Health worker declares Israel’s war on Gaza “awful for women”
A doctor who just left the southern city of Rafah — gynaecologst Hairhound Lahna — revealed in an interview with AFP on May 8th that women bear the brunt of the region’s limited health resources.
Lahna was head of mission for Rahma Worldwide, an American non-governmental organisation, and Palmed, a France-based association promoting “health in Palestine.” He described Israel’s recent military offensive as “awful for women” — particularly those forced to leave hospitals just hours after giving birth due to overcrowding. “They find themselves in tents or shelters where people crowd together,” he said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that 52,000 pregnant women are endangered because of the war on Gaza. Many women reported feeling afraid to either give birth or that they would lose their newborns in the process.
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Lahna recounted witnessing a mother’s death from blood poisoning four days after childbirth.
He noted the “enormous” risk of infection: “We dish out antibiotics willy-nilly to cope with the situation.” Women often lack enough water to wash themselves and are unable to change into clean clothes, he said.
Gaza resident Hind Khoudary noted that the war has left the region with little to no feminine sanitary products. “My last period was my worst because I am homeless,” she said. “I am living out of my backpack — there’s no access to toilets or anything. Any products that you do find now are of bad quality. They can cause irritations and they can be unhealthy to use.”
Israel pulled its forces out of Al-Shifa hospital — once Gaza’s largest — on April 1st, consequently leaving the region’s healthcare system in tatters. Prior to the start of the war, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported 36 hospitals — now there remain only 10 “minimally functioning,” he said.
Lahna likened the region’s landscape to “Berlin after World War II,” declaring it “no longer liveable.”
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A recent UN Women report revealed the “constant state of despair and fear” of women and girls in Rafah and the rest of the Gaza Strip. More than half of them “have medical conditions requiring urgent medical attention. Additionally, 93 percent felt unsafe, 80 percent felt depressed, 66 percent were unable to sleep and 70 percent suffered from intense anxiety and nightmares.
In a March 19th interview, one Gazan woman opened up about the verbal, physical and mental abuse she endured following her imprisonment by Israeli soldiers. “I’m mentally devastated,” she said. “I wish they’d killed me or [that I’d] died sooner.”
Gaza is now considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for women, with an average of seven deaths every two hours.
AFP
