A British surgeon can “hear and feel the bombing” as he waits to be evacuated from Gaza after travelling there to help perform transplants.
NHS consultant surgeon Abdel Hammad arrived in Gaza on Friday to assist in an area where health services are often overstretched.
Within hours of his arrival, Hamas militants launched an assault on Israel – and retaliatory strikes on Gaza soon followed.
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The fighting has left 350 Israelis dead, according to local media, while Palestinian authorities said more than 300 people had so far been killed in counterattacks.
Mr Hammad, who works in Liverpool, told Sky News he managed to get to a hotel and was then transferred to the United Nations building in Gaza.
He’s now awaiting to be evacuated, along with about 20 other foreign nationals.
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But he’s had no news on when that will happen, and no contact from British authorities despite trying to get in touch on Saturday.
“In the circumstances, I think we are in the safest place in Gaza,” he told Sky News.
He said he’s with another British man, two or three Irish nationals, a German, and people of other nationalities.
“It’s okay here. It’s very safe, we hope,” he said.
“We can hear and feel the bombing around us, during the night and the day – with only a little bit of stoppage.”
Mr Hammad has not had much sleep due to the constant explosions, but said the UN had been providing food and water.
The UN briefed the group this morning but there is no timescale yet on the evacuation.
Mr Hammad believes the UN is trying to secure guarantees from the Israeli side that the group can be evacuated safely – but this is difficult while the operation continues.
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Despite his own difficult circumstances, the surgeon said he’s most concerned for the Gaza population.
He said the five planned transplants he was going to help with have all been postponed after taking four months to prepare.
Mr Hammad volunteers for the charity the Liverpool International Transplant Initiative in his spare time and has been going to Gaza since about 2013.
His son, Salim, said the family is “worried” about him and they had a “troubling night”.
