‘500 casualties in 25 minutes’: Gazan doctor recounts horrors of Israel’s war

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - In the corridors of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the largest hospital in Gaza, a grim scene unfolds.

Children with amputated limbs sit silently, while displaced families line the hallways, some with IV drips hanging from doorways.

Dr. Mohammad Ashraf, a Palestinian emergency doctor at Gaza’s largest hospital and project officer for Turkish medical relief group Yeryuzu Doktorlari, recently returned from a 45-day stint at Al-Shifa.

Prior to Israel’s ongoing offensive in the enclave, now in its 11th month, Ashraf had attended a mass casualty management course with the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We have been trained to handle a maximum of 90 casualties per hour,” he recalled.

However, the reality of the war far exceeded their preparations.

“During the bombing of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, we received 500 casualties in 25 minutes at Al-Shifa Hospital,” Ashraf said.

This influx of patients overwhelmed the facility, already lacking in equipment, electricity, fuel for its generators, and other basic necessities.

For medical personnel, the strain of Israel’s war on Gaza has been severe, with at least 500 killed and 1,500 others injured since Oct. 7, and over 300 detained by Israeli forces, according to the latest official figures.

Despite these challenges, Gaza’s medical professionals remain determined, with many helping people at the only four hospitals that are partially functioning – Kamal Adwan Hospital, Indonesian Hospital, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, and the Nasser Hospital.

- ‘Did you bring us to hell?’

As the Israeli bombardment intensified, hospitals became more than just medical facilities, also serving as shelters for the displaced.

Ashraf recounted that, while treating a heavily bleeding patient, he learned that the man had received his injuries in the hospital’s maternity building, where the doctor’s own family had sought refuge.

When he opened the door to the wing, he found his mother, sister, and her children covered in dust, but alive, he recounted.

They cried out to him, “Did you bring us to hell?”

Months later, the scene at Al-Shifa Hospital is still one of overcrowding and scarcity. The injured and displaced fill every available space — hallways, rooms, and courtyards. With resources scarce, patients, displaced families, and medical staff share what little food and water they have.

- ‘Am I in heaven?’

Despite the dangers, people have rallied to support the overwhelmed hospitals.

When the Israeli army announced a ground offensive in southern Khan Younis in late July, doctors urgently called for blood donations via messaging app WhatsApp. The response was a flood of hundreds, risking their lives to donate at the hospitals amid heavy bombing and deserted streets.

The human toll throughout this crisis has been staggering, particularly for children.

Ashraf recounted a heartbreaking encounter with a nine-year-old girl covered in shrapnel wounds. “Am I in heaven?” she asked him. “My mother told me that when we get bombed, we go to heaven.” Tragically, the girl died hours later.

The account underscores the civilian nature of many casualties, a point emphasized by Ashraf: “Do you believe that this nine-year-old girl was anything but a civilian?”

- Desperate measures

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has highlighted the dire living conditions in Gaza.

“Families in Gaza live in inhumane conditions, with minimal access to water and sanitation leading to an increase in skin infections and diseases,” the agency reported, stressing the urgent need for more humanitarian access to bring in fuel for clean water, hygiene, and cleaning supplies, including soap.

The shortage of medical supplies has forced healthcare providers to take desperate measures. With many pharmacies across the enclave empty of life-saving drugs, many physicians have had to resort to such measures as advising patients to use seawater for treatment.

The lack of hygiene and medical supplies, such as crucial vaccines, has also led to a resurgence of severe contagious diseases, such as polio, which mostly affects children.

After global alarm over the threat of polio in Gaza, an emergency vaccination campaign was conducted this month in the enclave despite Israel’s ongoing attacks.

In the three-phased drive, over 560,000 children aged below 10 were vaccinated, according to WHO figures.