Israel-Hamas War: Doctors forced to perform surgeries in Gaza without anesthesia, claims WHO

The war that Hamas brought on Gaza after Israel started flattening the Palestine enclave in the aftermath of the October 7 attack by the terrorist outfit that claimed over 1400 Israeli lives has pushed civilians down a dark alley.

Doctors have been forced to perform surgeries, including amputations, without anesthesia in Gaza, World Health Organization spokesperson claimed.

“Nothing justifies the horror being endured by civilians in Gaza,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said.

He underlined the “desperate need for water, fuel, food and safe access to health care to survive” in Gaza.

Lindmeier reiterated the United Nations’ calls for “unhindered, safe and secure access” for some 500 trucks of aid a day — not only across the border but also “all the way through to the patients in the hospitals,” where surgeries including amputations were being performed without anesthesia.

Lindmeier further said the level of death and suffering is “hard to fathom.”

At least 16 health care workers have been killed while on duty, said Lindmeier, stating that any attacks on health care are forbidden by international humanitarian law.

On Tuesday, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said one of its colleagues and several of his family members were killed in a blast at the Al Shati refugee camp.

Mohammed Al Ahel, an MSF laboratory technician and several members of his family died in the blast Monday, the organisation said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also said its humanitarian convoy came under fire on Tuesday when it was delivering essential medical supplies to health facilities in Gaza.

According to ICRC, two trucks were damaged in the attack, and a driver sustained minor injuries.

With inputs from agencies