Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Blast injuries, wound infections, gangrenous limbs, acute respiratory tract infections, skin infections, hepatitis, scabies and life and death—this is the situation in Gaza. Thousands of men, women and children are being injured and thousands are dying every day. It is catastrophic. The health system has collapsed. Most hospitals are out of service. There are significant shortages of fuel and water, meaning that emergency medical and surgical services have ceased operations throughout Gaza. Think about this: surgeons are undertaking major surgical procedures and interventions without anaesthesia or analgesia. Patients and medical staff are being injured and killed. MSF doctors—that's Doctors Without Borders—function and operate with the principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality. As a doctor, I can't begin to imagine what it's like to provide care in this environment. People throughout the region do not have access to clean drinking water and food, meaning that dehydration and malnourishment are the norm. This will mean that men and women cannot function or heal and children will not develop into the adults they deserve to be. For the sake of life, people need access to food and water, humanitarian aid must flow and medical staff and services must be able to operate in safety. For the sake of life, this conflict must end.