MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

A British surgeon with the Worldwide Committee of the Crimson Cross just lately crossed into Gaza. NPR’s Aya Batrawy spoke with him about what he has seen as hospitals overflow with individuals injured by Israeli airstrikes. And a warning – this report contains graphic descriptions of their accidents.

AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Dr. Tom Potokar tells me he is seen a catastrophic scenario since getting into Gaza on October 27 the size of which he is by no means seen earlier than.

TOM POTOKAR: I have been to Gaza many, many instances over time. I’ve by no means seen a scenario even remotely as unhealthy as it’s at the moment.

BATRAWY: The British plastic, reconstructive and burns surgeon leads what the Worldwide Committee of the Crimson Cross says is a struggle surgical procedure group in Gaza. Quite a lot of the instances he is dealing with have been ladies and kids with very advanced accidents and burns.

POTOKAR: We’re seeing simply poly-trauma – so a number of accidents in the identical affected person – you already know, legs, arms, chest, stomach, head – all difficult and plenty of them by burns on high of this – simply an unmanageable variety of sufferers.

BATRAWY: An unmanageable variety of sufferers. I requested him what that appears like.

POTOKAR: I feel the phrases to finest describe it could simply be overwhelming, to be trustworthy.

BATRAWY: The Palestinian Well being Ministry in Gaza says greater than 10,300 Palestinians have died from the struggle since October 7, and 26,000 individuals have been wounded. It says amongst them are greater than 4,200 kids killed, almost all from Israeli airstrikes and bombardment. Israel says it is focusing on Hamas, which launched an assault on southern Israel that killed 1,400 individuals, in accordance with Israeli officers. Some 240 individuals had been taken hostage, and Israeli leaders say troops are aiming to rescue these hostages and remove Hamas. In Gaza, the demise toll retains climbing, with strikes on ambulances, hospitals, bread strains, U.N.-run shelters and 1000’s of residence buildings. Israel acknowledges many of those assaults and blames Hamas fighters for utilizing tunnels below civilian infrastructure. The heads of 18 U.N. companies say these locations should be protected and have reiterated requires a cease-fire. Palestinians say the vast majority of victims are civilians, and Potokar takes a minute to explain how advanced even certainly one of these instances is.

POTOKAR: I’ve a affected person now who’s on the desk that I have to go and function now. You realize, he misplaced 20 members of his household. He is the one one left. He has associates right here. He does not have any household right here. He is a younger man. He has 40% burns, of which half of them are deep burns. He has huge shrapnel wounds to the chest, to the foot, to the buttock. He is septic, so he is already obtained an infection. You realize, he is in a crucial situation. Even giving him an anesthetic is extraordinarily harmful due to his normal general situation. But when we do not function to scrub up a few of these wounds, then, you already know, the an infection does not get managed. You realize, that is a really typical case.

BATRAWY: He additionally operated on a baby who was below the rubble for 2 days. The well being ministry in Gaza says almost 1,400 kids are lacking below the rubble.

POTOKAR: A case of a kid – once more, misplaced all his household, pulled out of the rubble after two days with intensive burn accidents. He is slowly getting just a little bit higher.

BATRAWY: In one other case, he needed to inform the dad and mom of a kid with extreme burns that their son would not survive.

POTOKAR: And sadly, he died a few days later. You realize, that is the truth of what is occurring.

BATRAWY: And for a lot of who might survive this struggle, their long-term prognosis is not good both, he says.

POTOKAR: There’s plenty of sufferers that can undergo vital, long-term incapacity on account of a mix of, you already know, amputations, vital mushy tissue accidents, delayed burn contractures.

BATRAWY: Solely 17 out of Gaza’s 35 hospitals are nonetheless operational. The Palestinian well being Ministry says the remainder have been broken by Israeli bombs or have run out of gas for turbines. Potokar has been working at Gaza’s European hospital in Khan Yunis, one of many few nonetheless operational in southern Gaza that may obtain a few of the restricted help trickling in from Egypt. I requested the surgeon how he and his group are retaining protected even because the ICRC communicates with Israel and has helped within the launch of 4 Israeli hostages from Gaza.

POTOKAR: I am unsure we’re. I imply, you already know, each single night time, there’s bombardments. There was a number of explosions simply outdoors the hospital final night time earlier than we left and once more this morning.

BATRAWY: Regardless of this, the physician says he is obtained no instant plans to depart Gaza.

POTOKAR: Not in the meanwhile, no, as a result of there is no one else getting in in the meanwhile. And, you already know, the wants are too nice. Yeah. I have to go. OK. Yeah. Bye.

BATRAWY: The younger man with no surviving household and burns throughout almost half his physique was on the working desk, ready for Dr. Potokar. Aya Batrawy, NPR Information.

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