‘WCNSF = Wounded Child No Surviving Family. It’s a thing in Gaza.’ Ghassan Abu-Sittah’s social media post on 15 October made my blood run cold. It’s difficult to imagine the kind of destruction required to necessitate such a chilling acronym to become common.
A London-based plastic surgeon, specializing in conflict wounds, Abu-Sittah arrived in Gaza on 9 October, where he spent the next 43 days working around the clock in the Al-Shifa and Al-Ahli hospitals, treating a never-ending flow of patients through blackouts and relentless bombing.
Born in Kuwait to a Palestinian family, the 54-year-old has worked as a war
