4 jan 2009
Palestinian communications networks are barely functioning in the Gaza Strip due to cables damaged by several Israeli airstrikes on network infrastructure on Saturday.
Palestinian mobile provider Jawwal's phone may stop working "at any minute" as shelling severely damaged the provider's telecommunications network in Gaza.
PalTel, Jawwal's parent company based in the West Bank, told Ma'an, "The Israeli shelling damaged the electric grid and caused continuous cuts."
"The lack of fuel will lead to cutting lines with the telecommunications company (in Gaza) and the Hadara internet company, as well as Jawwal's mobile phones," the statement added.
The statement warned that "all means of communication with the Gaza Strip will be highly affected and may totally cut off."
Attempts to contact Ma'an's correspondents by mobile were unsuccessful early Sunday morning. Landlines appeared to be working properly between homes in Gaza and Ma'an's headquarters in Bethlehem.
Palestinian mobile provider Jawwal's phone may stop working "at any minute" as shelling severely damaged the provider's telecommunications network in Gaza.
PalTel, Jawwal's parent company based in the West Bank, told Ma'an, "The Israeli shelling damaged the electric grid and caused continuous cuts."
"The lack of fuel will lead to cutting lines with the telecommunications company (in Gaza) and the Hadara internet company, as well as Jawwal's mobile phones," the statement added.
The statement warned that "all means of communication with the Gaza Strip will be highly affected and may totally cut off."
Attempts to contact Ma'an's correspondents by mobile were unsuccessful early Sunday morning. Landlines appeared to be working properly between homes in Gaza and Ma'an's headquarters in Bethlehem.
Fighters affiliated to the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed to be exchanging fire with invading Israeli forces east of Gaza City after midnight on Sunday morning.
In two statements faxed to Ma'an, the PFLP's armed wing, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, said they fired missiles and seven 60-milimeter mortars at Israeli forces inside the Gaza Strip. They claimed Israeli soldiers had been wounded in the clashes.
Earlier, Al-Jazeera television reported that Israeli forces had entered the Strip near the Karni border crossing, in the vicinity of where the PFLP claims these clashes took place.
They also claimed to have launched homemade rockets at the Western Negev desert, and the city of Askhelon, north of Gaza. They said that a third rocket fired at the town of Netivot had been acknowleged by the Israelis.
"We will get out from underneath the rubble and fight until the last breath," said the Brigades.
"The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades along with all other groups, confirm our complete readiness to confront this ground invasion with all we've got, including our rifles, missiles and our bodies," a statement said.
Hamas leader: Israel killing Gaza civilians, not our fighters
A Hamas leader early on Sunday morning denied reports that armed groups affiliated with the Islamic movement had been killed by invading Israeli forces.
Appearing on Al-Jazeera just after midnight on Sunday, Mousa Mohammad Abu Marzook claimed that "there are casualties, but they are of the people of the Gaza Strip, not us."
The Qatar-based network had reported Israeli claims that up to 13 Hamas fighters were dead.
"We're defending our people, defending ourselves against this aggression," Abu Marzook insisted, noting that Israel has "the upper hand" in the ongoing conflict.
"We know they have the upper hand in the air and sea, but we know our land. We know ourselves very well," he added. "We will fight."
"We will fight the Israelis anywhere in the Gaza Strip, Abu Marzook warned, "the rights of the Palestinian people cannot be turned off."
On the prospect of a ceasefire, Abu Marzook said Hamas would consider it under certain circumstances. "If there is a ceasefire, if the gates are opened, we would deal with this kind of initiative."
"Discussions in the area (Gaza) at the moment are that France or Turkey could achieve a ceasefire," he said.
And commenting on reports from Israel that Hamas is using civilians as human shields, the Hamas leader rejected that civilians in Gaza have the means to protect themselves no matter where they are, saying, "We have no shelters; we have crowded refugee camps."
Finally, Abu Marzook denied reports that Arab countries had pressured Hamas to stop rocket fire. "Everyone is calling on Israel to stop their aggression," he noted.
In two statements faxed to Ma'an, the PFLP's armed wing, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, said they fired missiles and seven 60-milimeter mortars at Israeli forces inside the Gaza Strip. They claimed Israeli soldiers had been wounded in the clashes.
Earlier, Al-Jazeera television reported that Israeli forces had entered the Strip near the Karni border crossing, in the vicinity of where the PFLP claims these clashes took place.
They also claimed to have launched homemade rockets at the Western Negev desert, and the city of Askhelon, north of Gaza. They said that a third rocket fired at the town of Netivot had been acknowleged by the Israelis.
"We will get out from underneath the rubble and fight until the last breath," said the Brigades.
"The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades along with all other groups, confirm our complete readiness to confront this ground invasion with all we've got, including our rifles, missiles and our bodies," a statement said.
Hamas leader: Israel killing Gaza civilians, not our fighters
A Hamas leader early on Sunday morning denied reports that armed groups affiliated with the Islamic movement had been killed by invading Israeli forces.
Appearing on Al-Jazeera just after midnight on Sunday, Mousa Mohammad Abu Marzook claimed that "there are casualties, but they are of the people of the Gaza Strip, not us."
The Qatar-based network had reported Israeli claims that up to 13 Hamas fighters were dead.
"We're defending our people, defending ourselves against this aggression," Abu Marzook insisted, noting that Israel has "the upper hand" in the ongoing conflict.
"We know they have the upper hand in the air and sea, but we know our land. We know ourselves very well," he added. "We will fight."
"We will fight the Israelis anywhere in the Gaza Strip, Abu Marzook warned, "the rights of the Palestinian people cannot be turned off."
