Amid Israeli attacks, Gaza hospitals struggle: Doctors and mothers describe desperate conditions (1)

GAZA, PALESTINE - FEBRUARY 28: As a result of Israel's attacks targeting hospitals in the besieged Gaza Strip, a large portion of the hospitals in the region have become non-operational, while some continue to provide health services under challenging conditions. The Al-Helou International Hospital in northern Gaza is one of the hospitals striving to provide services despite catastrophic humanitarian conditions and Israeli restrictions. The maternity ward of the hospital and the patients were filmed by Anadolu. Since the early months of the war, Dr Raja Ziad Juma Yassin, who works in the hospital's maternity ward, said they have been facing a lot of difficulties, especially due to the lack of medical supplies used during childbirth. The doctor mentioned that women coming to the hospital for childbirth may be unable to bring even a small amount of food or drinking water for themselves, in addition to the needs of the newborn. He shared that in situations where there is no electricity, they have had to deliver babies in the dark and try to overcome the difficulties with the limited resources they have, but he expressed that this has been insufficient. Suheila Muhammad Abu Suman, who gave birth at the hospital in deprivation of the most basic rights, shared her childbirth experience. She said that she came to the hospital without even having clothes for her baby, and due to inadequate nutrition, she couldn't breastfeed her baby sufficiently. The woman mentioned that the hospital provided them with free milk, but they worked under very limited conditions and needed outside help to reach them. Hospital owner Dr. Yousef Al-Helou explained that from the moment the war started, they put the hospital into service as a free maternity hospital in coordination with the Gaza Ministry of Health, accepting many birth cases including cesarean sections. (Footage by Dawoud Aboalkas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)