[News] Gaza doctors battle 'untreatable super-bacteria' that defies medical science

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Gaza doctors battle 'untreatable super-bacteria' that defies medical
science

The health sector in northern Gaza is on the verge of completely collapsing
as the last remaining hospitals come under brutal Israeli attacks

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

NOV 22, 2024 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/gaza-doctors-battle-untreateable-super-bacteria-that-defies-medical-science
(Photo credit: AA/Getty Images)

As Israeli forces continue their attacks on hospitals in Gaza, doctors and
medical teams in the strip have been working under intense pressure, and
with great difficulty, to treat illnesses and injuries due to the lack of
proper medication and the rapid spread of bacteria.

“The medical teams in Gaza are fighting a fierce battle against bacteria,
which no longer respond to most antibiotics,” said Izzedin Shaheen, a
doctor in the besieged enclave, via X on 21 November.

“Hardly any person with a wound infection survives, no matter how hard the
doctors try. All the conditions are bad – no sterilization and no
sufficient antibiotics. We have even found E. Coli bacteria in bone tissue,
which is unfamiliar in medical books,” Shaheen added.

The continued acceleration of the health crisis in Gaza coincides with Tel
Aviv’s Generals’ Plan, which Israel is unofficially implementing in the
northern strip, which has been besieged for nearly two months. The Israeli
army has expelled over 100,000 Palestinians from the north, aiming to
transform the area into an isolated military zone.

Former Israeli general Giora Eiland, the man behind the Generals’ Plan, said
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/former-israel-general-says-severe-epidemics-gaza-would-help-israel-win>
on 17 November: “The international community warns us of a humanitarian
disaster in Gaza and of severe epidemics. We must not shy away from this,
as difficult as that may be. After all, severe epidemics in the south of
the Gaza Strip will bring victory closer and reduce casualties among IDF
soldiers.”

International organizations have repeatedly warned over the months that
Israel’s war in Gaza has resulted in a severe health crisis
<https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/public-health-impact-forced-mass-displacement-july-2024>
and the spread of numerous illnesses, particularly due to forced
displacement orders against Palestinians – which crams the displaced into
small areas that lack basic supplies and facilities for hygiene.

The Israeli army has subjected 90 percent
<https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/11/14/hopeless-starving-and-besieged/israels-forced-displacement-palestinians-gaza#:~:text=Israel's%20military%20has%20displaced%2090,population%2C%20around%201.9%20million%20people.>
of the Gaza Strip’s population to forced displacement.

As the Generals’ Plan unfolds, Israel has tightened its siege and increased
attacks on the few remaining hospitals in northern Gaza.

Beit Lahia’s Kamal Adwan Hospital
<https://thecradle.co/articles/final-distress-call-from-gazas-kamal-adwan-hospital-as-israel-turns-facility-into-kill-zone>
has been under heavy attack. Israel bombarded the hospital late on 21
November, injuring six of its medical staff, including some who are in
critical condition. The hospital’s main generator was destroyed, and its
water tanks were punctured.

The attack came less than a day after a massacre was committed by Israel on
a residential block in the hospital’s vicinity. At least 66 were killed
<https://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/regional/740624/in-new-israeli-massacre-66-civilians-killed-and-ot>
and more than 100 injured by the bombing. Around 200 people were present at
the time of the attack, according to Kamal Adwan Hospital director Dr
Hussam Abu Safia.

“The health system is collapsing in northern Gaza. We cannot provide
anything, and all of our appeals are in vain," he said.

Abu Safia has appealed for immediate intervention from the international
community. Around 80 people are at risk of death inside the facility,
including eight who are in intensive care.

An Israeli quadcopter targeted medical staff at Al-Awda Hospital in
northern Gaza early on Friday, hours after the latest attack on Kamal Adwan
Hospital.
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