'You have twice as much chance of being killed as a healthcare professional in Gaza'

British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sittah has said working in the medical profession in Gaza means you are twice as likely to be killed than other people, as he admitted there is "no end in sight" to the war with Israel.

Dr Abu-Sittah, a humanitarian and renowned plastic and reconstructive surgeon who works in areas of conflict, was speaking to CGTN a year on from the beginning of Israel's retaliation to attacks by Hamas.

He feels the West should be doing more to prevent Israel from extending its "genocide" amid continuing forays into Lebanon, widening the conflict in the Middle-East.

"I think the fact the genocide is still going on is testament to the failure of whatever was left of international law and whatever was left of Western morality," he told CGTN.

"It's a testament of the fact that the powers that control this war and that feed it with the weapons that maintain it are able to ensure it continues for a year well beyond our worst nightmare.

"This is continuing on and with no end in sight. Now, actually, Israel has expanded its war into Lebanon. And we're watching the second chapter of this genocidal war starting to unfold."

Dr Abu-Sittah outlined the effect the constant barrage in the Gaza Strip is having on the very fabric of society - including the suffering of those orphaned amid attacks on their family homes.

"(They) have been left with permanent disability because you need to understand the killed those who are killed and wounded in Gaza are killed in their homes," he said.

"And so when a parent is killed, it usually means the children are also wounded. The children that we brought from Gaza to Lebanon to treat, all of them have lost one or two parents and the surviving parents were injured.

"So the long-term legacy of this war in terms of mental health scars, in terms of the social, the destruction of the social fabric of the Palestinian society in Gaza is going to be felt for generations to come."

And Dr Abu-Sittah has claimed Israel have been targeting medical staff in Gaza as he called for both sides to put down their weapons amid a crisis in the healthcare system.

"What we need is for a ceasefire and a humanitarian corridor. What is left of the health system is ten per cent of its capacity," he added.

"Israel has killed over 540 health professionals. Over 120 senior doctors at consultant level have been killed.

"There was a calculation that your chances of being killed in Gaza, if you are a health professional, is twice that of any other profession. 

"So it is obvious that Israel was targeting health professionals. What they need is an end to this genocide and a humanitarian corridor that allows medicines, consumables, fuel for the hospital so that they can treat their patients."

– Interview by Evangelo Sipsas

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