Saskatoon nurse returns from 'heart-wrenching' 6-week assignment in Gaza

Casey Eberl has mixed feelings after returning home to Saskatoon after a six-week stint as a nurse in a southern Gaza medical centre.

"On one hand, I feel relieved obviously to be out of a war zone, safe and sound, I'm incredibly lucky, and on another hand, I feel extremely guilty and like I'm missing my co-workers and friends that I left in Palestine," said Eberl on The 306 radio show with host Peter Mills.

Eberl worked with Doctors Without Borders (also known by its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières), a non-governmental organization that provides emergency medical care to people in conflict zones, disasters or epidemics.

She worked as a nurse activity manager in the pediatric department of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza.

Israel's campaign — in response to the Oct. 7 attack from the militant combatant group Hamas — has killed 42,438 Palestinians and injured 99,246 more, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The count from the ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but the Gaza Health Ministry has said thousands of women and children have been killed in airstrikes.

The Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel by Hamas killed some 1,200 people, with more than 250 taken hostage by the militant group, according to Israel.

Eberl said it was extremely hard to see children suffering and dying.

"It was at times extremely heart-wrenching," she said.

"I was really struck, of course, by the amount of resilience that the patients and the families had, as well as the Palestinian staff that I got to work with."

Bombs could be heard all around and very close at times, according to Eberl, and safety was something she said she considered before taking on the assignment.

"I think in any humanitarian work, the biggest part of what we do is bearing witness and living with the people that are there going through whatever the event is," she said.

"I think just being there with them and saying that 'I see you and I'm here with you, the world is with you,' I think is bigger than anything I could bring medically or clinically."

Eberl said she was more fearful for her Palestinian co-workers who were staying in encampments, unlike Doctors Without Borders workers who stay in designated areas that aren't meant to be bombed.

Most of the 2.3 million people of Gaza have been displaced by Israel's actions since the Oct. 7 attacks, Gaza health authorities say. Eberl said that displacement has contributed to many cases of infectious diseases and skin diseases stemming from poor hygiene conditions.

"Most of the people of Gaza are displaced from the north to the south and are living in encampments, so tents on the sand, and so infectious diseases and skin diseases run rampant."

Eberl said the experience in Gaza has changed her and shown her how to be resilient in the worst circumstances.

She said she'd love to go back.

'Worse than ever': Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders operates out of the Nasser and Al-Aqsa hospitals in Gaza.

"The situation now is worse than ever and the medical needs in Gaza are catastrophic," said Aanjalie Roane, the director of communications for Doctors Without Borders Canada.

"What we're witnessing is a complete collapse of health-care infrastructure in Gaza due to repeated attacks against health care and the lack of supplies, which has made medical care increasingly inaccessible as needs continue to grow."

One of the other areas Doctors Without Borders focuses on is water and sanitation, because of the lack of drinkable water and destruction of water and sanitation facilities, which Roane said is catastrophic for people's health.

"We're also focused on water distribution, implementing water and sanitation activities in camp shelters, building latrines in camps and distributing hygiene kits."

Roane said the organization has managed to get 130 truckloads and 30 planes filled with supplies into the region, despite multiple barriers.

A total of seven Doctors Without Borders staff have been killed in Gaza, according to Roane, who also said staff have had to evacuate 14 different medical structures due to air strikes or tanks damaging hospitals.

"This has been nothing like we've certainly seen in recent history," she said.