Surgeons in Gaza forced to work without necessary tools
Canadian doctor Deirdre Nunan works at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Nunan said she did not have the relevant tools to carry out the necessary surgeries as an orthopaedic surgeon.
She said the Nasser Hospital is crumbling because of numerous Israeli attacks on the facility.
In the big operating theatres, she said less than half of the taps work, and in the satellite operating theatres, she said there are days when they have no water or not enough power to run the air-conditioning.
"We are cobbling together what is left from the storage rooms to try to piece together something that looks like orthopedic fixation using things that are the wrong size, the wrong length really providing what is unfortunately sub-optimal care in a totally unfit environment for people that have some of the worse injuries I've ever tried to treat in my life," she said.
Dr Nunan said healthcare workers are working in sweltering conditions that are dangerous for patients.
"I have to decide between the limited amount of time that we have in the operating room for which patient gets to go into which surgery on which day," she added.
Health officials say hospitals have been running out of fuel, food aid and medicine, risking a halt to vital operations.
Dr Nunan has been coming to Gaza since 2019 and is currently on her sixth tour of duty.
She has been in Gaza for the past three weeks.
"It's just one scene of desperation after another through the three weeks that I've been here.
"There are more and more people that are living on the hospital grounds and in the hospital corridors themselves."
She said the people of Gaza have almost no material possessions left, adding that children are begging for food and fresh water.
"I see it worsening before my eyes"
Yesterday, the head of Gaza's largest hospital has said 21 children have died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days.
Dr Nunan described the lives of colleagues living in tents and the ruins of their homes as lives of "bare survival".
She agreed with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the last lifelines keeping people alive in Gaza were collapsing.
"I see it worsening before my eyes," she said.
More than 100 aid organisations have warned that "mass starvation" is spreading in the Palestinian territory as Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the territory.
Dr Nunan said the people are what bring her back to Gaza.
"These are some of the most wonderful people I've ever met in the world.
"I've had multi-year friendships with a lot of my colleagues that we keep in touch even when I'm not here."
Despite the desperation, she said people in Gaza continue to be "so warm, so welcoming, so generous despite having nothing".
She said the healthcare workers are the most dedicated and professional she has ever worked with.
"For me it continues to be a privilege to come to Gaza even though I am absolutely heartbroken and extremely, extremely angry with the world for allowing this desecration to take place and for doing so little to stop it."
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