Nowhere is safe in Gaza, says doctor working there

A doctor working in Gaza has said she and her colleagues are working in an "active war zone", describing how a stray bullet entered her hospital in recent days.

Dr Clare Frost, a general practitioner from Cardigan, Ceredigion, said it is an "incredibly challenging and hostile environment to be a healthcare worker".

Dr Frost, 38, who is running a field hospital in central Gaza, also described the humanitarian situation in the territory, saying the "number of severely malnourished children is rising" each week.

The UN has warned that "the risk of famine persists across the whole Gaza Strip".

Dr Frost, who has been working in Gaza since September, said her facility in al-Zawaida, central Gaza, is seeing between 300 and 400 patients a day.

"We are dealing with people who are involved in mass-casualty incidents, from air strikes, we are seeing people with shrapnel... traumatic amputation, blast injuries, lots of limb fractures," she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"Skin infections, upper respiratory tract infections - sadly these are simple things to treat but currently we just don't have the medication to treat these," she said.

Dr Frost, who is running the hospital for the charity UK-Med, said she had previously worked in challenging humanitarian contexts, but "never have I had such a lack of basic items needed to be a doctor".

She said gloves and dressing are in "chronic short supply", and there is also a "severe lack of medication".

Her hospital also operates a weekly malnutrition clinic for babies and young children, but said the "number of severely malnourished children is rising" each week.

"The management of such cases is complex and we really don't have the resources to manage these effectively," she said.

The war began after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, leaving around 1,200 people dead and 251 taken to Gaza as hostages.

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas in response, launching a ground offensive in the enclave.

At least 42,603 ​people have been killed and 99,795 injured in Gaza since the war began last October, the Hamas-run authorities say.

The ministry's figures for the number of people killed do not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Dr Frost said security is a "huge concern", and that her hospital had treated people injured in air strikes.

"Nowhere is safe in Gaza now. A few days ago a stray bullet entered our female ward. Thankfully no one was injured but we do remain in an active war zone."