On the prospect of a ceasefire, Abu Marzook said Hamas would consider it under certain circumstances. "If there is a ceasefire, if the gates are opened, we would deal with this kind of initiative."
"Discussions in the area (Gaza) at the moment are that France or Turkey could achieve a ceasefire," he said.
And commenting on reports from Israel that Hamas is using civilians as human shields, the Hamas leader rejected that civilians in Gaza have the means to protect themselves no matter where they are, saying, "We have no shelters; we have crowded refugee camps."
Finally, Abu Marzook denied reports that Arab countries had pressured Hamas to stop rocket fire. "Everyone is calling on Israel to stop their aggression," he noted.
A mother and her four children became are among the most recent victims of an ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip on Sunday.
According to the under-secretary of the Palestinian Health Ministry, Hassan Khalaf, 507 Palestinians, including 107 children have been confirmed dead since the start of Israel's attacks on Gaza nine days ago. Some 2450 have been injured.
Khalaf said that since the start of the ground invasion on Saturday night, 70 people, including 21 children and 11 women, have been killed. Three hundred seventy one have been injured.
Palestinian medical officials in Gaza said that the five members of the Baker family were blown to pieces when Israeli warplanes targeted their home in the At-Toufah neighborhood of Gaza City. Medics also said that two of the children were one and two years old respectively. The ages of the other two were not determined.
Another four children were killed in the town of Beit Lahiya, in the north of the Gaza Strip, in a series of airstrikes during which ten civilians were killed and 30 injured. Earlier on Saturday, three children were killed in an airstrike in the city of Rafah, in the south that targeted a Palestinian fighter.
Tank fire killed at least eighteen Palestinians on Sunday, including 14 in Beit Lahiya and four in Beit Hanoun.
Israel escalated shelling in the Gaza Strip in recent hours as resistance fighters continue to confront Israeli tanks and ground troops that entered the Strip from four points.
At least 514 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began intense airstrikes on 27 December. Gaza medical officials put the number of wounded at 2,250 over nine days.
Brigades join forces; clash with Israeli troops east of Gaza City
Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades, and another wing called "Eagles of Palestine" conducted a joint operation Saturday night where they clashed with Israeli forces near Karni crossing point east of Gaza City.
The group said they attacked Israeli Special Forces at close range using machine guns and Rocket-propelled Grenades (RPGs).
A statement from the groups said there were heavy casualties on the Israeli side. They further promised that "hundreds of fighters are waiting to defeat the invading Israeli forces."
According to the under-secretary of the Palestinian Health Ministry, Hassan Khalaf, 507 Palestinians, including 107 children have been confirmed dead since the start of Israel's attacks on Gaza nine days ago. Some 2450 have been injured.
Khalaf said that since the start of the ground invasion on Saturday night, 70 people, including 21 children and 11 women, have been killed. Three hundred seventy one have been injured.
Palestinian medical officials in Gaza said that the five members of the Baker family were blown to pieces when Israeli warplanes targeted their home in the At-Toufah neighborhood of Gaza City. Medics also said that two of the children were one and two years old respectively. The ages of the other two were not determined.
Another four children were killed in the town of Beit Lahiya, in the north of the Gaza Strip, in a series of airstrikes during which ten civilians were killed and 30 injured. Earlier on Saturday, three children were killed in an airstrike in the city of Rafah, in the south that targeted a Palestinian fighter.
Tank fire killed at least eighteen Palestinians on Sunday, including 14 in Beit Lahiya and four in Beit Hanoun.
Israel escalated shelling in the Gaza Strip in recent hours as resistance fighters continue to confront Israeli tanks and ground troops that entered the Strip from four points.
At least 514 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began intense airstrikes on 27 December. Gaza medical officials put the number of wounded at 2,250 over nine days.
Brigades join forces; clash with Israeli troops east of Gaza City
Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades, and another wing called "Eagles of Palestine" conducted a joint operation Saturday night where they clashed with Israeli forces near Karni crossing point east of Gaza City.
The group said they attacked Israeli Special Forces at close range using machine guns and Rocket-propelled Grenades (RPGs).
A statement from the groups said there were heavy casualties on the Israeli side. They further promised that "hundreds of fighters are waiting to defeat the invading Israeli forces."
Israeli authorities summoned tens of thousands of reservists to bolster troops for the massive ground operation launched in the Gaza Strip Saturday night.
According to Israeli sources the reservists will be split between the Gaza battleground and the 'home front.'
The Israeli army released a statement saying forces will be ready to begin the third stage of the offensive on the Gaza Strip whenever it is needed. They added that extra ammunition and military equipment is available.
The Israeli commander responsible for directing the Gaza invasion, Yoaf Galant, is reported to have begun the operation by getting troops close to 'military zones' in Gaza.
In southern Israel a state of high alert has been declared, meaning citizens in border towns with Gaza are not permitted to move in and out of cities in the area. Military permission must be attained before travel, since roads have been closed.
UN Secretary General sounds alarm as Israeli forces enter Gaza
Egypt: UN Security Council has failed to stop bloodshed
Association of University Teachers in Gaza calls for help
British FM meets news of Gaza invasion with "alarm and dismay"
Japan expresses "deep concern" over Israeli ground invasion of Gaza
According to Israeli sources the reservists will be split between the Gaza battleground and the 'home front.'
The Israeli army released a statement saying forces will be ready to begin the third stage of the offensive on the Gaza Strip whenever it is needed. They added that extra ammunition and military equipment is available.
The Israeli commander responsible for directing the Gaza invasion, Yoaf Galant, is reported to have begun the operation by getting troops close to 'military zones' in Gaza.
In southern Israel a state of high alert has been declared, meaning citizens in border towns with Gaza are not permitted to move in and out of cities in the area. Military permission must be attained before travel, since roads have been closed.
