A British doctor working in Gaza has urged world leaders to “stop talking and do something” as he described how people are starving and the “massive extent of destruction”.
Dr Tom Potokar – who has compared Gaza to a “slaugherhouse” because of the bombardment by Israeli forces – is part of a group of British specialist doctors and surgeons currently working in Khan Younis.
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Sky News spent two days filming with them in Nasser and Amal hospitals – two of the last functioning hospitals in southern Gaza.
They are plastic surgeons and orthopaedic specialists. The operating theatres are a rare zone of calm as the medics work with the war outside and a constant stream of wounded needing urgent treatment.
All the patients are malnourished. Children are suffering the worst. The lack of food and water has made them weak and more vulnerable to their injuries.
Hospitals in Gaza have repeatedly come under attack during the war. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims Hamas has been hiding in them or in tunnels underneath.
Nasser hospital hasn’t escaped. The burns unit was one of the busiest parts of the hospital, until it was destroyed in an airstrike.
The doctors sleep and spend downtime in small living quarters within the hospital itself. Food is one ready meal a day, only 400 calories. The 11-week blockade is affecting everyone.
Dr Potokar was working in the European hospital on the western edge of Khan Younis but had to evacuate last week when it came under missile fire and had to close.
He went to Amal hospital next to Nasser and is working again.
He says he’s seen a dramatic change since he was last in Gaza shortly after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.
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“The difference this time I think is the intensity,” he says.
“Back in October to December ’23 was the last time I was here, there was a lot of wounded, and it was very intense as well.
“I think the difference this time is because of the blockade there’s so little stuff getting in, there’s no food getting in so people are starving, there’s very little medical supplies coming in but also the other very noticeable thing is the massive extent of destruction – I mean Khan Younis looks like Stalingrad.”
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Speaking about what he has witnessed in Gaza, Dr Potokar added: “What can you say, it’s horrific, it’s a slaughterhouse. That’s what it is, it’s a slaughterhouse.”
He also urged world leaders to “stop talking and do something”.
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The United Nations says 100 aid trucks were cleared for entry into Gaza on Tuesday, but Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat who now heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, warned that 14,000 babies could die in the next 48 hours if they don’t receive urgent aid.
On Monday evening, the IDF-declared combat zone was only a few streets from the Nasser hospital. Drones flew low overhead through the day.
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“An evacuation order for most of Khan Younis went out today, which meant we lost several members of the team,” said Dr Victoria Rose, a plastic surgeon.
“My anaesthetic nurse and Graeme’s orthopaedic colleague had to leave us mid-case to go and evacuate their families to an area of safety.”
Dr Graeme Groom added: “These are people just like you and me, they have their homes, their families, they live normal lives, many are very impressive people and without notice they have to pick up a grab bag and leave… look for food, look for water, look for shelter, but turn up at work each day.”
With the Israeli military operation getting closer, the doctors are also prepared to evacuate at short notice.
Essential supplies have been gathered and packed ready in a storeroom.
But Nasser hospital has the last remaining ICU department in the whole of southern Gaza – one of only two with a working oxygen supply. If it must be evacuated, then the remaining temporary field hospitals would likely be overwhelmed and unable to cope.
