Wounded war survivors in Gaza may live if Rafah reopens

Ghassan al Ejla has been moving among Gaza’s hospitals since the war broke out, from being trapped in Al Shifa's first raid last November, spending exhausting weeks at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, to tending to the wounded at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah since last December. As a nurse, he works tirelessly at the hospital all day in the war injuries department.

“I myself can’t bear hearing their groans and cries during the night. They're going through hell. They need intensive and constant care because any slip may cost their lives. It's an entirely meticulous process for us given the scale of severity of their injuries and our very limited capacity," Ejla tells TRT World.

“It comes down to either life or death for these people. They are in dire need of an immediate departure for medical assistance. Therefore, to prevent a catastrophic loss of human life, the Rafah Crossing and the evacuation of these patients need to happen right away.”

Almost 80,000 Palestinians are gravely injured from the brutalities of war, including shrapnel and explosive weapon wounds, burns, and broken limbs from being trapped under collapsed buildings. The numbers are likely to escalate as more people are being killed and injured en masse from Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza.

With a limited healthcare system operating in Gaza, they are in desperate need for an immediate exit to increase their diminishing chance of survival.

But the Rafah Crossing, the only lifeline for the critically wounded to receive treatment abroad, has been closed since Israel executed a ground military offensive on Rafah on May 7. Hundreds of thousands more were forced to evacuate to central Gaza and Khan Younis, areas already destroyed by the war.

Doctors have warned of the complex injuries faced by Palestinians in Gaza, including spinal cord injuries, nerve damage, amputations of one or several limbs, and devastating burns unlike any they have seen before.

Nurse Al Ejla described the situation as an “engineered torture forced upon Palestinians”.

"Someone needs to step up and stop the war. Our ultimate hope is to stop the suffering,” he said.

Gaza’s remaining 10 partially functional hospitals are now filled with people suffering from these types of injuries, who desperately need an urgent exit from the enclave to save their lives. As the crossing continues to be closed, they are facing an inevitable death.

In Deir al Balah, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital alone has at least 1500 cases, including head injuries, infected wounds, and multiple fractures. The reopening of the crossing will serve as a much needed lifeline for them.

In desperate need of nutrients

For Bashayer Al-Abeid, 17 years old, the war on Gaza left her lonelily suffering after killing her entire family. A bombing flattened her house last March in Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp and caused her an acute intracerebral haemorrhage, several cut-deep wounds, and complete paralysis.

She had to stay for 45 days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the hospital and was discharged to stay in one of the patients’ rooms inside the department of war injuries.

To help her breathe, she went through a tracheostomy. As she can’t eat or drink, she has a nasogastric tube. She is also nearly conscious. Every 2-3 hours, she needs medical vacuuming. In addition, she suffers from frequent spasms, which last for 30-60 minutes.

As malnutrition and food shortage take their toll on her health, she is now about 30 kgs.

Her cousin from her father’s side Al-Romansaa, who with her sisters stay with Bashayer all day long, spoke about the struggles they face with taking care of her, “She is barely conscious, and she becomes so for only 15 minutes. We understand it through her eyes, whether closed or not. But it’s still cumbersome for us to understand her demands.

“Spasms are too scary for us. Most times, we think she has already died. She pulls her tongue out and her head backwards for around an hour. Doctors have specified crushed fruits and fresh juice for us to bring her. Furthermore, she is in desperate need of nutrients and multivitamins. Unfortunately, they’re unaffordable for us.”

“Despite requiring intensive care, she was discharged earlier from the ICU as the hospital had been overcrowded with war injuries. She now needs two plastic surgeries, one in her head and the other in her left arm. We were working on the permit to evacuate and treat her abroad, but as the crossing is closed, her health is now deteriorating,” Al-Romansaa laments.

"We are calling out the world to reopen the crossing and save the lives of our people. I hope someone will read her heartbreaking story and help her to make it out and receive treatment to become the vibrant and lovely girl she was before October 7,” she sighs.

“We’re a traumatised people”

Suhair Harara, 19, has not been injured by the Israeli bombing, but her health has suffered greatly due to forced starvation, malnourishment, lack of food and water, and ongoing trauma.

Only two weeks ago, during a sanguinary day in Deir al Balah where she is seeking refuge after being displaced with her family from the north of Gaza, she felt an epigastric pain and visited the hospital for clinical diagnoses.

Her father Mohammed recounted the shocking news, “We came to the hospital, expecting a normal case of gastritis, hepatitis virus A, or flu. We never expected something serious. After the clinical diagnoses were done, we were appalled to know that she had an acute liver infection and needed an urgent liver transplantation.

“Since the start of the war, she has been suffering from malnutrition and food shortages. Moreover, she has been struggling with her immune system. Fruits are not available, vegetables are scarce, and meat is barely found. Even if they're found, I am unable to afford them. They're too expensive."

“Suhair is now unable to move and predominantly depends on fresh juices, which are also not available. She is always wailing from her pain, her body is so pale and yellow, and she rarely wakes up. She also needs care all day. I am completely helpless and hopeless. We’re a traumatised people.

“On her recent prescription is a medication, only found in Rafah. It’s just a painkiller. Who would go and risk their life to obtain it? No one can. It’s utterly heartbreaking. I literally need nothing but to see the Rafah Crossing opened once again, so I can save her life, no matter what it costs,” he tells TRT World.