UN Secretary General sounds alarm as Israeli forces enter Gaza
Egypt: UN Security Council has failed to stop bloodshed
Association of University Teachers in Gaza calls for help
British FM meets news of Gaza invasion with "alarm and dismay"
Japan expresses "deep concern" over Israeli ground invasion of Gaza
Nizar Rayyan
One of the surviving daughters of slain Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan, Walaa, spoke to Ma'an Saturday.
She is married with two young daughters, but hopes for a son so she can name him after her dead father. Three of her nephews already go by the nickname "Abu Nizar," though their names are Bilal, Baraa and Muhammad.
Walaa's mother, father, ten brothers and sisters and Rayyan's three other wives were killed during an Israeli airstrike on the family home.
"My father raised us all to love martyrdom," Walaa said. "If you had the chance to ask my 4-year-old sister Aaysha, who died in the attack, she would have told you that she preferred to die martyr."
In the days before the attack that killed most of the family Walaa said "My father couldn't sleep.after a woman came to him complaining that she had nothing with which to feed her children and had to soak days-old bread and give it to them. "Oh my God! We reached a point that a woman doesn't have anything to feed her children?" she remembers her father saying.
Walaa recalls her father with great emotion, and tells the story of how he used to introduce himself as Nizar Abd Al-Qadir Rayyan Al-Asqalani An-Na'lawani Al-Filistiniy, or Nizar Abd Al-Qadir Rayyan from the villages of An-Na'lawani (a destroyed Palestinian village in Israel) and Asqalani (the current Ashkelon) of Palestine.
She says he told many stories about the village of Na'lawa, and would remember the village as long as she lived.
In the days following his death Rayyan's elderly mother has received hundreds of women who have come bearing condolences. She tells them all, "May God save you from the evil of the Jews."
Also at the mourning area was Eyman, who is the daughter of Rayyan's brother, said that Rayyan used to say, "I want to die martyr and go immediately into paradise." One of his children once replied to Rayyan, that people do not go directly to paradise; they first go to the morgue. Rayyan replied, "I don't want to feel cold in the morgue, and there will be no room for my huge body there anyways, so, I want to be buried immediately and go to paradise."
One hour before he was killed Rayyan's daughter in law Eyman Asfora went to visit him. Walaa remembers that Eyman, wife to Rayyan's eldest son Bilal, was received with a smile. He asked her if she would like to die a martyr with him, and she said "yes." But she left seconds before the missile struck the four-storey home.
The one ton Israeli missile that fell on the building leveled the home and damaged several adjacent houses. When the dust cleared neighbors and media members rushed to the scene to see what happened, and found only piles of concrete.
According to one of his four wives, Rayyan would tease his children in the days before his death, and ask them: "Who wants to die martyr with me?" and all his children used to answer, "Yes daddy, we all want to be with you alive or dead." His youngest son said, "I can't imagine that you die martyr and leave me behind unable to see you. I want to die with you.
Dr Rayyan, who held a PHD in Hadith (the profit Muhammad's narrated teachings), was killed along with his four wives, Hayam Timraz, Nawal Kahlout, Eyman Kassab, Sherin Udwan, and ten of his children, Ghassan, Abdul-Qadir, Ayah, Maryam, Zaynab, Abdul-Rahman, Aysha, Halima, Osama and Reem who were between four and 17-years-old.
Hamas military spokesperson will not confirm report of kidnapped Israeli soldiers
Hamas: UN Security Council complicit with Israeli massacre
Palestinian FM slams Czech statement calling Israeli invasion "defensive"
HRW warns Israeli ground offensive may breach Laws of War
Indian government gives 100 million USD to UNRWA for Gaza aid
Thousands march in Holland to denounce Israeli aggression
Egyptian writers union denounces Israeli massacre in Gaza
One of the surviving daughters of slain Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan, Walaa, spoke to Ma'an Saturday.
She is married with two young daughters, but hopes for a son so she can name him after her dead father. Three of her nephews already go by the nickname "Abu Nizar," though their names are Bilal, Baraa and Muhammad.
Walaa's mother, father, ten brothers and sisters and Rayyan's three other wives were killed during an Israeli airstrike on the family home.
"My father raised us all to love martyrdom," Walaa said. "If you had the chance to ask my 4-year-old sister Aaysha, who died in the attack, she would have told you that she preferred to die martyr."
In the days before the attack that killed most of the family Walaa said "My father couldn't sleep.after a woman came to him complaining that she had nothing with which to feed her children and had to soak days-old bread and give it to them. "Oh my God! We reached a point that a woman doesn't have anything to feed her children?" she remembers her father saying.
Walaa recalls her father with great emotion, and tells the story of how he used to introduce himself as Nizar Abd Al-Qadir Rayyan Al-Asqalani An-Na'lawani Al-Filistiniy, or Nizar Abd Al-Qadir Rayyan from the villages of An-Na'lawani (a destroyed Palestinian village in Israel) and Asqalani (the current Ashkelon) of Palestine.
She says he told many stories about the village of Na'lawa, and would remember the village as long as she lived.
In the days following his death Rayyan's elderly mother has received hundreds of women who have come bearing condolences. She tells them all, "May God save you from the evil of the Jews."
Also at the mourning area was Eyman, who is the daughter of Rayyan's brother, said that Rayyan used to say, "I want to die martyr and go immediately into paradise." One of his children once replied to Rayyan, that people do not go directly to paradise; they first go to the morgue. Rayyan replied, "I don't want to feel cold in the morgue, and there will be no room for my huge body there anyways, so, I want to be buried immediately and go to paradise."
