GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center)A British surgeon working in the Gaza Strip has described the scale and severity of injuries caused by Israeli airstrikes as catastrophic, stating that many burn victims would not survive even under the best conditions in Europe’s most advanced hospitals.
Dr. Victoria Rose, who is part of a UK-based medical mission currently stationed at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza said, “I have never seen such a concentration of explosion-related injuries in my life. The sheer number of burn cases in Gaza is overwhelming.”
Dr. Rose, who had previously visited Gaza on professional missions, noted that the types of wounds she is now treating are unlike anything she has seen before.
“We’re seeing severe burns in very young children, some of which would be nearly impossible to survive even in well-resourced Western hospitals with functioning infrastructure and full medical supplies,” she said while working in the hospital’s pediatric ward, noting that “Most of these burns are fatal.”
Describing the brutal aftermath of Israeli airstrikes, Dr. Rose explained that injuries fall into two primary categories: catastrophic burns and trauma from the physical force of explosions.
“Civilians are thrown by the blast with enormous force, resulting in deep lacerations and traumatic amputations,” she said, elaborating that “many arrive from tents with dirt and debris embedded in their wounds, adding severe complications.”
The medical teams are forced to begin treatment by cleaning filthy wounds before attempting to save limbs or mitigate long-term damage. These efforts are increasingly difficult due to the rapid collapse of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure, she added, noting that Nasser Hospital itself has not been spared.
According to Dr. Rose, Israeli strikes recently destroyed a ward on the second floor and obliterated the hospital’s burn unit on the fourth.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 94% of Gaza’s hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, and more than half are now completely non-functional.
The World Health Organization (WHO) further confirmed this week that Gaza’s health system is nearing total collapse, with 42% of essential medications, including painkillers, now unavailable.
Dr. Hanan Balkhi, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said during a press conference in Geneva, “We have reached zero stock for about 64% of medical equipment, 43% of essential medicines, and 42% of vaccines.”
She highlighted that 51 WHO aid trucks remain stalled at Gaza’s border, awaiting clearance.
“Can you imagine a surgeon treating a fractured limb without anesthesia? We are running out of IV fluids, needles, and basic bandages,” Balkhi said. “Even antibiotics and medicines for chronic conditions are vanishing”, she added.
As the Israeli genocide continues to decimate Gaza’s health system and civilian population, medical professionals warn that survival in such conditions—especially for the severely injured—is becoming nearly impossible.
