Hundreds of Pakistani doctors volunteer to serve in besieged Gaza

KARACHI, Pakistan

Hundreds of Pakistani doctors have volunteered to serve at the heavily burdened health facilities in Gaza, urging the international community to pressure Israel to stop targeting hospitals and paramedics.

However, Pakistani citizens cannot travel to the besieged city as Pakistan has no diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv as it doesn't recognize Israel. Thus, Pakistani aid groups are collaborating with counterparts in Türkiye and Egypt to reach suffering Palestinians.

Representatives of the two main bodies of Pakistani health professionals – Pakistan Islamic Medical Association, and Pakistan Medical Association – said that hundreds of doctors, surgeons, anesthetists and paramedics have registered themselves to serve at the broken health facilities if they are permitted to enter Gaza.

It comes a day after Israeli forces targeted Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, killing over 500 people, including children, patients, and paramedics.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said that the situation in the Gaza Strip is becoming uncontrollable.

“The situation in Gaza is spiraling out of control. Every second we wait to get medical aid in, we lose lives,” WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.

Saying that WHO supplies are stuck at the border for four days, he stressed the importance of "immediate access" to start delivering life-saving supplies.

"We need violence on all sides to stop," Tedros said.

Several Pakistani NGOs, including Al-Khidmat Foundation, Sailani Welfare Trust, and Baitussalam Trust, are already in contact with Turkish and Egyptian relief agencies to find out ways of sending relief assistance to besieged Gaza.

Waqas Anjum Jafri, Secretary General of Al-Khidmat Foundation, told Anadolu that relief goods amounting to Rs100 million ($357,453) have already been handed over to their Turkish partners, and another Rs400 million ($1.42 million) have been committed.

“As soon as the humanitarian corridor is established, our trained disaster management teams and doctors along with relief assistance are ready to go to Gaza,” he added.

Dr. Qaisar Sajjad, a Pakistani medical practitioner, said that health facilities are exempted from wars, but Tel Aviv, in "total" violation of international humanitarian laws, is “deliberately” targeting hospitals.

More than 500 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the hospital on Tuesday, according to Palestinian officials in the besieged enclave. Israel, however, has denied responsibility for the air raid.

The conflict began on Oct. 7 when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

At least 3,448 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while the figure stands at more than 1,400 people in Israel.