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Paris -

The PALMED Association of Palestinian Doctors in Europe sent the first humanitarian medical mission to the Gaza Strip between January 22 and February 6, led by the former military doctor and specialist in war and humanitarian medicine, Professor Raphael Petit. .

The doctors arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport, on the outskirts of the French capital, Paris, yesterday, Tuesday, after working for 10 days at the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

Upon its arrival, the mission described the humanitarian situation as catastrophic in the besieged sector, in light of the insufficient international humanitarian aid, the complete absence of normal means of life, and the lack of water, medicine, food, and electricity, as well as the emergence of infectious diseases and malnutrition in children.

The delegation also spoke about the massive damage to medical facilities and hospitals throughout the 4 months of war, and the doctors expressed their deep sadness at the martyrdom of a large number of medical workers.

The first medical mission

The mission included a specialized nurse in the operating room and 6 doctors from different specialties: orthopedics, abdominal surgery, gastroenterology, gynecology, emergency medicine, and intensive care anesthesia.

The medical staff also allocated the required care to residents of the region suffering from psychological trauma as a result of the continuous bombing by the occupation army, in addition to providing expertise to their colleagues in the field of surgery and war medicine.

Nizar Badran, a surgeon and member of the Palestinian Doctors Association "Palmad", said: The mission's travel was coordinated through an American medical humanitarian institution, and not through the French authorities, indicating that the association then takes care of other issues related to organization and cost, according to him.

Badran added, in his interview with Al Jazeera Net, that “the delegation bought medical equipment from France and Egypt,” noting at the same time that only small quantities of it entered, and “they were carried by hand, or in bags, because cars cannot cross the border point at Rafah crossing".

This was confirmed by another doctor who was part of the delegation - who preferred to remain anonymous - saying: “Medical equipment for orthopedic surgery was taken from a British colleague at the airport.”

For her part, the head of the “Boycott Israel” organization, Olivia Zemmour, who received the delegation with flowers and a banner on which she wrote “Thank you” in several languages, praised the “brave work” carried out by the first French mission to the Gaza Strip, denouncing at the same time the French position that remains adamant. He did not demand a ceasefire and did not encourage South Africa in its advocacy against Israel, as she put it.

She continued: "We are very disappointed in France, which has withdrawn its support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). This is a very dangerous matter that encourages the occupation to continue genocide."

The second mission of French doctors who will head to the Gaza Strip (Al Jazeera)

Certificates

The testimonies of doctors who lived through the conditions of war in all its details were similar to those of their Palestinian colleagues in Rafah Hospital for a few days, before heading to the European Hospital, as they all particularly highlighted the catastrophic conditions suffered by health facilities in the Gaza Strip.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, orthopedic surgeon Moamen Barqawi said, “A mosque located next to a hospital in Rafah was targeted by the occupation army, and this was repeated during his work at Khan Yunis Hospital, where one of its walls fell due to the occupation aircraft’s bombing.”

Barqawi describes the cases he treated as “most of them were wounds with open fractures that sometimes required amputation, in addition to many burns and severe lacerations in the limbs.”

In turn, anesthesiologist Shams al-Din Bushkour said, “The hospital was crowded with patients and their families who remained inside, and took its roof as a shelter to protect them from missiles, because their homes were destroyed and they had no other place to go.”

When asked about the lack of medicines in hospitals and the performing of many operations without anesthesia, Bouchkor explained that although surgeons were able to perform operations using anesthesia, strong pain relievers such as morphine began to run out, which indicates the occurrence of a new health crisis and pain that no person can bear, despite the fact that What he said.

Heroes under bombardment

The Palestinian doctors who are still working in Gaza Strip hospitals, despite the scarcity of medical equipment and the dangerous and harsh working conditions, had the largest share of the medical delegation’s story.

Barqawi, who is of Palestinian origin, stated that the doctors felt happy when the mission arrived “because they were finally able to take a rest,” noting that they “love their work very much, but exhaustion and fatigue really got to them, psychologically and physically.”

Iman Marafi, the only nurse within the delegation who specializes in emergency and recovery, described her colleagues at the European Hospital as “respectful and honorable,” and despite all the harsh conditions, “they live in dignity.”

Maarafi told Al Jazeera Net that Palestinian doctors “do not complain about their condition to anyone, and do not disclose what is inside them, because they are in a state of collective mourning, so they only immerse themselves in work.”

Badran, a member of the Palestinian Doctors Association, praised the “noble role played by the Palestinian medical teams” since the beginning of the war on October 7, saying: “These are our colleagues and friends. Some of them were martyred, and some of them had their homes destroyed. I lost a friend of mine who was A pediatrician in Khan Yunis, who was martyred along with his children and wife.”

Badran added: "They have been very exhausted with continuous work and pressure for 4 months, but the heroic Palestinian doctor remained at his job and did not leave, and even those who were arrested returned to practicing their profession immediately after their release."

All members of the Palmad Association and its medical delegation stressed the necessity of a comprehensive ceasefire. Because it is the only solution that will allow the international aid accumulated in Egypt to arrive, and they “continue to send our delegations to the Gaza Strip, and we call on the French and European authorities to better facilitate our humanitarian mission.”

Source: Al Jazeera