A Hong Kong nurse who has just returned from war-torn Gaza has warned of a deepening mental health crisis among Palestinians, especially children. Krystal So recounted her experience of returning to the maternity ward in the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza between September and early-November, her second six-week deployment there this year with medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). War broke out following a Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, during which more than 250 hostages were taken and over 1,000 people were killed.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed 43,000 Palestinians, according to Palestine’s Ministry of Health. Gaza, together with the West Bank, form the state of Palestine and have been under Israeli military occupation since 1967. See also: ‘There is no safe place in Gaza’: Hong Kong nurse Krystal So on managing a maternity ward in a warzone Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday – just a day after she returned from Gaza – the Hong Kong nurse said despair had taken hold of the Palestinian population since her last visit between May and July this year.
“Many people wished for a ceasefire last time,” she said in Cantonese. “Whereas there’s more despair this time. Hope has turned into despair.
” So is a nurse specialising in maternity services. She said her focus in Gaza was on women and children, whose needs for fertility, mental health, and nutrition were not adequately being met. “.