Little light, no beds, not enough anesthesia: A view from the ‘nightmare’ of Gaza’s hospitals

By ISABEL DEBRE and WAFAA SHURAFA
Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — In the besieged Gaza Strip, hospitals are nearing collapse as doctors work under the most trying conditions. Medical supplies are dwindling and fuel is running out even as the death toll is mounting and hospitals are overflowing with more patients than they can handle. Doctors deprived of medicine and bandages are focusing on simply stabilizing their patients instead of fully treating their wounds. Many are resorting to creative tactics to make up for the lack of basic items. They use clothes for bandages, vinegar for antiseptic. One says the only thing worse than the screams of a patient undergoing surgery without enough anesthesia are the terror-stricken faces of those awaiting their turns.