One hour before he was killed Rayyan's daughter in law Eyman Asfora went to visit him. Walaa remembers that Eyman, wife to Rayyan's eldest son Bilal, was received with a smile. He asked her if she would like to die a martyr with him, and she said "yes." But she left seconds before the missile struck the four-storey home.
The one ton Israeli missile that fell on the building leveled the home and damaged several adjacent houses. When the dust cleared neighbors and media members rushed to the scene to see what happened, and found only piles of concrete.
According to one of his four wives, Rayyan would tease his children in the days before his death, and ask them: "Who wants to die martyr with me?" and all his children used to answer, "Yes daddy, we all want to be with you alive or dead." His youngest son said, "I can't imagine that you die martyr and leave me behind unable to see you. I want to die with you.
Dr Rayyan, who held a PHD in Hadith (the profit Muhammad's narrated teachings), was killed along with his four wives, Hayam Timraz, Nawal Kahlout, Eyman Kassab, Sherin Udwan, and ten of his children, Ghassan, Abdul-Qadir, Ayah, Maryam, Zaynab, Abdul-Rahman, Aysha, Halima, Osama and Reem who were between four and 17-years-old.
Hamas military spokesperson will not confirm report of kidnapped Israeli soldiers
Hamas: UN Security Council complicit with Israeli massacre
Palestinian FM slams Czech statement calling Israeli invasion "defensive"
HRW warns Israeli ground offensive may breach Laws of War
Indian government gives 100 million USD to UNRWA for Gaza aid
Thousands march in Holland to denounce Israeli aggression
Egyptian writers union denounces Israeli massacre in Gaza
Palestinian military groups resumed the firing of homemade projectiles at Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning.
Since dawn at least a dozen projectiles have landed near Israeli targets. One projectile hit a home in Sderot. Israeli media sources said five were "treated for shock."
The "Israeli Home Front" ordered southern Israel residents to stay in shelters despite the opening of a ground war in Gaza, warning that projectiles could be expected to increase. Schools in the area are also closed.
Hamas' military wing claimed to have launched two homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Mefalsim near Beit Hanoun, and at Israeli soldiers stationed near the Camera military post, as well as two more at the Zekeim military post, one at the town of Yad Murdakhai, one Grad at Ashdod city and three mortar shells at Nahal Oz.
Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades said they fired three mortar shells at Nahal Oz and one homemade projectile at Sderot.
Islamic Jihad's military wing the Al-Quds Brigades said their fighters detonated an explosive near an Israeli tank in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City. They said the tank was completely destroyed and its ruins aflame. They said the soldiers in the tank were either dead or seriously injured.
The Brigades said they fired at least one projectile at an Israeli target and clashed with Israeli troops in the northern Strip.
The military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades said they fired two projectiles at Kfar Azza.
Two Israeli soldiers dead, at least 36 others injured as Palestinian fighters resist invasion
Two Israeli soldiers are said to be dead after suffering critical injuries Saturday night as troops began a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Earlier reports from Israel of two critically injured soldiers moved to Israeli hospitals at Soroka, Barzilai and Tal Hashomar with 28 other injured Israelis seem to corroborate the story.
According to an Israeli military spokesperson Sunday evening one soldier was killed by a mortar shell in Beit Lahiya and another seriously wounded in Jabaliya
According to an Al-Arabiya reporter four more Israeli soldiers were injured near Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. The reporter said one soldier was critically injured.
Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV reported fighters kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, but later Hamas officials refused to confirm or deny the report.
Since dawn at least a dozen projectiles have landed near Israeli targets. One projectile hit a home in Sderot. Israeli media sources said five were "treated for shock."
The "Israeli Home Front" ordered southern Israel residents to stay in shelters despite the opening of a ground war in Gaza, warning that projectiles could be expected to increase. Schools in the area are also closed.
Hamas' military wing claimed to have launched two homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Mefalsim near Beit Hanoun, and at Israeli soldiers stationed near the Camera military post, as well as two more at the Zekeim military post, one at the town of Yad Murdakhai, one Grad at Ashdod city and three mortar shells at Nahal Oz.
Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades said they fired three mortar shells at Nahal Oz and one homemade projectile at Sderot.
Islamic Jihad's military wing the Al-Quds Brigades said their fighters detonated an explosive near an Israeli tank in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City. They said the tank was completely destroyed and its ruins aflame. They said the soldiers in the tank were either dead or seriously injured.
The Brigades said they fired at least one projectile at an Israeli target and clashed with Israeli troops in the northern Strip.
The military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades said they fired two projectiles at Kfar Azza.
Two Israeli soldiers dead, at least 36 others injured as Palestinian fighters resist invasion
Two Israeli soldiers are said to be dead after suffering critical injuries Saturday night as troops began a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Earlier reports from Israel of two critically injured soldiers moved to Israeli hospitals at Soroka, Barzilai and Tal Hashomar with 28 other injured Israelis seem to corroborate the story.
According to an Israeli military spokesperson Sunday evening one soldier was killed by a mortar shell in Beit Lahiya and another seriously wounded in Jabaliya
According to an Al-Arabiya reporter four more Israeli soldiers were injured near Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. The reporter said one soldier was critically injured.
Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV reported fighters kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, but later Hamas officials refused to confirm or deny the report.
I got a call 30 minutes ago, on a poor phone line, saying that Arafa is dead, killed while working by Israeli fire.
He was one of the emergency medics I met two nights ago, compassionate, emotionally strong, and with an unabashedly wacky sense of humour. I’m more saddened by his death than I can express. |
panicked residents unable to flee
just back in Gaza city with a ride from the ambulance, after a night at the Jabaliya Palestinian Red Crescent Socitety (PRCS) station, in eastern Jabaliya, 1 km from the border, where we rode with the ambulances and endured a night of shelling, without armour, without safety, as did the population of northern Gaza.
