Dr. Mohammed Mustafa, an Australian emergency physician, recently returned from Gaza after providing frontline medical care during what he describes as one of the most catastrophic periods of violence in the region.
Speaking on his experience, he highlighted the overwhelming number of casualties, particularly among women and children, and urged the international community to acknowledge the scale and urgency of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the territory.
According to Dr. Mustafa, the team arrived during what was meant to be a ceasefire. “And now the room was shaking. The windows were blown off the hinges,” he said. “We were thinking to ourselves, what is going on here? So I grabbed my doctor bag and ran down to the emergency department in literally my pajamas, my stethoscope, and my doctor bag.”
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More Death in 90 Minutes Than Three Years of War
He described the events that followed as “unimaginable.” Hospitals were immediately overwhelmed by the influx of injured civilians. “There was hundreds of patients everywhere. There was dozens of killed people,” Dr. Mustafa recalled. “In the end, I think we had a total of 156 dead that night at just our hospital alone. And most of them were women and children. And there was just not even enough room for the patients.”
The scale of destruction and death, he says, is not only underreported but deeply misunderstood outside of Gaza. “Just to put in perspective to you how devastating that night was, more children died in that first one and a half hours, first 90 minutes, than have died in the whole Russia-Ukraine conflict in three years,” he stated.
This account contradicts the perception that ceasefires bring relief to civilians. Dr. Mustafa’s testimony reveals a different reality, one where even moments of supposed calm can quickly turn fatal. The numbers reflect more than statistics; they reveal the disparity in global responses to suffering, depending on where it takes place.
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When the Survivor is a Child
The psychological toll of the crisis is equally alarming. Dr. Mustafa recalled a particularly heartbreaking moment involving a child survivor. “I see that child and how he has to look and identify the bodies of his family and he’s the only survivor,” he said. “And you know, we have to look after that child after that event. And you have to sit with him. You have to see his expression of joy fade away from his face. And it’s very, very difficult to process.”
The grief is not just individual; it is collective. While hospitals function with limited staff and almost no supplies, doctors are faced with impossible choices, working against time and trauma. And yet, amidst the destruction, Dr. Mustafa described the remarkable courage of local medical personnel who continue to serve, despite their own emotional and physical exhaustion.
His account adds to growing concerns among human rights organizations and medical bodies calling for immediate international intervention. As the world continues to witness the events in Gaza unfold, his testimony stands as both evidence and indictment: a reminder that silence, too, has consequences.
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Image: Euractiv
