Doctors in Gaza describe the war's devastating impact on hospitals and health care
After the brutal attack on Israel by Hamas militants, Israel has begun air strikes on Gaza. The World Health Organization warns that the health system there is at a breaking point.
"The smell of blood is everywhere," says Dr. Mohammad Mattar, the head of the radiology department at Al Shifa Hospital, the Gaza Strip's largest medical complex. There aren't enough beds to hold all the patients. "Others are on the floor."
Mattar says that because it's tradition in Gaza for parents, children, brothers and sisters to live in the same building, when a bombardment happens, entire families are killed or injured. Wounded relatives then arrive at the hospital en masse. The sheer volume of medical need is overwhelming the small and exhausted number of staff, he says.
It's a common and tragic refrain among health professionals in Gaza. As
