Dr. Victoria Rose, a seasoned plastic surgeon from London, recently returned from a 21-day volunteer mission in Gaza, where she assisted at the Nasser Hospital, the last remaining operational facility in the southern region. The situation she witnessed was dire; upon her arrival one morning, she was met with an overwhelming influx of casualties from a mass shooting at a food distribution site.
"As I walked into the emergency room, ambulances were bringing in deceased individuals, while donkey-drawn carts followed suit," Dr. Rose recounted. "By 10 a.m., we received around 20 dead bodies and over a hundred gunshot victims."
The medical crisis in Gaza has escalated, according to Dr. Rose, as the health system buckles under the weight of traumatic injuries. During her time in the enclave, she observed a marked increase in severe injuries compared to her previous visits. Many patients fell victim to catastrophic burns and blast injuries resulting from Israeli explosives.
“The nature of the wounds has evolved,” she explained. “This time, we weren’t just treating shrapnel injuries; I saw patients come in with significant loss of limbs—a knee here, a foot there, or even entire hands missing.”
Dr. Rose's experience shines a light on the heartbreaking aftermath of violence in the region and the urgent humanitarian needs that arise in the wake of such conflicts. Her testimony serves as a poignant reminder of the daily struggles faced by those in Gaza as they navigate a reality fraught with peril.
