Turkish surgeon volunteering in Gaza calls for urgent health care workers, equipment

By Halil Ibrahim Medet

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish doctor Taner Kamaci, a pediatric surgery specialist working as a volunteer physician in Gaza since March 18, called for an urgent healthcare workers and equipment's, he told Anadolu.

Kamaci said that hundreds of severely injured people are brought to the emergency department of the hospital where he works every day as a result of Israel's attacks, emphasizing: "There is a serious need for materials. If supplies run out and cannot reach emergencies, only emergency surgeries are performed at the moment."

"We need serious expert support from around the world and serious medical material support," Kamaci stressed.

Kamaci mentioned that he was the only one from Türkiye in the team and said: "We are currently in a region between Khan Yunus and Rafah. We are at the Gaza European Hospital. We provide healthcare here.

"There has been a great oppression and genocide ongoing for 6 months in front of the whole world's eyes. Unfortunately, there are states and governments that remain silent despite having the power to speak up," he noted.

He said: "Personally, everyone has their own test, and I am here to take my own test. Because first and foremost, I am a believer, and then I am a conscientious person."

Kamaci highlighted that conscientious people around the world are engaging in various activities such as boycotts and demonstrations to support Gaza, and as a physician, he had the opportunity to do his part, emphasizing the significant need for trauma surgeons, nurses specialized in trauma surgery, and intensive care nurses in the region.

Pointing out that there are only two hospitals providing significant healthcare services in Gaza, Kamaci emphasized: "There is a serious need for materials. If supplies run out and cannot reach emergencies, only emergency surgeries are performed at the moment. We need serious expert support from around the world and serious medical material support."

He underlined that the number of aid trucks reaching Gaza from the Rafah Border Crossing is insufficient to meet the region's needs, stating that while there is a need for at least a thousand trucks per day, the number of trucks entering the region ranges from 70 to 100.

- 'Many people hugged me when they heard I came from Türkiye'

Kamaci mentioned that despite the difficulties and hunger Gazans face, they shared their suhoor and iftar meals with him.

"Until we crossed from Egypt to Gaza, everyone looked upset, but as soon as we arrived in Gaza, despite all this war, pain, lack, and all these hardships, I saw people who were always smiling. This deeply affected me. They welcomed us very well," he said.

"Especially many people who heard that I came from Türkiye came and hugged me directly. People here have high expectations from Türkiye," he added.

He also pointed out that people displaced from northern Gaza and other areas take refuge around the hospital where they work, trying to stay in places they consider safer such as hospital corridors and stairwells.

Indicating that only temporary solutions can be provided in Gaza as long as the war continues, Kamaciu8 concluded:

"Maybe this is the safest place in Gaza, yet almost every day there are bombings near the hospital, around us. Every day, 50-60-100 people come to the emergency room, either seriously injured patients rescued from rubble or adults, children, women who have been shot, especially with sniper shots.

"We try to operate and treat them as best as we can, but while a bomb injures or kills 100 people, we gather 100 people to try to save 20 patients. The pain, injuries, and traumas suffered by these children, women, and people here are unbearable. Even though we are healthcare workers, our hearts cannot bear it," he said.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul