DEIR BALAH: Using an aluminum walker and a prosthetic leg, Palestinian pediatrician Khaled al-Saidani resolutely navigates his Gaza hospital while tending to youngsters who have also been wounded in the conflict.
He meticulously examines his patients at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital while carrying a stethoscope over his shoulders. As he passes from patient to patient, he gives the kids warm smiles and handshakes.
Having lost his right leg in an Israeli airstrike on his home last year, he is all too familiar with the devastation that can result from wartime injuries. At the hospital in central Gaza, Saidani stated, “I was wounded by shrapnel, and because I have diabetes, things got worse for me, and we had to amputate my leg.”
As he examined a patient, he stated that the prosthetic “is exhausting and has several downsides, but I’m able to move and walk.” As Saidani performed an examination, a toddler with an IV tube and bandaged fingers looked on.
Israeli attacks have made 36 hospitals in the besieged region inoperable.
Patients and their families are crammed into Al Aqsa Hospital, especially the general ward, where many are being treated for wounds sustained from Israeli airstrikes. The hospital is situated in Deir el-Balah, a region where Israeli troops and militants have regularly clashed.
Since the start of the conflict, there has been intense combat in large areas surrounding Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The military’s offensive, which was first concentrated on the northern regions of the Palestinian territories, has became more intense in recent months.
Medical personnel were killed
Since it began on October 7, 2023, the battle in Gaza has had a terrible impact on medical institutions and healthcare professionals. According to a recent assessment by UN experts, who cited data from the health ministry of the Hamas-run enclave, at least 1,057 Palestinian medical and health workers have died in Gaza since the start of the conflict.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also expressed regret on Wednesday over the “continuing attacks on health facilities across the Gaza Strip,” claiming that these strikes prevented victims from receiving the necessary medical care.
In the beleaguered Gaza Strip, the majority of the 36 hospitals have been rendered inoperable.
Only the emergency ward at Al Shifa Hospital, the biggest in the region, is currently open after suffering significant damage in an Israeli military raid. In the meantime, medical professionals like Saidani keep treating the constant influx of patients into facilities like Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital that are barely operating.
“I chose to go back to work because I’m content and at ease doing my job, even though the prosthetic limb makes me tired,” Saidani stated. His return has also pleased the patients’ relatives.
One mother, whose child, Mira Hamid, is receiving treatment at the hospital, stated, “My daughter has kidney disease.” Doctor Khaled al-Saidani continues to follow up with his patients and offer his services in spite of having had his leg amputated. God bless his diligence.
