A doctor is deeply concerned for the welfare of his aid worker friend who is stranded in a hospital which is under threat of bombardment.

Liverpool-based NHS urologist Dr Omar El-Taji, 33, went to Gaza three weeks ago with American aid organisation Fajr Scientific.

He has been working at the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Yunus, performing operations on injured civilians in the war-ravaged territory. Omar travelled with two British nationals and an Irish citizen, delivering medical supplies, as well as surgical support. They aimed to carry out around 250 life-and-limb saving surgeries during their time in Gaza.

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Omar planned to travel home on May 13, but due to borders being closed and intense fighting around Rafah, a city in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, he is currently stranded. The American medics Omar has been working with are reportedly being flown out of the territory today, May 17. However, according to his close friend Dr Ali Arshid, Omar and his fellow Brits have received no such assurances.

Speaking to the ECHO, Ali, who works in Huyton, said he is "very worried" about his friend, and is calling for urgent steps to be taken to secure Omar and his colleagues' evacuation.

He said: "There doesn't seem to be any plan in place. But the fact the Americans are taking staff out is indicative of what might happen next."

Ali and Omar met while studying at the University of Liverpool in 2010. Omar, who lives in West Derby, is a specialist registrar working for Health Education North West in Aintree and Manchester.

Speaking to the Guardian several days ago, Omar said: "I am currently located at the European Gaza Hospital, and it's become the major trauma centre for Rafah. I arrived here around a week ago. What we found when we first arrived was that there were refugees surrounding the hospital, with makeshift tents.

"There's around 30,000 refugees who are residing in the European Gaza Hospital. There was a severe lack of medication, a severe lack of nutrition, and a lack of surgical instruments."

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