From the news office in central Gaza, I cannot believe the sounds of bombing, though they are targeting the area from which I’ve just come, as they did throughout the night. From here it sounds like…like a massive sledgehammer smashing this land, smashing to pieces. And from what I saw last night, and the wreckage today, it could’ve been. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. The louder thuds rattle this building, as if being hit by a battering ram, though it is just the impact of the shockwaves from some kilometers away. Try to imagine how it is to actually be hundreds of metres from those blasts.
The hits are seconds apart, relentless. Somehow the drone’s buzz manages to be louder, its high pitch advertising that everything is still being surveyed, everything will still be bombed.
The 9th floor affords a view of tunnels of smoke everywhere, thick, dark, noxious, and concentrated especially in the Jabaliya region and further north and west, in Beit Lahia.
I smelt this smoke throughout the night and saw the haze this morning. The sky illuminated with explosions and Israeli flares. At one point, in the lightless bathroom, I looked out the window. Here, without voices to distract, it was the night and I: the bombing hundreds of metres away, the senseless killing. I lost my faith in humanity again.
The medics, and the ordinary Palestinians who’ve endured a Nakba, occupation, invasions, imprisonment, and starvation rations are what brings me back to life, gives me hope, though their own situation is utterly hopeless.
When the shelling intensified yesterday, starting around 3 pm with the tanks amassed along Gaza’s border, the medics report that already then they couldn’t reached the injured in many places. Before the Ibrahim al-Makadma Mosque near Beit Lahia was hit, killing 16 and seriously wounding 50, 25 in critical condition, the warplanes struck a large, cement water tank atop the hillside overlooking the Dawwar Zimmo area of eastern Jabaliya.
What strikes me more now, more than the dismembered and burned corpses I saw two nights ago, more than the intensity of the missiles hitting all around us last night and the feeling that at any moment, Israeli special forces soldiers could enter shooting… was the panic on residents faces. Panic fleeing, panic trying to flag an ambulance for the wounded, the dead, panic even in the ambulance drivers and teams. They’ve seen a lot, many have done this work for a decade or more, but this is far, far worse than any have seen, or imagined, they tell me. In the morning light, as our ambulance tries to reach another wounded, I see new streams of women, children and men, carrying some few possessions. Two 8 or 9 year old children in one family clutch bags of bread.
From the news office in central Gaza, I cannot believe the sounds of bombing, though they are targeting the area from which I’ve just come, as they did throughout the night. From here it sounds like…like a massive sledgehammer smashing this land, smashing to pieces. And from what I saw last night, and the wreckage today, it could’ve been. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. The louder thuds rattle this building, as if being hit by a battering ram, though it is just the impact of the shockwaves from some kilometers away. Try to imagine how it is to actually be hundreds of metres from those blasts.
The hits are seconds apart, relentless. Somehow the drone’s buzz manages to be louder, its high pitch advertising that everything is still being surveyed, everything will still be bombed.
The 9th floor affords a view of tunnels of smoke everywhere, thick, dark, noxious, and concentrated especially in the Jabaliya region and further north and west, in Beit Lahia.
I smelt this smoke throughout the night and saw the haze this morning. The sky illuminated with explosions and Israeli flares. At one point, in the lightless bathroom, I looked out the window. Here, without voices to distract, it was the night and I: the bombing hundreds of metres away, the senseless killing. I lost my faith in humanity again.
The medics, and the ordinary Palestinians who’ve endured a Nakba, occupation, invasions, imprisonment, and starvation rations are what brings me back to life, gives me hope, though their own situation is utterly hopeless.
When the shelling intensified yesterday, starting around 3 pm with the tanks amassed along Gaza’s border, the medics report that already then they couldn’t reached the injured in many places. Before the Ibrahim al-Makadma Mosque near Beit Lahia was hit, killing 16 and seriously wounding 50, 25 in critical condition, the warplanes struck a large, cement water tank atop the hillside overlooking the Dawwar Zimmo area of eastern Jabaliya.
What strikes me more now, more than the dismembered and burned corpses I saw two nights ago, more than the intensity of the missiles hitting all around us last night and the feeling that at any moment, Israeli special forces soldiers could enter shooting… was the panic on residents faces. Panic fleeing, panic trying to flag an ambulance for the wounded, the dead, panic even in the ambulance drivers and teams. They’ve seen a lot, many have done this work for a decade or more, but this is far, far worse than any have seen, or imagined, they tell me. In the morning light, as our ambulance tries to reach another wounded, I see new streams of women, children and men, carrying some few possessions. Two 8 or 9 year old children in one family clutch bags of bread.
|
Heading to the hospital with an injured man, our ambulance meets another going in the opposite direction. “Walla, montica khotera!” our driver says, leaning out the window [“really, its really dangerous there”]
Smash, smash, smash…smash. It continues, I say, it continues. I continue to work, on different articles, so many things to tell. I forget where I am and am rudely drawn back by renewed thuds. THUDS. I hadn’t noticed their lapse. Was it 5 minutes? 10? 2? Whatever, they’re renewed, and are they louder than ever? How any earth is left, let alone people, I do not know. |
The urgency to get this out, to report this slaughter, overcomes any need for sleep (two nights without) or warmth (windows blown out in the office I work in).
I think of the ambulance drivers and medics, with their fantastic personalities, humour, courage, and know that somewhere they are working amidst this. I think also of the children i photographed in that area yesterday.
Last night, on one of the mad scrambles in the ambulance, we rushed, then inched, towards an injured person. In the northwest, in an area Israeli tanks were shelling particularly hard, the ambulance was wary. They’d already had missiles launched at them on a previous run in the area. This is the region where so many phone calls were coming from, so many desperate people, trying to get out.
