An American nurse who recently left Gaza shared her tough experiences in the war-torn area. She explained that her team nearly went without food and water and also saw children with severe burns because of the attacks by Israel.
Speaking to CNN, a nurse with Doctors Without Borders Emily Callahan said they saw children with big burns on their faces, necks, and limbs.
She said, “I obviously have a sense of relief that I’m home with my family and feel safe for the first time in 26 days. (But) I’m having a really hard time finding any joy in any of it. Because me being safe is the result of having to leave people behind.”
These children were sent to refugee camps, but they didn't have enough water.
In these camps, children got only two hours of water every 12 hours and the place was very crowded. The Khan Younis Training Centre run by the United Nations (UN) had very little space for each person.
Emily Callahan said hospitals were so overwhelmed that they had to send children home right after treatment even if they still had bad burns or wounds.
“And they have these fresh open burns and wounds and partial amputations walking around in these conditions. Parents are bringing their children to us, saying, ‘Please can you help?’ And we have no supplies,” she said.
Parents brought their children to the medical teams but they didn't have enough supplies to help them.
The UN agency helping Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, reported that 70% of Gaza's population - which is more than two million people - were living in very bad conditions in UN shelters.
This made the risk of a public health crisis even higher because of the damage to water and sanitation systems.
To survive, Callahan and her team had to ask their friends for food and water. They worried they might starve.
They also tried to comfort and help the people who were suffering and didn't have supplies, like them.
The conflict in Gaza has been very destructive, with more than 10,000 people killed in Gaza and over 1,400 in Israel.
It started when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, and Israel fought back with bombings and ground operations in Gaza.
Watch complete interview here:
