My Gaza diary

Paediatric nurse on her time in war-torn emergency hospital

- SIMON MURPHY

THIS week marked 300 days since Hamas unleashed its brutal October 7 attack on Israel, sparking a bloody conflict.

But, already, war-torn Gaza has endured more than enough death to last a lifetime.

Over 39,000 people have been killed in the stricken territory, its health ministry figures say.

Around 1,200 perished in Hamas’ assault on Israel nearly a year ago, with about 250 taken hostage. And, as war rages on, Palestinians are starving.

Here, in a harrowing diary, British NHS paediatric nurse Becky Platt, of charity Save of the Children, tells of her weeks helping to keep kids alive in a land of death.

April 2

Rafah is far, far worse than I expected. Parts are totally decimated. Rubble is everywhere, roads are difficult to use.

We can hear the almost continuous shelling of Khan Younis to the north.

That and the drones overhead are pretty disturbing. Infrastructure has broken down. Food is scarce and financially out of reach for people.

There are two functioning ATMs in the Gaza Strip - they run out of money every day. Lenders charge 20% to exchange on Visa.

Tens of thousands of displaced people live in informal camps, by which I mean under tarpaulin.

Children are absolutely everywhere.

All over the road, all barefoot.

But, as ever, they find ways to play -lots of kites made from general debris fly over the camps.

I was at the field hospital today. It's amazing what they have achieved in six weeks. It's well-placed, on the edge of a camp. There's a solid concrete base for the wards and the Emergency Department; the rest is sand.

It's well-equipped at the moment, just awaiting a few more key pieces.

There's a cat living in the house named Noodle. She moved in when the team delivered kittens a few weeks ago.

April 3