The driver turns up a dirt road, blares the horn, blares it more: a warning, ambulance coming, and a call, where are the bodies, the injured? Locals, including children around 10 years old, wave us on, give directions on how to avoid the army’s shelling. As we crawl further up the track, the driver gets agitated, though he is competent and experienced. Further on and no injured, no people, we turn back.
A man looking more panicked than I could imagine ran at the ambulance, waving at the hill to his left. “They’re up there, three dead,” he tells the driver. “There’re soldiers up there also.” There is no way to retrieve the bodies, and the man has to return to his heavily-shelled neighbourhood.
Alberto points to a school 20 metres down the road. “There’s a massive hole in the side of it; direct hit,” he says. He’d been in an ambulance earlier which had retrieved two injured young men, family members, who’d been delivered by cart and donkey. “I tried to help. The medics picked up one guy, and another medic started to pick up the second. I tried to grasp his shoulders, to help. My hand went inside him.” The medics explained the man’s shoulder was torn open. Alberto adds: “I could see his chest open, from the neck to his ribcage. I could see his lung. And two ribs. His right arm had completley fallen off.” The dead was 25 years old. The other, unknown age, “had an eye out” and severe head injuries.
It’s more than gruesome here.
As daybreak came, the smoke from the missiles continued to hang in a thick, thick haze. The drones still loud, tanks still shooting, Apaches still chopping above. And what seemed like the loudest F-16 missile, I don’t know how it got louder than the previous blasts.
The dispatcher announces more casualties who cannot be reached, again in the northwestern area, beyond that blasted school, where a man with a gunshot in the leg, and another with an amputated leg, wait for some sort of aid.
Back in the Gaza city media office, I’m updated: 473 dead. No, wait, 20 more from a new strike in the north, 5 more from a strike on a shopping area in Gaza city. Over 2300 injured.
Osama, an EMT, calls to see where I am. We worked together two nights ago. I’d thought I wouldn’t be there last night, was going to write instead. But the urgency prevailed and we went out. Osama asks where I am and I tell him, I’m writing, I have to tell people, they need to hear this, see this. If only you could hear this, smell this, feel the vibrations, taste the terror.
UPDATE: 25 new dead: bombing in northern Gaza kills 20, firing from tanks into a residential area, landing on houses and in the streets; another 5 dead after a stike on a central square in Gaza city, 2 tank shells onto a shopping area.
I think of the ambulance drivers and medics, with their fantastic personalities, humour, courage, and know that somewhere they are working amidst this. I think also of the children i photographed in that area yesterday.
Last night, on one of the mad scrambles in the ambulance, we rushed, then inched, towards an injured person. In the northwest, in an area Israeli tanks were shelling particularly hard, the ambulance was wary. They’d already had missiles launched at them on a previous run in the area. This is the region where so many phone calls were coming from, so many desperate people, trying to get out.
The driver turns up a dirt road, blares the horn, blares it more: a warning, ambulance coming, and a call, where are the bodies, the injured? Locals, including children around 10 years old, wave us on, give directions on how to avoid the army’s shelling. As we crawl further up the track, the driver gets agitated, though he is competent and experienced. Further on and no injured, no people, we turn back.
A man looking more panicked than I could imagine ran at the ambulance, waving at the hill to his left. “They’re up there, three dead,” he tells the driver. “There’re soldiers up there also.” There is no way to retrieve the bodies, and the man has to return to his heavily-shelled neighbourhood.
Alberto points to a school 20 metres down the road. “There’s a massive hole in the side of it; direct hit,” he says. He’d been in an ambulance earlier which had retrieved two injured young men, family members, who’d been delivered by cart and donkey. “I tried to help. The medics picked up one guy, and another medic started to pick up the second. I tried to grasp his shoulders, to help. My hand went inside him.” The medics explained the man’s shoulder was torn open. Alberto adds: “I could see his chest open, from the neck to his ribcage. I could see his lung. And two ribs. His right arm had completley fallen off.” The dead was 25 years old. The other, unknown age, “had an eye out” and severe head injuries.
It’s more than gruesome here.
As daybreak came, the smoke from the missiles continued to hang in a thick, thick haze. The drones still loud, tanks still shooting, Apaches still chopping above. And what seemed like the loudest F-16 missile, I don’t know how it got louder than the previous blasts.
The dispatcher announces more casualties who cannot be reached, again in the northwestern area, beyond that blasted school, where a man with a gunshot in the leg, and another with an amputated leg, wait for some sort of aid.
Back in the Gaza city media office, I’m updated: 473 dead. No, wait, 20 more from a new strike in the north, 5 more from a strike on a shopping area in Gaza city. Over 2300 injured.
Osama, an EMT, calls to see where I am. We worked together two nights ago. I’d thought I wouldn’t be there last night, was going to write instead. But the urgency prevailed and we went out. Osama asks where I am and I tell him, I’m writing, I have to tell people, they need to hear this, see this. If only you could hear this, smell this, feel the vibrations, taste the terror.
UPDATE: 25 new dead: bombing in northern Gaza kills 20, firing from tanks into a residential area, landing on houses and in the streets; another 5 dead after a stike on a central square in Gaza city, 2 tank shells onto a shopping area.
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Four medics killed by Israeli forces in Gaza International Human Rights Activists working with Palestinian medical crews today reported that another four Palestinian medics were killed today by Israeli forces.
