‘Medicine in Gaza’: A doctor’s guide to treating Gaza’s sick and wounded

A young doctor recalls his time as a student in Ukraine, highlighting obstacles faced by health workers in times of war.

Gaza Strip – There is one moment that has so far defined Mousa al-Buhaisi’s work as a young doctor in Gaza.

The 25-year-old who recently started his medical career had to stitch up a little boy whose body was pierced all over by shrapnel – at least 14 open wounds covered his body, from “head to toe”.

There was no anaesthesia to be had. Al-Buhaisi stitched each one closed, a process that took two whole hours.

The boy was “maybe 10 years old, maximum”, al-Buhaisi said, sitting outside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah.

“His screams will forever haunt me.”