Manar Fayyad, 29, an anaesthesiologist at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, has suffered severe psychological trauma since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
asserted
Fayyad → suffer → October
The turning point came when he discovered that a man lying before him in the operating room was his own brother Shadi, who was killed in an Israeli air strike on December 27, 2023.
asserted
who → come → December
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Israeli strikes hit Gaza as Health Ministry urges Rafah opening
- list 2 of 3Ethnic cleansing fears rise as Israel squeezes space in Gaza:
asserted
Israel → hit → Gaza
UN
- list 3 of 3Education under fire: Gaza’s children face death on their way to school
asserted
children → face → school
He recalled the moment he was summoned into the operating room to administer anaesthesia to a critically injured man before emergency surgery.
asserted
he → recall → surgery
“He died before I could reach him,” he said.
uncertain
he → die → him
“When I arrived in the operating room, I recognised the man’s clothes.
asserted
I → arrive → clothes
I had a strange feeling, so I approached him and uncovered his face.
asserted
I → have → face
Since then, the hospital has become inseparable from the traumatic memory, and he has been unable to continue to work, ultimately bringing his professional career to a premature end.
asserted
he → become → end
He continues to struggle with the psychological effects of the experience, trying to cope with it on his own without professional help.
asserted
He → continue → help
He has withdrawn from social life and avoids people and noise as he searches for peace since his brother died.
asserted
brother → withdraw → peace
Sitting by the sea and writing offers him some solace, helping him express his pain and process what has happened.
asserted
what → sit → pain
Yet he remains preoccupied with the idea of leaving Gaza, hoping that distance might free him from the reminders of that day.
uncertain
distance → remain → day
Having lost his brother, his profession and much of his social life, Fayyad now faces a different battle: one against trauma that he is trying to confront alone.
asserted
he → lose → that
Khaled Raafat, 29, a nurse in the emergency department at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, stepped away from work for an extended period after losing his wife, children, mother and several siblings in an Israeli air strike on his family home on October 18, 2023.
asserted
Raafat → step → October
He was at the hospital at the time, trying to save their lives of others injured that day.
asserted
He → try → others
“Learning that I had lost my family marked a painful turning point in my life,” Khaled told Al Jazeera.
asserted
Khaled → learn → Jazeera
“I could no longer do my job in the same way.
uncertain
I → do → way
The hospital, once associated in my mind with my humanitarian duty, became a reminder of personal pain that was beyond what I could bear.
uncertain
I → associate → what
It deeply affected my ability to continue my professional and social life.”
asserted
It → affect → life
Raafat said he eventually decided to rebuild his life.
asserted
he → say → life
“I realised that life could not stop at the tragedy and that I had to find a way to carry on.
uncertain
I → realise → way
I decided to work towards my psychological recovery, got married and started a new family in an attempt to regain stability and hope,” he said.
asserted
he → decide → stability
“I then returned to work at the hospital.”
asserted
I → return → hospital
At least 1,700 medical personnel have been killed in Israeli attacks during the war while 83 healthcare workers remain in Israeli detention, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
uncertain
workers → kill → Office
These figures do not reveal the deep psychological burden borne by medical workers who have lost family, friends and colleagues and witnessed horrific injuries and death on a daily basis.
asserted
who → reveal → basis
They have also faced continued displacement, relentless pressure and have been overworked for years.
asserted
They → face → years
A study found that 41 percent reported losing family members and 46 percent had experienced both personal bereavement and displacement from their workplaces, according to a report on the strain on medical workers in Gaza published in the Public Library of Science.
uncertain
percent → find → Science
At least 78 percent of healthcare workers in Gaza lacked access to mental health services, showing the gap between the trauma healthcare workers endure and their access to psychological care.
asserted
workers → lack → care
It has meant that Gaza’s health system is struggling to retain its remaining staff and prevent them from leaving the medical field.
asserted
system → mean → field
Although it is difficult to assess how many doctors, nurses and other medical workers have left Gaza and their jobs, official reports have acknowledged a “loss of human resources” and “diminished capacity in the healthcare system”.
asserted
reports → assess → system
To help halt this brain drain and protect healthcare workers who have experienced psychological trauma – probably most of those in Gaza, they need psychological and social support.
asserted
they → help → support
“They are caught between their professional duty to save lives and the pain of losing the people closest to them,” Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health, told Al Jazeera.
asserted
Bursh → catch → Jazeera
“They find themselves treating others’ wounds while struggling to heal their own.
asserted
themselves → find → own
”
Working under constant pressure without adequate support or rest deepens exhaustion and threatens healthcare workers’ ability to continue, he said.
asserted
he → work → ability
“Protecting medical personnel is not just about securing medicines and equipment.
asserted
Protecting → protect → medicines
It also means safeguarding their mental health and giving them time to rest and recover.
asserted
It → mean → time
Those who save others also need someone to reach out and help them.
asserted
who → save → them
The acute shortage of medical staff after the killings, detentions and injuries of many healthcare workers makes it difficult to give those who remain enough time to recover, he added.
asserted
he → make → time
This is compounded by the continuing arrival of patients and wounded people, shortages of equipment and a lack of replacement staff.
asserted
This → compound → staff
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
