Gazan man replaces oxygen machine with bicycle pump to help mother breathe

A Palestinian man in Gaza has replaced a medical oxygen machine with a bicycle tire pump to help his elderly mother breathe, after oxygen equipment became unavailable and access to hospitals collapsed under Israel's blockade.

Despite serious health risks, Samih Abu Saada, 34, prepares the pump every evening to push air to his mother, who suffers from chronic illnesses and breathing difficulties. She lies on a thin mattress inside a fragile tent erected on a tractor trailer, exposed to winter cold.

"I resorted to using a tire pump as a primitive solution to my mother's health crisis after all treatment options in Gaza's hospitals were exhausted," Abu Saada told Anadolu.

He said there is no medical equipment available to supply his mother with oxygen.

"This was the only available solution to help my mother amid the lack of oxygen equipment," he said.

Abu Saada modified the tire pump in a rudimentary way to deliver air to his mother.

"There is no medical equipment to provide my mother with oxygen, and there is no nearby hospital we can reach," he said.

He added that reaching the closest hospital costs more than $10 one way, an amount he cannot afford daily amid fuel shortages that have sharply reduced transportation options.

Before the war, patients with chronic conditions requiring daily oxygen could easily obtain medical oxygen cylinders for home use, Gaza health officials say.

The Israeli army destroyed about 10 central oxygen-generation stations during the war, triggering a severe shortage of oxygen equipment and a deepening health crisis, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Abu Saada said he keeps the pump beside him each night to save his mother from a possible respiratory relapse.

- Deepening crisis

Abu Saada said doctors at Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza warned him of many potential harms from using a tire pump to supply air to his mother.

He said the doctors told him the pump is not a "suitable solution," but that he is forced to use it because there is "no alternative."

Medical and scientific websites warn that air produced by pumping devices can be contaminated, increasing the risk of carbon monoxide exposure and inhalation of oil particles.

Gaza's health system has been severely damaged over nearly two years of Israeli attacks that have targeted hospitals, medical facilities, drug warehouses and medical staff, undermining its ability to provide care.

The attacks, combined with Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid, medical supplies and equipment, have forced many facilities to limit services to life-saving cases only.

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, 52% of essential medicines and about 71% of medical consumables are currently out of stock.

The ministry said Israel has reduced the entry of medical supply trucks to less than 30% of Gaza's monthly needs, deepening shortages of medicines and equipment.

The Israeli army has killed more than 71,400 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 others in a brutal offensive since October 2023 that has left the enclave in ruins.

Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli army has continued its attacks, killing 442 Palestinians and wounding more than 1,200 others, according to the Health Ministry.