A British Palestinian surgeon who spent weeks in the Gaza Strip during the current Israel-Hamas war as part of a Doctors Without Borders medical team said he has given testimony to a British war crimes investigation unit. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic surgeon specializing in conflict medicine, has volunteered with medical teams in multiple conflicts in Gaza, beginning as a medical student in the late 1980s during the first Palestinian uprising. He has also worked in other conflict zones, including in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. He was working in al-Ahli hospital in northern Gaza on Oct. 17 when a deadly blast struck the hospital’s courtyard, which had become a shelter for displaced people, killing hundreds. Abu Sitta said while in Gaza he treated patients who had burn wounds consistent with white phosphorus shelling, which he had also seen during the 2009 war. Phosphorus shells cause a “chemical burn that … bursts into the deep structures of the body rather than a thermal burn, which starts at the outside and (covers a) much larger surface area,” he said.
Quick Read
- Surgeon’s Background: Ghassan Abu Sitta, a British Palestinian plastic surgeon specializing in conflict medicine, has extensive experience volunteering in conflict zones including Gaza, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. He began his work in Gaza as a medical student during the first Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s.
- Recent Gaza Mission: Abu Sitta joined a Doctors Without Borders team in the Gaza Strip during the recent Israel-Hamas war. He entered Gaza from Egypt on October 9, two days after the war started, and stayed for 43 days, primarily working at al-Ahli and Shifa hospitals in northern Gaza.
- War Details: The conflict began with a Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel on October 7, resulting in around 1,200 deaths, mostly civilians. Israel responded with an extensive air and ground campaign, leading to over 17,700 deaths in Gaza, predominantly women and children.
- Healthcare Challenges: Abu Sitta highlighted severe challenges in Gaza’s healthcare system, including shortages of morphine, analgesics, and anesthetic medications. He described performing painful procedures without anesthesia.
- War Crimes Testimony: Upon returning to the UK, Abu Sitta gave evidence to a British war crimes investigation unit at the Metropolitan Police, focusing on attacks on health facilities.
- Al-Ahli Hospital Incident: On October 17, a deadly explosion at al-Ahli Hospital’s courtyard, used as a shelter, resulted in numerous casualties. While Israeli, U.S., and French intelligence attributed it to a misfired Palestinian rocket, Hamas accused Israel, and Abu Sitta’s observations suggested injuries consistent with an Israeli missile.
- Human Rights Watch Analysis: Human Rights Watch reported that the fragmentation pattern of the explosion didn’t match typical Israeli munitions.
- White Phosphorus Allegations: Abu Sitta treated burn victims in Gaza, noting injuries consistent with white phosphorus use, which he had observed in the 2009 war. Human rights groups have accused Israel of using white phosphorus in densely populated areas, a claim Israel disputes.
- Shifa Hospital Siege: Abu Sitta denied Israeli allegations of a Hamas command center in Shifa Hospital, which Israeli forces surrounded and searched. He asserted there was no military presence in the hospital.
- International Criminal Court Probe: The ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, emphasized the importance of investigating potential war crimes by both Hamas militants and Israeli forces during his recent visit to the West Bank and Israel.
The Associated Press has the story:
A British Palestinian surgeon gave testimony to a UK War Crimes unit after returning from Gaza
Newslooks- BEIRUT (AP)
A British Palestinian surgeon who spent weeks in the Gaza Strip during the current Israel-Hamas war as part of a Doctors Without Borders medical team said he has given testimony to a British war crimes investigation unit.
Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic surgeon specializing in conflict medicine, has volunteered with medical teams in multiple conflicts in Gaza, beginning as a medical student in the late 1980s during the the first Palestinian uprising. He has also worked in other conflict zones, including in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Abu Sitta crossed from Egypt into Gaza on Oct. 9, two days after the war began and remained in the besieged enclave for 43 days, working mainly in the al-Ahli and Shifa hospitals in northern Gaza.
The war was triggered by a deadly Hamas-led incursion on Oct. 7 into southern Israel in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Since then, Israel has launched a punishing air and ground campaign that has killed more than 17,700 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.
Abu Sitta told The Associated Press in an interview during a visit to the Institute for Palestine Studies in Beirut on Saturday that the intensity of other conflicts he experienced and the war in Gaza is like “the difference between a flood and a tsunami.” Apart from the staggering numbers of killed and injured, he said, the health system itself has been targeted and destroyed in Gaza.
“The worst thing was initially the running out of morphine and proper strong analgesics and then later on running out of anesthetic medication, which meant that you would have to do painful procedures with no anesthetic,” Abu Sitta said.
He said that when he returned to the UK, he was asked by the war crimes unit at the Metropolitan Police to give evidence in a possible war crimes investigation, and did so.
The police had issued a call for people returning from Israel or the Palestinian territories who “have witnessed or been a victim of terrorism, war crimes or crimes against humanity” to come forward.
Abu Sitta said much of his testimony related to attacks on health facilities.
He was working in al-Ahli hospital in northern Gaza on Oct. 17 when a deadly blast struck the hospital’s courtyard, which had become a shelter for displaced people, killing hundreds. Israeli authorities, along with U.S. and French intelligence agencies, have said the explosion was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket.
Hamas maintained that it was an Israeli strike. Abu Sitta said many of the injuries he saw were more consistent with damage caused by an Israeli Hellfire missile which he said “disintegrates into shards of metal that cause amputations.”
The international group Human Rights Watch said the fragmentation pattern around the impact crater lacked the pattern typical of the Hellfire missile or others used by Israel.
Abu Sitta said while in Gaza he also treated patients who had burn wounds consistent with white phosphorus shelling, which he had also seen during the 2009 war.
Phosphorus shells cause a “chemical burn that … bursts into the deep structures of the body rather than a thermal burn, which starts at the outside and (covers a) much larger surface area,” he said.
Human rights groups have alleged that Israeli forces have dropped shells containing white phosphorus on densely populated residential areas in Gaza and Lebanon during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Israel maintains it uses the incendiaries only as a smokescreen and not to target civilians.
Abu Sitta, who rotated between al-Ahli and Shifa hospital, had left Shifa when Israeli forces encircled the hospital, eventually storming it in search of what they described as a Hamas command center. Israeli officials released visuals of an underground tunnel and rooms that they said were used by Hamas, but have not provided further evidence.
Abu Sitta, like other medical workers in the hospital, denied the allegations.
He said he had complete access to Shifa and there “was never, ever even any military presence.” He said policemen whose job was to control the crowds in front of the emergency department only carried truncheons.
The physician said he hopes the UK war crimes investigation will lead to prosecutions, locally or internationally.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, said after a visit to the West Bank and Israel last week that a probe by the court into possible crimes by both Hamas militants and Israeli forces is a priority for his office.
