Breast screening for 10,000 women in Gaza

The Al Ahli Arab Hospital has a sign above its door describing itself as a Place of Peace.

It is why 3,000 people sheltered in their courtyard on the 17th October during Israel’s offensive in response to Hamas’ attack. Members of their staff had spent time that day playing with the children sheltering there,  to try to take their minds away from the trauma surrounding them.

International humanitarian law makes it clear that hospitals must not be attacked during times of war. When there are no shelters and when those areas that people had been told to flee to had been bombed, people decided that the hospital was the safest place they could go to – even though two days earlier their diagnostic unit had been hit by two bombs and their mammography machine and ultrasound machines had been damaged. 

The hospital team had been due (before the outbreak of violence with Hamas’ brutal attack on 7th October) to join our supporters for a webinar about Al Ahli’s breast cancer screening work with Dr Philippa Whitford MP at 6:00pm that day. This was to be part of a month-long campaign entitled Rosy October, raising breast cancer awareness, which Amos Trust were supporting the hospital in. 

We had rearranged the session and had 300 supporters online as we heard the news of the horrific attack that left 500 people dead and far more injured. Far too many of these were the children that the hospital staff had been playing with that morning.  

Despite the awful damage and loss of life the hospital reopened its A&E a few hours after the attack. We know that as soon as it is safe to do so and their machines are mended that they will restart the breast cancer screening programme.

Links:

• Amos Trust Statement October 2023