International Solidarity Movement activists spent the night accompanying ambulances in Gaza. They were, and will continue, working with medical personnel during the Israeli occupation forces ground invasion into northern Gaza. In addition to the doctor and medic that the Israeli military murdered on the 31st of December, they have killed four more medics today. One was shot in Jabaliya, one in Al Sheikh Ejleen. |
Three have just been killed when a missile directly hit their ambulance in the Tal Hawye neighborhood in Gaza City.
The medics are constantly in contact with the Red Cross for them to negotiate passage with the Israelis. The Israelis constantly refuse. – Sharon Lock (Australia), International Solidarity Movement
The Israelis dropped a bomb in front of our ambulance to prevent us accessing wounded people. However a donkey cart emerged carrying a wounded family; a mother and father and three teenage brothers. One of the teenagers was attempting to shield the other two with a blanket. They were both horrifically injured, I could see the lungs of one of them. As I assisted the medics to move him off the cart I found my hand inside his body. – Alberto Arce (Spain), International Solidarity Movement
I got a call 30 minutes ago, on a poor phone line, saying that Arafat is dead, killed while working, by Israeli fire. He was one of the emergency medics I met two nights ago, compassionate, emotionally strong, and with an unabashedly wacky sense of humour. I’m more saddened by his death than I can express. – Eva Bartlett (Canada), International Solidarity Movement
Israel is claiming that there is no humanitarian crisis because they do not consider us as humans. – Natalie Abu Shakra (Lebanon), International Solidarity Movement
Israel has continued to violate international conventions by attacking medical personnel. They are massacring the people of Gaza. With the swelling number of civilian casualties, Israel must ensure that medical assistance is available. Instead, they are intentionally targeting the medical teams that are meant to be protected by the Geneva Conventions. Israel’s disregard for international law must be confronted by the international community. – Vittorio Arrigoni (Italy), International Solidarity Movement
The ground invasion of last night has lead to Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun being shut down. We managed to get into Beit Hanoun to collect bodies of some of the dead. We are now headed to Jabaliya to continue our work with ambulance accompaniment. There is nowhere for the Gazan people to escape to, civilians cannot leave for safety because of the siege. These prolonged attacks on Gaza are horrific and last night’s ground invasion by the Israeli occupation forces has led to a swelling amount of civilian casualties. – Ewa Jasiewicz, Free Gaza Movement
PA Minister of Health condemns Israeli killing of medical team in Gaza, says wounded should come to West Bank
The medics are constantly in contact with the Red Cross for them to negotiate passage with the Israelis. The Israelis constantly refuse. – Sharon Lock (Australia), International Solidarity Movement
The Israelis dropped a bomb in front of our ambulance to prevent us accessing wounded people. However a donkey cart emerged carrying a wounded family; a mother and father and three teenage brothers. One of the teenagers was attempting to shield the other two with a blanket. They were both horrifically injured, I could see the lungs of one of them. As I assisted the medics to move him off the cart I found my hand inside his body. – Alberto Arce (Spain), International Solidarity Movement
I got a call 30 minutes ago, on a poor phone line, saying that Arafat is dead, killed while working, by Israeli fire. He was one of the emergency medics I met two nights ago, compassionate, emotionally strong, and with an unabashedly wacky sense of humour. I’m more saddened by his death than I can express. – Eva Bartlett (Canada), International Solidarity Movement
Israel is claiming that there is no humanitarian crisis because they do not consider us as humans. – Natalie Abu Shakra (Lebanon), International Solidarity Movement
Israel has continued to violate international conventions by attacking medical personnel. They are massacring the people of Gaza. With the swelling number of civilian casualties, Israel must ensure that medical assistance is available. Instead, they are intentionally targeting the medical teams that are meant to be protected by the Geneva Conventions. Israel’s disregard for international law must be confronted by the international community. – Vittorio Arrigoni (Italy), International Solidarity Movement
The ground invasion of last night has lead to Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun being shut down. We managed to get into Beit Hanoun to collect bodies of some of the dead. We are now headed to Jabaliya to continue our work with ambulance accompaniment. There is nowhere for the Gazan people to escape to, civilians cannot leave for safety because of the siege. These prolonged attacks on Gaza are horrific and last night’s ground invasion by the Israeli occupation forces has led to a swelling amount of civilian casualties. – Ewa Jasiewicz, Free Gaza Movement
PA Minister of Health condemns Israeli killing of medical team in Gaza, says wounded should come to West Bank
Jan 3-4: Jabalia – ground incursion & a night of injured and dead civilians
Family fleeing Jabalia, through ambulance window
5.30pm: at Ramattan media office. Shelling has noticeably increased in the city in the last hours. Rumours increase that the Israeli Occupation Force will begin the land incursion tonight. We hear that a mosque in Beit Lahia has been attacked during the prayer time just past, resulting in 50 injured and maybe 10 dead.
We decide to head immediately to Jabalia’s Red Crescent Ambulance Operations Centre, which is a walk from F’s house which the family has left.
6pm: When we arrive, there is an air of chaos and anxiety, as the ambulance workers have just finished dealing with the mosque injuries which included children. Explosions are constant and nearby. We understand that these are now coming from tanks shelling the area from the other side of the border, a new development.
7pm: Some semblance of calm has returned to the Centre but not the surroundings. A magnesium rocket (we understand this is designed to set things on fire) lands in the field beside the Centre. The explosions continue through the whole night without pause, rocking the building. We can see many people leaving the area on foot. We hear a water tank is destroyed.
5.30pm: at Ramattan media office. Shelling has noticeably increased in the city in the last hours. Rumours increase that the Israeli Occupation Force will begin the land incursion tonight. We hear that a mosque in Beit Lahia has been attacked during the prayer time just past, resulting in 50 injured and maybe 10 dead.
We decide to head immediately to Jabalia’s Red Crescent Ambulance Operations Centre, which is a walk from F’s house which the family has left.
