Professor Ghassan Abu Sittah Press Conference
Professor Ghassan Abu Sittah, a renowned British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon
Dr Abu Sittah volunteered his medical services in Gaza during the genocide for forty-three days from the 9thOctober 2023. Upon his return to London, he spoke at a press conference on the 27th November 2023, organised by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, where he told his story of the horrors he had witnessed during the genocide, including amputating six different children in one night and being forced to use vinegar as antiseptic, and intravenous paracetamol as pain relief for surgeries.
During the four weeks where he was in Gaza, he provided care for Palestinians in Gaza, including at both Al Ahli Baptist hospital and Al Shifa hospital. He was working at Al Ahli Hospital when it was bombed on the 17th October 2023, where at least 250 Palestinians were killed. He spoke in the destroyed hospital courtyard in the immediate aftermath.
The press conference in London included a short introduction of Ghassan Abu Sittah by ICJP Director and Partner at Bindmans LLP Tayab Ali. This was followed by a speech by Ghassan, which in turn will be followed by a question and answer session and an opportunity for some one-to-one interviews afterwards, where Ghassan gave his testimony to Tier 1 TV Channels and newspapers from across the world.
Ghassan discussed his initial arrival and forced evacuation in Gaza. He will also speak about his experience inside Al Ahli and Al Shifa hospitals. His speech also included an analysis of the types of injuries victims sustained and his expert opinion on injuries that indicated illegal use of weaponry and targeting of civilians, including injuries which indicated the potential use of white phosphorous.
Now that he has returned to London, he has also agreed to work with Scotland Yard to provide witness evidence of the war crimes that Israel has perpetrated over the past few weeks.
Ghassan has over thirty years’ experience, having worked on twelve wars across Yemen, Iraq, Syria, South Lebanon and Gaza. For the past year, he has run the plastic surgery residency programme run by Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). He set up the curriculum and coordinated the rota for the programme. He has also written two textbooks on war surgery.