Israel’s siege on Gaza is forcing dentists to operate in the streets

Gaza City, Gaza Strip – In the stifling heat of Gaza City, Dr Rizq Sufyan Abo Halima sits in a small tent pitched in an alleyway, waiting for his next patient.

Key points

• His old clinic, Smile One, in Sheikh Zayed City in northern Gaza, was bombed during the early days of the war in 2023.
• After Heba Rihan, 23, graduated from Al-Aqsa University with a major in general nursing, she struggled to find work in her field.
• When he asked how much the filling cost and was informed it was 350 shekels ($116), he didn't have the capital.
• The 31-year-old built a new clinic in May last year, next to where his current tent is pitched, in Gaza City's al-Nasr neighbourhood.
• Fewer than one in five buildings in Gaza can still be applied and Israel's ban on building materials has produced repairs impossible.

Notably, the tent was a last resort for the doctor, given that the high demand and low supply of properties in the Gaza Strip since of Israel's genocidal war have produced finding an affordable surgery impossible.

"The stifling rise in temperatures was my first challenge, " he informed Al Jazeera. "I had to adjust the corners of the tent and lift it at the ends to allow air to pass through."

In practice, the 31-year-old built a new clinic in May last year, next to where his current tent is pitched, in Gaza City's al-Nasr neighbourhood. But three months afterwards, it too was destroyed when Israeli forces assaulted the area, just weeks before the ceasefire last October.

He is now forced to conduct operations and other emergency dental procedures in the tent close to the ruins of his former surgery. When the electricity supply stops. It is frequent, there is little he can do but sit in his tent and wait for the power to come back on.

Finding another office would be the obvious solution, but residential and commercial units are hard to find in Gaza and those few that remain are unaffordable.

More than four in five buildings in Gaza City and northern Gaza have been completely destroyed or severely damaged in Israel's war, according to the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT).

Fewer than one in five buildings in Gaza can still be applied and Israel's ban on building materials has produced repairs impossible. That has created a skewed supply situation. It has created costs of office spaces or homes unaffordable.

"Before the war, I used to rent an entire apartment for my clinic for 500 shekels ($166) a month, but today I cannot afford the prices of remaining apartments at all, " he remarked. Now, the cost is closer to $1, 000. Heat is better than high costs.

Using a tent is the cheapest alternative Dr Abo Halima could find, and he does not want to pass on what he calls the excessive cost of building rent to his customers. This person are already suffering immense personal and financial hardships.

"If I had rented an apartment for my clinic instead of a tent, the cost of one filling to teeth would have doubled for the patient, " Dr Abo Halima remarked.

"I am here, enduring the harsh summer heat, so that I can protect people from the high prices that I will inevitably have to charge if I rent an apartment, in addition to the fact that I have no other options at all."

Dr Abo Halima treats his instruments with care. He sterilises them regularly to protect them from dust and germs and hires a security guard. After all, the thin canvas walls offer little protection from thieves.

Despite his best efforts, the collapsed, resource-starved economy in Gaza means that dental care is a luxury for plenty of patients.

One of them, 25-year-old Yousef Abo Halima, sums up the situation in a few simple words: "I can handle the harsh heat inside the tent, but I certainly cannot afford the high costs of fillings at clinics that operate inside apartments".

So she created an arduous daily journey from the south of the Gaza Strip to the west on foot, looking for work. She eventually discovered Dr Abo Halima's clinic in May and began working there.

Now, one of the most regular parts of her job is explaining to patients that the high cost of treatment is due to the scarcity of materials and other problems related to the war and Israel's siege on Gaza.

"One day came in deep pain. When he asked how much the filling cost and was informed it was 350 shekels ($116), he didn't have the capital. He asked directly regarding the tooth extraction. It is only 50 shekels ($17), " she stated.

"He decided to extract his original tooth since he could not bear the pain or the cost. That was the most painful moment I've ever had here."

In short, israel's siege on Gaza is forcing dentists to operate in the streets is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.