In 2011, over 9,000 patients from Gaza received emergency care in
Israeli hospitals. Many of the admitted were injured in Israeli attacks on
the strip. In August, The Real News’ Lia Tarachansky spoke with
Muhammad Zaza, a fifteen year old who was hit by a drone missile near
the Wafa hospital in the northern Gaza Strip while playing with his 12
year-old cousin (who did not survive). Last week, Muhammad and his
father Ataf returned to Gaza after fourteen surgeries and nearly eight
months in Israeli hospitals. In this story, Tarachansky speaks to Kifah
Abdul Halim the director of Physicians for Human Rights’ occupied
Palestinian territories division and Dr. Khamis al-Essi who works in the
emergency department of one of Gaza biggest hospitals about why
Gaza’s healthcare system fails to treat the thousands of injured who are
forced to seek treatment outside the strip.