

Despite the ongoing assaults, doctors at al-Shifa say abandoning their patients is not an option. Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the hospital’s director, said: “Our medical staff continues to carry out its humanitarian mission under immense pressure inside this hospital complex.”

He stressed: “Their message remains clear: we will serve patients and the wounded with all the strength we have.”