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A member of the medical team involved in treating fellow photographer Ahmed Matar said that his health condition is very poor, as he suffers from severe weakness in his body due to malnutrition, which has led to slow healing of his wounds and the failure of some of the operations he is performing, stressing his patient’s urgent need for treatment outside the Gaza Strip.
The doctors performed a new surgery on Matar, who is lying in the orthopedic department of the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, and suffers from fractures in the shoulder and other parts of his body, in addition to severe malnutrition because he needs food and proteins that are not available in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli siege.
According to the treating medical team, Matar lost a large portion of his weight due to malnutrition, and he needs to travel to complete his treatment abroad, as he still needs several surgeries on the skull, bones, and limbs, and his condition requires extreme medical care, physical therapy, and good nutrition.
Matar said - while speaking with difficulty due to his poor condition - that he is suffering due to the lack of necessary food, and feels severe pain due to the instability of his health condition, calling for action to be taken out to continue his treatment outside the Gaza Strip.
He added, "I hope you hear my voice. I just want to live as I did before to take care of my young children."
Direct targeting
The occupation forces targeted Matar and fellow correspondent Ismail Abu Omar while they were covering the movement of displaced people between Rafah and Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on February 13.
An Israeli drone fired at least one missile towards the two colleagues in direct targeting, which immediately led to the amputation of Abu Omar's right leg and the severe injury of his left leg. Matar was also seriously injured in one of his hands, in addition to wounds to the rest of his body.
Journalistic and human rights organizations have condemned the ongoing violations against journalists in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, leaving tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, a humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure and property, which led to Israel being brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing “genocide.”
Source: Al Jazeera