LONDON: A British doctor in Gaza has released footage showing the devastation caused by an Israeli airstrike on the European Gaza Hospital near the southern city of Khan Younis on Thursday.
Dr. Tom Potokar, a consultant plastic surgeon, shared the video with the BBC, documenting the aftermath of an attack by Israel on the facility. Six bombs were dropped on the hospital, killing 28 people.
Potokar, who has traveled to Gaza 16 times to provide vital treatment to Palestinians trapped in the enclave, described the footage as a “snapshot” of his experience working at the hospital.
In the video, he described an “absolutely massive strike … right in front of the emergency room,” as people ran and lay on the ground outside the hospital.
“Shrapnel everywhere. Devastation right in the forecourt of the hospital. Absolutely terrible,” he said in the footage.
In further scenes described as “absolute mayhem,” Potokar walked through the corridors of the hospital as medics, patients and other civilians tried to respond to the attack.
“It’s a direct hit on the hospital,” he said, as screams echoed in the background and smoke billowed through the building.
Standing outside an operating theater, Potokar then turned the camera on himself to survey the damage, and said the facility was “too dangerous” to take people to be operated on, and staff were leaving to find shelter. He later reported that the hospital had been entirely evacuated.
Potokar told the BBC: “We’ve been treating patients with huge open wounds, some even with maggots in, infected, multiple amputations, children down to the age of two with significant nerve injuries, traumatic brain injuries.”
At least 114 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza on Thursday, according to local authorities.
