Haya Hijazi
The Electronic Intifada / July 23, 2024
The story of Dr. Basil Mahdi, who was my senior at Al-Shifa Hospital, is tragic and compelling.
He was always passionate about his work. He was the beloved and sociable doctor who helped everyone. He performed numerous childbirth procedures for free and generously supported humanitarian causes.
After the Israeli attacks began on 7 October, Al-Shifa Hospital staff lost contact with many medical personnel. A good number of doctors evacuated from northern Gaza to the south, leaving a small staff behind.
Dr. Mahdi stayed until the last possible moment. Even after his family evacuated to the south, he continued his work and did not want to abandon his job or leave his patients behind.
It was a November morning when I heard the news of his martyrdom. He was killed along with his doctor brothers at their private Mahdi Medical Hospital, which had been filled with patients and displaced people, in the middle of the Gaza Strip.
For two days prior, the brothers had appealed to the Red Cross to secure their evacuation to the south of the Gaza Strip.
Before any arrangements could be made, however, Israeli planes bombed the hospital. Dr. Mahdi and one of his brothers were killed. Another brother, Dr. Yousef Mahdi, survived because he had stepped outside to smoke for a minute.
They are among an estimated 500 heath care workers Israel has killed during its genocide in Gaza.
Dr. Mahdi left behind a wife, Dalia, also a doctor, and four children. They couldn’t even bid him farewell as they were besieged in the south.
He always encouraged me to study and complete my specialization, constantly boosting my morale.
His death leaves a huge void, for his family, for his patients and for me.
Some people leave our lives, but their imprint never will.
Dangerous times for pregnant women
For many doctors, the patients we serve and the often gut-wrenchingly difficult situations we face will also never leave us.
I was in the reception at Al-Shifa Hospital last October on a particularly difficult night I will never forget.
There were a large number of pregnant women in panic due to the approach of Israeli tanks in the vicinity of the hospital. I was alone in the reception when a patient (M.N.), a 21-year-old woman, arrived suffering from vaginal bleeding. I examined her and found that she had severe bleeding accompanied by a bad odor.
Due to the situation in northern Gaza, she had not been able to reach the nearest health center there. She came by ambulance to the reception of Al-Shifa Hospital because of the increased bleeding and a high fever of 38°C.
I performed an ultrasound and found she had had a septic miscarriage, which happens when a miscarriage becomes infected. The condition required intensive care, but the situation at Al-Shifa was becoming increasingly dangerous.
As a result, the hospital administration had to transfer M.N. to another hospital. Due to the lack of medical equipment there, however, it refused to admit her. The case was lost between transfers from one hospital to another.
She died within 24 hours.
It had been her first pregnancy.
Complications increase daily
This appalling situation in Gaza continues.
Medical institutions have completely collapsed, and pregnancy complications due to the genocide are increasing daily: we see three times the normal cases of gestational diabetes, pregnancy hypertension, early miscarriage, fetal deformities, premature placental separation, uterine rupture, postpartum hemorrhage, and even postpartum depression
The use of antidepressant pills has risen. Not readily available, they are sold on the black market for $35 or more per pill.
There are real disasters happening in Gaza. Grieving mothers are suffering. Accurate statistics on the situation are no longer available, and cases are dealt with on an emergency basis.
The use of contraceptive pills has increased significantly, and they are no longer available in United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) centers or pharmacies. With the Israeli-enforced closure of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, the humanitarian disaster worsens day by day.
There was even a proposal to introduce menstrual cups as an alternative to sanitary pads, but unfortunately, the deliveries are also stuck at the Rafah crossing.
In any case, there is no health education system left to teach women how to use them.
Haya Hijazi is a medical student in Gaza
