78% of Gaza healthcare workers lack mental health access

Seventy-eight percent of healthcare workers in Gaza report a lack of access to mental health services, according to a report published in the Public Library of Science. This statistic highlights a critical gap in the territory's medical infrastructure as the war enters its third year.

The data indicates that 41 percent of medical personnel have lost family members. Additionally, 46 percent have experienced both personal bereavement and displacement from their workplaces. These figures come from Gaza’s Government Media Office, which also states that at least 1,700 medical staff have been killed in Israeli attacks.

Manar Fayyad, a 29-year-old anaesthesiologist at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, stopped working after recognizing his deceased brother in an operating room. Shadi Fayyad, 34, was killed in an Israeli air strike on December 27, 2023. The younger doctor said he recognized his brother’s clothes before uncovering the face.

“He died before I could reach him,” Manar Fayyad said. “When I arrived in the operating room, I recognised the man’s clothes. I had a strange feeling, so I approached him and uncovered his face. To my shock, he was my brother Shadi, who was 34.”

He now spends his time by the sea writing to process his pain. He avoids social interaction and noise while considering a move to another location. Khaled Raafat, a 29-year-old nurse at the same hospital, took a long leave after losing his wife, children, mother, and siblings in an air strike on October 18, 2023.

Raafat returned to work after marrying and starting a new family. He stated that the hospital became a reminder of personal pain that affected his professional life. “I realised that life could not stop at the tragedy and that I had to find a way to carry on,” he said.

Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health, said protecting medical personnel requires safeguarding their mental health. He noted that staff are caught between saving lives and grieving their own losses. “Those who save others also need someone to reach out and help them,” al-Bursh said.

Reham Abu Rokba, a psychologist at Nasser Medical Complex, explained that treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder often involves cognitive behavioural therapy. A typical plan includes about 12 individual sessions and medication when necessary. She said recovery requires time and ongoing participation in support sessions.