Extract from ABC News
Herwig Drobetz has returned to Gaza over the weekend. (Supplied: Herwig Drobetz)
In short:
An Australian orthopaedic surgeon is returning to Gaza for his fourth mission to work at the Rafah Field Hospital.
Herwig Drobetz says people are in dire need of post-operative care and medical supplies.
What's next?
A new report by the European Union and the United Nations has found more than $US71 billion ($99.4 billion) will be needed over the next 10 years for recovery and reconstruction in Gaza
Orthopaedic surgeon Herwig Drobetz has felt a range of emotions following his 2024 stint as a Red Cross medic in Gaza.
Relief to be back home doing his job as director of the trauma unit at Lismore Base Hospital in northern NSW.
Guilt for leaving behind his colleagues and the many thousands of people needing medical care in the war-torn enclave.
Herwig Drobetz says the work at the Rafa Field Hospital is demanding. (Supplied: Herwig Drobetz)
And the anxiety after weeks of living and working with minimal sleep and adrenaline coursing through his veins.
"[2024] was the first time that I was in an active war zone and there was bombs flying and bombs getting dropped and the tank shelling and shelling from the ocean over the hospital," Dr Drobetz said.
"The hospital coordinates were blanked out, the GPS coordinates, so they couldn't actively drop bombs from drones or from planes onto that humanitarian zone.
"But if they drop a bomb a kilometre away, it still makes the whole building shake and the ceiling tiles fall off."
Herwig Drobetz says he had never been in an active war zone before. (Supplied: Herwig Drobetz)
Dr Drobetz said perhaps the most horrible thing was the way he got used to it.
"The first time this happens, you are lying under your bed and it's really scary because you also feel the pressure wave," he said.
"Sometimes we had gunfights breaking out like 50 metres away from us and we are operating in a tent.
"You don't notice how much stress you are under the whole time."
A Red Cross official says doctors work every day and are exposed to horrific human trauma. (Supplied: Herwig Drobetz)
Despite this, Dr Drobetz is returning to Gaza this week for his fourth mission, where he will be based at Rafah Field Hospital, working in a paid capacity for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
ICRC spokesperson Pat Griffiths said 14 international medical staff were currently working at the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah in southern Gaza, side-by-side with Palestinian medics.
Mr Griffiths said the doctors worked every day and were exposed to horrific human trauma.
"It's intense work and it never really stops, so they are on quite short rotations, but many of them do come back several times," he said.
"It's hard work, but very important work and we are very glad when colleagues who have a bit of experience are able to return."
Need still dire
Mr Griffiths said the medical system in Gaza was at breaking point.
"There has been more than two years of fighting here and that just builds pressure because the medical need of the population grows," he said.
"Meanwhile, the medical system itself has become a casualty of the conflict."
According to the final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), 60 per cent of Gaza's population is homeless after 24 months of conflict.
The new assessment by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN), jointly conducted with the World Bank, estimated $US71.4 billion ($99.4 billion) would be needed for reconstruction over the next decade.
Health is among the hardest-hit sectors, along with housing, education and agriculture.
Herwig Drobetz says people live in the hospital grounds and every available space inside the hospital (Supplied: Herwig Drobetz)
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said violence had also persisted in Gaza despite the ceasefire coming into effect in October last year.
Dr Drobetz said, although the "circus" of international attention had now shifted to other parts of the Middle East, the people of Gaza were still in dire need of help.
He said hospitals were filled with patients requiring complex care.
"There are people with amputated limbs who have infections, who can't walk because they have wound problems," Dr Drobetz said.
"This is actually the much more difficult issue now because there's thousands of people who need highly complicated and complex operations."
Herwig Drobetz says International Red Cross is transitioning Rafa Field Hospital to a permanent structure. (Supplied: Herwig Drobetz)
Eager to return
Dr Drobetz said ever since he was a junior doctor, he knew he wanted to work in conflict zones.
Despite the horrors of human suffering he witnessed in Gaza, Dr Drobetz was eager to return.
"There's no X-ray, there's no MRI, there's no CT scan, there's no implants, all these things, which is medically challenging," he said.
"That's something I'm interested in, you have to do many things with nothing."
Dr Drobetz said part of him was also drawn to the adventure.
"I think that everybody who does these things feels the same way."
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