Gaza civilians being killed in ‘extreme’ numbers, Tasmanian doctor Natalie Thurtle says

Children are suffering slow, painful deaths in Gaza, a Tasmanian doctor who co-ordinated medical aid in the country with Doctors Without Borders says. She says a ceasefire is the only answer to end the rising death toll from the conflict. Warning: Confronting images.

On Monday 10th of May 2021, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) started supporting the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Jerusalem to assess and stabilise hundreds of Palestinians injured by the Israeli police. Dr Natalie Thurtle tends to a wounded boy. Picture: MSF

Children are suffering slow, painful deaths in Gaza, according to a Tasmanian doctor who co-ordinated medical aid in the country.

Natalie Thurtle described Gaza as a land “without hope”, where civilian casualties are filling mass graves and electricity is unreliable in the few remaining hospitals.

Recently returned from Jerusalem, Dr Thurtle was working with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) to bring medical help to those in need.

She has worked with MSF since 2008 and experienced horrific conflict zones in Iraq, Sri Lanka and Syria – but none compare to the current catastrophe ripping through Gaza.

“People used to have hope; not anymore,” Dr Thurtle said.

“We’re seeing massive civilian casualties and have done so since this started.

“Palestinians received multiple evacuation orders to head to the south, so they did, and now there’s ongoing bombing there too.

“They have nowhere to flee to.”

MSF medical staff apply a dressing to a young child at the MSF Burns Clinic in central Gaza after he suffered from severe burns in an air strike. Gaza, 19 October 2023. Picture: MSF

In Jerusalem, Dr Thurtle was responsible for the overall medical strategy in Gaza, a task highly dependent on contextual security.

Delivering the most benefit to the most people was the goal, while forced to work within tight constraints of resources and security.

“Staff are extremely traumatised,” she said.

“We’ve had staff members killed, some in extremely traumatic circumstances in front of the other staff.

“It’s clear that hospitals and healthcare infrastructure in Gaza have been actively targeted throughout this conflict, as evidenced by the fact that there are no hospitals currently functioning in the north and a very limited number functioning in the south.

“I’ve never seen anything like this … It’s clear that being a healthcare worker or being within a healthcare structure provides absolutely no protection at all in this conflict.”

In 2021, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) started supporting the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Jerusalem to assess and stabilise hundreds of Palestinians injured by the Israeli police. Dr Natalie Thurtle (R) tends to a wounded boy. Picture: MSF

The situation is so dire, she said, that even if all pending humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza, it would make “a limited amount of difference”.

“We’ve been able to bring in a small, international team, but it’s important to note that this doesn’t mean on any level that we’re actually able to provide a quality and quantity of healthcare that meets the current demand,” Dr Thurtle said.

“Even if the borders were completely open tomorrow, and all of the aid that’s waiting to come in was allowed to come in, it wouldn’t solve the problem in the absence of a permanent ceasefire.”

Medics care for injured Palestinians following Israeli bombardment, at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 22, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)

Among the unspeakable tragedy has been the extraordinarily high rates of child casualties.

“Many children presenting at the hospitals are dead on arrival,” Dr Thurtle said.

“We’re seeing many, many children with life changing burn injuries, life changing traumatic surgical needs that will need multiple operations, and extremely complex, holistic care that simply isn’t available right now.

“These children are at risk of slow, painful deaths from infection, many not achieving functionality from very serious limb injuries.

“Many of them have no surviving family members, so they have no one to advocate for them on their behalf.

“It’s a tragedy.”

Leaving to come home, she said, was extremely difficult.

Battling with the grief of leaving colleagues and civilians behind – while also watching “dehumanising narratives” unfold about the region she knows so intimately – made withdrawal all the more devastating.

“I’m very grateful I was able to go and provide some support, but it was so hard to leave when it’s just getting worse and worse there.

“At this stage, we advocate for a permanent, unqualified ceasefire, and we have done for some time,” Dr Thurtle said.

A Palestinian man sits near the shrouded bodies of relatives killed following Israeli bombardment, at a hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on December 20, 2023, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by AFP)

“That is from our perspective as doctors and nurses on the ground and as agencies on the ground who see directly what’s happening – that is the first step to moving forward.

She said it was critical Australians educated themselves about the war from reliable sources and called on their MPs to act.

Addressing the federal government, Dr Thurtle said they needed to listen to the humanitarian experts and heed the call for a ceasefire.

“I would encourage people to listen to the unified voice of very experienced humanitarians and humanitarian agencies working in Gaza, about the scale of this catastrophe and the nature of the civilian burden.

“I think that we need to show some acknowledgment that those are very, very experienced, very, very unified voices.

“A ceasefire is the first step on a very long road to healing.”

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