"The Odour Of Blood Is Unbearable, There Are People Lying Everywhere" - Mass Casualties At Al Aqsa Hospital, Gaza.

Report from Medecins Sans Frontieres

6 June 2024. At least 70 dead people and over 300 wounded, the majority of whom are women and children, have been brought to Al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza in the last days following heavy Israeli strikes in the Middle Area of the Gaza strip.

"The odour of blood in the hospital's emergency room this morning was unbearable. There are people lying everywhere, on the floor, outside... bodies were being brought in plastic bags. The situation is overwhelming", says Karin Huster, Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) medical team leader in Gaza.

Medical teams in Al-Aqsa hospital - one of the only remaining functional health facility in the Middle Area - are currently trying to deal with a huge influx of patients, many of them arriving with severe burns, shrapnel wounds, fractures, and other traumatic injuries.

"With the insane escalation of violence in various locations of the Gaza strip over the last 48 hours and while the Rafah crossing point has remained closed for a month, the health system has been stretched to the point of collapse. The situation is apocalyptic." - Karin Huster.

The repeated mass casualties incidents are unacceptable and the horrific toll on civilians shows the total disregard for human lives in Gaza. This man-made catastrophe needs to stop now.

MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. In 2022, more than 120 project staff from Australia and New Zealand worked with MSF on assignment overseas. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender.

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