Gaza doctors relieved but fear for the future after Israel-Hamas ceasefire

After a ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas, ending the over 15-month war in the Gaza Strip, doctor Jamal Salaha expressed his relief at no longer seeing a constant influx of casualties into the hospital. He mentioned that this was the first time since the war began that the hospital's emergency room was completely empty.

Salaha, a general practitioner at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, stated that the ceasefire agreement ended 471 days of Israeli attacks that resulted in the deaths of over 47,000 Palestinians and injuries to more than 111,000. Salaha had just started working at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in October 2023 when the war broke out, and after 33 days in neurosurgery, he was forced to relocate to Al-Aqsa Hospital due to Israeli attacks.

During Israel's war on Gaza, Salaha said he only had three days off and treated patients under extremely difficult conditions. "We received injured people every day, most of them in critical condition," he said. "We performed many surgeries, some even on the floor, because we didn't have enough space. We often performed surgeries without gloves, without enough medications, and without ventilators."

Following the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, Salaha called it "unbelievable" news and said he could finally sleep more soundly. However, he remained cautious about the future due to the massive destruction in the Gaza Strip, the collapse of the healthcare system, and the possibility of renewed violence. "There is joy and excitement everywhere, and people think that the ceasefire will bring life back to normal. But this is not the case," Salaha said. "The situation in the hospitals is very chaotic." He also emphasized that a large supply of medicines and medical equipment is needed to handle all the remaining cases.

The World Health Organization said on Monday that only half of Gaza's 36 hospitals are still partially functioning. Almost all hospitals have been damaged, and only 38% of primary healthcare centers are still operating. Despite reports of sporadic violence, the ceasefire appears to be holding in most of the coastal enclave. At least eight people were injured in an Israeli attack in Rafah in the south, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. At the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, which is no longer functioning, medical staff member Mohammed Nemnem described the extent of the damage after Israeli forces "burned and destroyed" the facility. "No department of the hospital can provide any medical services," he told Al Jazeera. "The hospital needs a great deal of effort and time to become a hospital that can provide medical services to people again."