Gazans on lifeline hospital ship tell of lost mothers, fathers and children

Amid the suffering there is hope and smiles - even as most face future in limbo

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Palestinians who escaped the Gaza conflict for the safety of an Emirati hospital ship have spoken of devastated families, lost loved ones and life-changing injuries.

On the medical decks of the vessel in Al Arish port in Egypt, patients told of crawling from the rubble of bombed buildings to find relatives did not survive.

"Eighteen people died in my house. After that, my other daughter also died," says Kefah Zaid Hassan, her arm in a sling and the daughter beside her bearing shrapnel wounds to her face.

"I've lost two daughters in this war. Only three of us went out the house alive."

Her daughters Basmallah and Lyan survived.

"Lyan was conscious the whole time and witnessed everything with her own eyes," Ms Hassan said.

Basmallah has undergone plastic surgery from an Emirati doctor to treat her injuries and is recovering well.

The 100-bed floating hospital is delivering life-saving support to patients as the war rages just over the border. It has already treated more than 2,400 patients and carried out more than 1,000 surgeries.

It features operating rooms, intensive care units, a laboratory, a pharmacy and medical warehouses, plus an evacuation plane and boat and fully equipped ambulances to transport patients.

The National was welcomed aboard to meet the dedicated doctors working to provide critical care in the most challenging of circumstances.

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