It makes for painful reading and a close up and personal recounting - by a medico - of what what was happening in Gaza during Israel's various bombardments of the tiny be-sieged territory (some 40 x 10 kilometres in size).
"Dr. Majdi Na'eim worked for eight consecutive days at Al-Shifa Hospital throughout Israel’s “Pillar of Cloud” operation in the Gaza strip. With hundreds of wounded pouring into the emergency room, there was no time for him and many of his colleagues to even leave the hospital. On the final and one of the most brutal days of the assault, Israel targeted Ni’ma tower in Gaza City. Dr. Na’eim was in the emergency room aiding physicians when he learned that one of the arriving casualties was his two year old son, Abdel Rahman Na’eim. Imagine a father’s horror and instant grief. At his son’s wake, Dr. Na’eim told friends and family who were seeking to comfort him, "I'm terribly sorry. I'm unable to talk about anything."
Gazans in the medical field have been working in unimaginable circumstances for years. During Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, “17 health personnel were killed and 26 injured. In total, 29 ambulances were damaged or destroyed by bombs or crushed by armoured vehicles, while 48 per cent of Gaza’s 122 health facilities were either directly or indirectly hit by shelling.” On November 29th, 2012, Bashar Abu Murad, head of emergency and rescue services at the Palestine Red Crescent, sat down with our delegation and gave us a first-hand account of the January 15th, 2009, attack on Al-Quds hospital. He described the panic as the hospital sustained two white phosphorus blasts from Israeli forces. A massive fire broke out after the first munitions were launched. It took six hours to squelch the fire with only water and sand bags. Workers frantically scrambled to evacuate patients and others who were taking refuge. Meanwhile, a journalist hid under the table. Bashar personally carried three people from the intensive care unit to safety. Though the first fire was eventually stopped, the hospital was rendered useless after a second shelling of white phosphorus."
"Because the headlines have faded but the hardships haven't, several U.S. aid delegations are in or going to Gaza in the wake of Israel's assault that killed almost 200 ordinary Palestinians - farmers on their way to market, the driver of a water truck, a 10-year-old on a roof trying to fix a damaged pipe - wounded around 1,200, and destroyed an estimated 585 buildings. As activists from Code Pink challenge the $3 billion in American aid that helped make that destruction possible, those from Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) work to repair the damage and continue efforts to bring desperately needed clean water to the residents of Gaza; they've already brought water to 22 kindergartens and 16 schools, several of which safely housed hundreds of families during the Israeli assault. MECA has also begun a petition campaign to remove Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes as honorary chair of the Israeli Fund for UNICEF for her racist comments during the attacks, when she asked, "How is it possible to make peace with people who have it as part of their DNA to hate us?” Earlier, she'd demanded it was time for "the passive residents of Gaza" - ie: the children - to suffer. Most of us won't go; we can at least give, or sign."
"Dr. Majdi Na'eim worked for eight consecutive days at Al-Shifa Hospital throughout Israel’s “Pillar of Cloud” operation in the Gaza strip. With hundreds of wounded pouring into the emergency room, there was no time for him and many of his colleagues to even leave the hospital. On the final and one of the most brutal days of the assault, Israel targeted Ni’ma tower in Gaza City. Dr. Na’eim was in the emergency room aiding physicians when he learned that one of the arriving casualties was his two year old son, Abdel Rahman Na’eim. Imagine a father’s horror and instant grief. At his son’s wake, Dr. Na’eim told friends and family who were seeking to comfort him, "I'm terribly sorry. I'm unable to talk about anything."
Gazans in the medical field have been working in unimaginable circumstances for years. During Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, “17 health personnel were killed and 26 injured. In total, 29 ambulances were damaged or destroyed by bombs or crushed by armoured vehicles, while 48 per cent of Gaza’s 122 health facilities were either directly or indirectly hit by shelling.” On November 29th, 2012, Bashar Abu Murad, head of emergency and rescue services at the Palestine Red Crescent, sat down with our delegation and gave us a first-hand account of the January 15th, 2009, attack on Al-Quds hospital. He described the panic as the hospital sustained two white phosphorus blasts from Israeli forces. A massive fire broke out after the first munitions were launched. It took six hours to squelch the fire with only water and sand bags. Workers frantically scrambled to evacuate patients and others who were taking refuge. Meanwhile, a journalist hid under the table. Bashar personally carried three people from the intensive care unit to safety. Though the first fire was eventually stopped, the hospital was rendered useless after a second shelling of white phosphorus."
From CommonDreams:
"Because the headlines have faded but the hardships haven't, several U.S. aid delegations are in or going to Gaza in the wake of Israel's assault that killed almost 200 ordinary Palestinians - farmers on their way to market, the driver of a water truck, a 10-year-old on a roof trying to fix a damaged pipe - wounded around 1,200, and destroyed an estimated 585 buildings. As activists from Code Pink challenge the $3 billion in American aid that helped make that destruction possible, those from Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) work to repair the damage and continue efforts to bring desperately needed clean water to the residents of Gaza; they've already brought water to 22 kindergartens and 16 schools, several of which safely housed hundreds of families during the Israeli assault. MECA has also begun a petition campaign to remove Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes as honorary chair of the Israeli Fund for UNICEF for her racist comments during the attacks, when she asked, "How is it possible to make peace with people who have it as part of their DNA to hate us?” Earlier, she'd demanded it was time for "the passive residents of Gaza" - ie: the children - to suffer. Most of us won't go; we can at least give, or sign."
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