Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah: a year genocide in Gaza

A view from the frontline

To mark one year of genocide against the people of Gaza, the Arab Foundations Forum (AFF) has organised a conversation with renowned British-Palestinian surgeon Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah.

Dr Abu-Sittah, a multi-award-winning plastic and reconstructive surgeon, travelled to Gaza days after Israeli began its bombardment in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas. He remained in the besieged enclave for 43 days, working mainly in northern Gaza as a volunteer for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). 

He was at Al-Ahli Hospital during the massacre on October 17, 2023, and was among the physicians who spoke to news media, surrounded by blood-stained bodies, in the attack’s immediate aftermath, and in January, gave evidence to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague.

In response to the growing number of injured children, Dr Abu Sittah set up The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children’s Fund to pay for injured Palestinians to received medical and rehabilitation treatment in Lebanon.

Dr Abu Sittah has worked as a war surgeon in numerous conflict zones including Syria, Yemen, Iraq, South Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. He is Clinical Lead for the Operational Trauma Initiative at the World Health Organization’s EMRO Office and serves on the board of directors of INARA, a charity dedicated to providing reconstructive surgery to war-injured children in the Middle East, and the board of trustees of the UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians.

Speakers

• Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah
  Dr Abu-Sittah was born in Kuwait after his parents were forced from their homes in Palestine in 1948 and became refugees in Gaza. He studied medicine at the University of Glasgow and after completing his Specialist Registrar training in London, was awarded Fellowships in Paediatric Cranio-facial Surgery and in Cleft Surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Kids, as well as a further fellowship in Trauma Reconstruction at the Royal London Hospital. In 2010 he was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (Plastic Surgery). Dr Abu-Sittah has served as an associate professor and head of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Aesthetic Surgery at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Medical Center, and in 2015, he became a founding director of the Conflict Medicine Program at AUB’s Global Health Institute.

Notes

This event is being hosted by Arab Foundations Forum (AFF). It will take place 4pm (UAE). Register here.