Gaza Hospitals Overwhelmed: British Surgeon Victoria Rose Describes Unprecedented Horrors and Malnutrition

British plastic and reconstructive surgeon Victoria Rose has returned from her third humanitarian mission to Gaza since October 2023, describing her latest experience at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza as "without a shadow of a doubt, the worst." Her nearly four-week deployment in May revealed a dire situation marked by relentless bombing, overwhelming patient loads, and a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis.

Rose recounted waking up before dawn each day due to the constant bombing, which she described as "far worse," "louder," and "closer" than ever before. During her 14-hour shifts, she typically operated on 12 or 13 patients, a stark contrast to the maximum of three patients she treats in London hospitals. Mass casualty incidents often extended these shifts even further.

Unspeakable Injuries and Child Casualties

The surgeon observed a devastating shift in the nature of injuries. Unlike previous missions where shrapnel wounds were more common and reconstructable, this time, "the injuries seemed to be from the heart of an explosion. People had been blown up, and bits of them had been blown off," indicating more direct and lethal hits.

Rose vividly recalled some of her young patients, including 11-year-old Adam al-Najjar, the sole surviving child of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, whose nine other children and husband were killed in an attack in Khan Younis. She also treated two orphaned brothers, Yakoob and Mohammed, with severe lower limb injuries, and an eight-year-old girl named Aziza, who was found wandering the streets with burns after an explosion. Rose and her team tirelessly worked to save the leg of a seven-year-old girl whose knee was missing after an explosion, but tragically, her limb ultimately required amputation.

The volume of child patients has increased exponentially, doubling since her March 2024 trip. Rose noted that Nasser Hospital, while structurally similar to hospitals elsewhere, is "so packed," with "the whole population" seemingly inside. Unlike the selective hospitalization seen in the UK, Gaza's hospitals are filled with "normal people that have been blown up. Healthy people that are otherwise really fit and well, and now have been blown up."

Malnutrition and Deteriorating Healthcare

The impact of a three-month aid blockade has severely exacerbated malnutrition, affecting both patients and hospital staff. Rose observed significant weight loss among everyone, including her medical students, who are now "so thin." The situation is particularly critical for children; 60 children have reportedly died at Nasser Hospital due to malnutrition. Rose highlighted the absence of suitable formula milk for lactose intolerant children, further compounding their suffering.

Trauma patients also exhibited signs of malnutrition, with "no fat on them at all, quite a bit of muscle wasting," hindering their healing process. Wound infections were rampant due to unsanitary living conditions in tents, lack of clean water, and a severe shortage of antibiotics. Rose stated they only had three types of antibiotics, none of which would be first-line choices in the UK.

Desperation for Aid and Broken Morale

Rose was present in Gaza when people attempting to secure food aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a new mechanism backed by Israel and the US, were attacked. She witnessed victims with gunshot wounds to the stomach, legs, and arms. Recounting an incident where Israeli authorities denied shooting anyone while she stood in the emergency department with "30 body bags," Rose expressed her outrage: "You can’t lie like this. You just can’t."

The morale among the doctors Rose worked with is at an all-time low. Many expressed that they "would rather die than carry on," and desperately wish for a ceasefire. Having lost significant family members and had their homes destroyed, these healthcare workers are at their "lowest."

A Man-Made Crisis

Rose emphasized that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is "man-made" and, therefore, can be "man-stopped." She stressed the urgency of international pressure on governments and leaders to de-escalate the situation, warning that "if we don’t turn it off soon, there won’t be a Gaza and there certainly won’t be Palestinians in Gaza." Palestinians, she added, find it "very difficult to have any conversations about the future because they can’t really see it."