97% of Burn victims died in Gaza as hospitals collapsed under siege, doctor reveals

Dr. Ahmed Mukhalalati, former head of Gaza’s Shifa Hospital Burns Unit, described to Al Jazeera the catastrophic conditions under Israeli siege, where 97% of patients with burns covering greater than 30% of their bodies died due to a lack of sterile facilities, ICUs, and staff. He cited Israel’s use of thermobaric weapons—banned in civilian areas—causing mass casualties, while tent fires exacerbated injuries. With hospitals destroyed, surgeons performed wound care in wards rife with maggots and infections, using makeshift treatments like sugar and vinegar. Most plastic surgeons were killed, displaced, or barred from entry, leaving Gaza’s health system "collapsed in all means." Dr. Mukhalalati stressed that burns, normally survivable, became fatal as overwhelmed staff rationed one surgery per five needed. Despite minimal aid access, Israel blocks medical personnel, leaving non-specialists to manage complex cases without equipment or electricity.