'A war on children:' GTA doctors describe horrors of war in Gaza
Three GTA-based surgeons have returned from a two-week stint in hospitals in southern Gaza, where they operated on dozens of children maimed by Israel’s bombing campaign and warned of many more casualties to come if the war continues.
The doctors, who returned to the GTA last week, described a healthcare system on the brink of collapse amid the constant shelling and lack of basic supplies in Gaza as they reflected on the experience in interviews with CTV News Toronto.
“It was a lot of children. A lot of women, a lot of grandparents, a lot of families coming in collectively, every single hour. There’s bombs going every hour. You feel a 24-hour humming of drones all above you, that’s constant,” recalled Dr. Yasser Khan, a Toronto-area ophthalmologist. “It was mass chaos. I never really expected how bad it was.”
Dr. Khan, Dr. Al-Kassem, and Dr. Amgad Elsherif travelled through Egypt to Gaza with three other surgeons from the United States in a group assembled by the non-profit organization Rahma Worldwide. They worked in the Nasser and European Hospitals in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
Their decision to speak publicly about their experiences in Gaza came as a number of demonstrations were held over the weekend in Toronto to mark 100 days since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war.
The war began on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking hundreds of others hostages.
Israel responded with a military campaign to dismantle Hamas and return the hostages. According to a count by the Gazan Ministry of Health, more than 23,000 people in Gaza have died so far.
More than 10,000 of those dead have been children, according to a count by that ministry.
“There are people on the roads. The ambulances cannot reach them. There are people under the rubble. There are people who died from trauma, who don’t have medication. There is no dialysis in the whole of Gaza. So these people are not counted,” Dr. Amgad Elsherif said.
Dr. Anas El-Kassem was among three Canadian doctors who visited Gaza to provide supplies and perform dozens of surgeries, many on children wounded in the war. (Supplied)
Dr. Al-Kassem said the youngest patient he operated on was five years old. Dr. Yasser Khan said he operated on the eyes of children that were damaged by shrapnel, with the youngest being as little as two years old.
“This really is a war on children,” Khan said. “There are a lot of children and there is children everywhere. So it makes sense that if a bomb is dropped, it’s going to cause a lot of chaos and deaths of children.”
Exhausted hospital staff were happy to receive supplies the doctors brought, as they were lacking in basic items, said Dr. Al-Kassem.
“What strikes you is the amount of suffering, the hunger that impacted the million that went to South Gaza as a refuge. You can see a lot of families suffering,” he said.
He said he was struck by the resilience of the population, and recalled one surgery on a five –year-old girl with a cranial injury, who survived an initial operation.
The next day, she appeared to be paralyzed, he said. He and a neurosurgeon reviewed the CAT scan and found another injury and doctors did surgery on her head immediately, he said.
“She was able to move her extremities the next day. There are great success stories,” he said. “You do what you have to do to save lives,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Alberta town takes action fighting crime, addressing homelessness, addictions issues
In Cold Lake, Alta., drivers leaning through windows at the McDonald’s drive-thru have been ambushed by people running by and snatching food right out of their hands.
Workplace habit of 'coffee badging' prompts reported new policy at Amazon
The term 'coffee badging' has gained some new significance this week with multiple outlets reporting Amazon is allegedly taking measures to counter the workplace trend it refers to.
Trudeau and family head to British Columbia for vacation in unnamed location
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will head to British Columbia on Sunday, where he will be on vacation with his family until Aug. 1.
Stranger sexually assaulted Surrey woman while she was asleep in her home, RCMP say
A woman in Surrey's Newton neighbourhood woke up to a stranger groping her early Saturday morning, according to local police.
Baby dies after pregnant woman fatally struck by vehicle in downtown Toronto
A woman fatally struck by a sedan in downtown Toronto earlier this week was pregnant, and her baby has also died, police say.
'I took a bullet for democracy': Trump holds first rally after assassination attempt
Donald Trump is holding his first campaign rally since he survived an attempted assassination, returning to the battleground state of Michigan alongside his new running mate.
Democratic consensus solidifies around Harris, should Biden step aside
No one quite knows what the process of picking a new nominee would be if Joe Biden did step aside – but many Democrats say that any process is likelier than ever to quickly end with Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee.
A 12-year-old girl is accused of smothering her younger cousin over an iPhone
A 12-year-old girl in Tennessee has been charged with murder, accused of smothering her eight-year-old cousin as the younger girl slept. A relative said they had been arguing over an iPhone.
Here are the signs you're ready to downsize your home
Amid the cost-of-living crisis, many Canadians are looking to find ways to save money, such as downsizing their home. But one Ottawa broker says there are several signs to consider before making the big decision.