Egyptian doctor: The destruction in Gaza is beyond imagination, health situation is tragic

Abdel Aziz appealed to everyone, in statements made to Al Jazeera network on Sunday, to work towards ending the war by any means and to restore the medical system in a way that matches the magnitude of the health catastrophe.

It has been circulated on social media that Dr. Abdel Aziz has closed his clinic in Egypt, and he was one of the first doctors to volunteer for humanitarian missions as part of medical delegations that assist in treating the injured in Gaza following the Israeli aggression on the Strip that has been ongoing since October 2023.

A need beyond imagination

Recently, the professor of orthopedic surgery moved to the northern Gaza Strip and described what he witnessed, saying that there is extensive destruction in the area and it is rare to find a standing house suitable for habitation. People, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, are living in inhumane conditions, with many families separated by a bedsheet stretched on a rope, exposed to the sky. There is no drinking water, sanitation, or any means of sustenance, and regular food supply is unavailable. “The magnitude of the tragedies is beyond imagination,” he asserted.

Even people in tents, as the Egyptian doctor describes them, “have no place to return to, and they will remain in this miserable situation because there are currently no suitable places for construction due to the heaps of debris that must be removed first before reconstruction can begin.”

The health situation

Regarding the health situation in the Gaza Strip, he said, “Medical teams are suffering from severe shortages, and their numbers are decreasing due to martyrdom and arrest of many of them. Those who remain are doing a great job, but they are exhausted and overwhelmed. The available resources are disappearing over time because the number of injured is over 70,000, and most of these cases involve injuries accompanied by fractures, exposed muscles, severed arteries, and tendons.”

The Egyptian doctor added that “these people now need treatment first, and they will require months, and perhaps several years, of complementary treatment until the tragedy they are experiencing is over.”

He continued, “There are, of course, natural diseases that spread in overcrowded areas, in addition to the numerous injuries among civilians, including women, children, and the elderly. The nature of these injuries is in the head, eyes, abdomen, and chest, and there are amputations. All of these scenes are extremely painful.”

Abdel Aziz, who has been volunteering to treat the injured in Gaza since November 2023, appealed to everyone to work towards ending the war by any means and to restore the medical system in a way that matches the magnitude of the existing health disaster, and called for international solidarity to support reconstruction efforts and remove the effects of the aggression and debris, as all of Gaza is devastated both in terms of health and buildings.

However, the professor of orthopedic surgery at Kasr Al-Ainy in Cairo describes the resilience shown by the people of Gaza in the face of Israeli killing machinery, saying that “the thing that no one has succeeded and will never succeed in destroying is the resilience, patience, and gratitude of these people to Allah Almighty, and their determination to remain in their land.”

“May Allah help them, and may each person be able to play their role, even if it is small, as that helps the group that is destined to remain in steadfastness and resilience in this way,” he said.

Dr. Ahmed Abdel Aziz is one of the leading consultants in the field of orthopedic surgery at the Kasr Al-Ainy School of Medicine in Cairo. Social media platforms have mentioned that he headed to northern Gaza with the first medical delegation that was able to reach there in 195 days, and he said at the time, “I am 75 years old, and I came here to die, not much is left in my life.”