Thousands of doctors and nurses are working exhaustively long hours at Israels largest hospital in Tel Aviv.
Doctors and nurses at Sheba Medical Center have been flooded with patients who have been shot at point blank range with many also wounded by grenades.
The hospital has 2,000 bed and employs around 1,800 doctors and nearly 3,000 nurses which is currently operating at 90% capacity since the Palestinian armed wing Hamas started attacking people on Saturday.
Steve Walz, international spokesperson for Sheba Medical Center, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv said, “It is hard to look at the faces of patients.
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“We have a lot of critically wounded people. They are severely traumatised.”
Alarbiya reported that as of Tuesday morning, 186 wounded people had arrived at the hospital with dozens are in a “very critical condition.”
“They have soldiers with bullet wounds, shrapnel and injuries from grenades all over their body depending on the battle they were in.
“We have civilians exposed to battle, some of them were shot at point blank range, some were hiding and still shot.
“I’ve heard stories that were really horrible. It’s hard to look at people in their face – they are literally traumatized. We even have doctors – who are rocks – that broke out crying.”
“They have sons who are in army and their friends have died. We keep a stiff upper lip, but we know what’s going on outside hospital. We try and block it out and get on with our job.”
“They are beyond speechless about how people can walk in streets, and someone can shoot them point blank. It’s hard for people outside the country to fully grasp this.”
Walz added, “We have been preparing for this for a while – we go through drills throughout the year to prepare for these occasions, for military attacks from Gaza,” he told Al Arabiya English.
“I have been here for six years; we have never been through a year here without missiles coming down.
“This is something we are constantly drilling and preparing for here, the tragedy that has occurred and continues to occur – we were prepared for. We were not caught by surprise.”
Walz told Alarbiya, he continued, “Medical staff continue to come to work, despite some of them having lost family or friends.”
“Some of our doctors and nurses have lost loved ones, we all have family and friends who knew someone at that party.
“But yet we continue to work together in harmony. There is a unity of purpose here.”
The hospital launched a blood donation appeal that saw “hundreds of Israeli citizens walking through the doors to donate.”
Walz said, “In fact, so many people donated blood we don’t need any more at the moment – that’s how incredible the response has been.
“We have also had have dozens of volunteers who have come in, offering food to families of wounded and soldiers.”
Walz said that many doctors and nurses have been left “heartbroken” hearing some of the most devastating stories shared by those civilians caught up in the Hamas terrorist attacks.
He said, “All I can say is everyone is working hard.
“It’s a tremendous challenge on an emotional level. We are prepared for even worse. We have actually been told to prepare for worst.
“We remain willing and able but it’s heartbreaking. All of us have some connection to this.”
“We are all in this together.”
Walz added, “But we know going forward, if the situation deteriorates – and that possibility exists – the greatest thing we will deal with is – as one of the largest rehab hospitals we – is that we will probably need more equipment for rehab.
“But right now, there is a great unknown.”
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