From Al-Ahli Hospital, Pakistani-American doctor paints harrowing picture of Gaza under fire
Israel's war on Gaza, which began after Oct. 2023 attacks by Hamas, has killed more than 61,700 Palestinians, including women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The United Nations (UN) and aid groups have reported widespread shortages of food, power and safety equipment in the territory that has been besieged by the Israeli military, with hundreds dying of hunger.
An explosion was heard in the backdrop of an interview on Thursday with Dr. Ali, who graduated from Lahore's Allama Iqbal Medical College and later trained in anesthesia and pain management at the Harvard University.
'You would have heard this explosion, this is going on non-stop. It goes on every two minutes,' he said, describing the situation in Gaza. 'These people have not only lost their homes, whatever they had, cars, homes, whatever memories they had inside home, the pictures, the achievements, diplomas and degrees, they lost everything.'
United Nations (UN) spokesman Stephane Dujarric this week warned that starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at the highest levels since the war began.
The UN says nearly 12,000 children under 5 were found to have acute malnutrition in July — including more than 2,500 with severe malnutrition, the most dangerous level. The World Health Organization says the numbers are likely an undercount.
Dr. Ali said all of Gaza residents were forced to live in tents without food, water or electricity as Israeli military had laid waste to the territory through its air and ground strikes.
The Pakistani-American doctor, who has traveled to various countries on humanitarian missions and is in Gaza for the third time, said that the malnutrition is so severe in the territory that 15- to 16-month-old teenager had a hemoglobin of 6 grams per deciliter, against a healthy average of 12-18 g/dL.
Speaking about the situation at Al-Ahli Hospital, Dr. Ali said the facility has been functioning despite being bombed but is under 'severe pressure.'
'The hospital's capacity is less than 100 beds, but there are about five or six hundred patients here who are inpatients. Inpatients means that those poor people lie down with a pillow or blanket wherever they find a place,' he said, adding that two attacks near the hospital killed 'many children' on Wednesday.
The medic, however, showered his praise on Gazans for being most 'thankful to Allah' despite all the adversity.
'Their level of 'iman' [faith] is at a very different level,' he said. 'When you live among them, when you spend time among them, you feel like you are in the most blessed people in the most blessed place.'
Dr. Ali appealed to the Pakistani people to prioritize the Palestinian people above their personal needs.
'Pray for them as much as you can, help them as much as you can, and prioritize them even more than your own family,' he added.
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