6pm: When we arrive, there is an air of chaos and anxiety, as the ambulance workers have just finished dealing with the mosque injuries which included children. Explosions are constant and nearby. We understand that these are now coming from tanks shelling the area from the other side of the border, a new development.
7pm: Some semblance of calm has returned to the Centre but not the surroundings. A magnesium rocket (we understand this is designed to set things on fire) lands in the field beside the Centre. The explosions continue through the whole night without pause, rocking the building. We can see many people leaving the area on foot. We hear a water tank is destroyed.
White phosphorous fire beside Jabalia Red Crescent
7.30: Ambulances called out. We are unable to pass a huge crater in the road into which a car has already nosedived. Taking the long way round, we collect a man in traditional dress, in his 60s, from what seems to be his family farm. He is bleeding from the face and very frightened. On the way to Karmel Adwan hospital a particularly close explosion rocks the van. I mustn’t have jumped enough, beacuse the driver mimes “did you hear that?” to me. I am beginning to realise Palestinians are fond of rhetorical questions, such as “how do you find Gaza at the moment?” |
8pm: We collect a man in his 30s from a family house in a main street. He is continually bleeding from the face near his eye and also has wounds to his hand and upper and lower legs. He has made makeshift bandages for himself. We take him to Al Awda hospital. On the way back we pick up a woman and her daughter who are in danger having gone to collect water.
8.20: Bread and tea at the Centre. Ambulances called out.
8.40: Medic worries “we are taking too long; ten minutes.” However at our dangerous and darkened destination no-one arrives in response to the ambulance loudspeaker, the electricity lines are down, and smoke fills the air. The ambulances retreat, describing it as a no-go area. Immediately beside it, a peasant family of about 10 emerge from the smoke, looking bewildered. Some of the children are crying, everyone is holding tight to each other’s hands. One woman is pregnant. The medics shout at them to leave the area, then decide to evacuate them in the ambulances. We drop them in the nearest town, to go god knows where.
8.55: we hear the Israeli army has crossed the border – in Rafah, in Gaza centre near Bureij camp, and here in Jabalia. We hear Israel has told the Red Cross (the communication medium) that people must evacuate to a distance of 1km in this area. I glimpse a teapot and tea but we are called out again.
9.10: We collect a young woman and an older. I am not sure what the issue is, although the younger woman appears pregnant. We deliver them to Al Awda hospital where we are given tea. H, one of the medics, tells me about his 3 children and his wife, who is very worried about him.
9.30: Back to the Centre for short period of quiet (except for the noise.) Our driver has decided he likes me because my beret reminds him of Che Guevara. He is driving with his arm in plaster.
10pm: Ambulances called out. A family of about 12 was round the fire outside their house, having no other way to cook or get warm. They were hit by a rocket and all are injured. Many ambulances converge at Karmel Adwan to transfer them to Al Shifa in Gaza city which has more resources. The wounded are pushed into one after the other. We have a young man, perhaps a teenager, whose breathing is being done for him by a medic with a handheld pump. I can’t help but wonder if one of the 29 ventilators is free right now. But our driver says afterwards that he probably won’t survive the night.
10.55: We leave Al Shifa to head back to the Jabalia Centre. There is coffee. Mo makes a coffee sandwich, which is just weird. There is a pause in the calls. Hassan asks me about my book, “Nature Cure”; I explain it is about an ecologist’s route out of depression. “People get depressed in the West?” he asks in surprise. Understanding how implausible that must sound right now, I say that many people get caught up in a life that mainly holds work and buying stuff, and without some sort of meaning – religion, or the dream of your land being free, or something like that, people can get very lost.
“Actually Israel is trying to force us into a meaningless life like this,” he says. “Like, sometimes I feel that all that really matters to me right now is a kilo of gas. I built a stove for my family and I feel like I did something amazing.” The discussion becomes animated as all the medics join in, but it’s in Arabic. We have a quiet stretch – again, despite the noise.
1am: This is a call to a woman in labour. V has a similar call. What a night to give birth. The stress is bringing on labour early for many women. Hassan says he should have documents for her to hand in at Al Awda, but they’ve not been allowed through from the West Bank for some time.
At this point I lose track of the time for a while and also get a couple of hours sleep. When I wake I find that A has come back from a grim call. The ambulances were called to the Beit Lahia Salatin area, outside the Mu’a'ia School to assist the Atar family. However the IOF forced them to turn back by dropping a bomb in front of the ambulances and shooting in front of them, so they were not able to access the wounded.
However, as they turned back, a donkey cart pulled in front of A’s ambulance. On it were an older man and woman, probably the parents of the three teenage boys on the cart. One of the teenagers was attempting to shield the other two with a blanket. One of these two had a serious head wound and his eye was detached. The other had an open chest wound, and his arm was partially detached. Despite this he was conscious and shouting. A could see his lungs, one appeared punctured, and the clearly disturbed mother was patting his wounds. Back at the Jabalia Centre, A quietly described how he had assisted the medics to lift this boy off the donkey cart, and in doing so, found his hand inside the boy’s body.
6am: My ambulance goes to three women, waiting in the dark street. They are young and quietly weeping. One carries a boy of about 4 years old wrapped in a blanket. His head flops back and his eyes are half open. I find myself hoping maybe he has just fainted from fright. Eventually I understand, perhaps from the weight of grief on their faces, that he is dead. We deliver them to the hospital.
6.30: several of the ambulances leave again to try again to reach the Atar family. Mine only gets a short way before rubble bursts the tire. This appears to happen nightly. While the medics try to fix it, we see a rocket strike very close to the Ambulance Centre. By the time we get back from getting spare tires, we have been told not to return to the Centre as the shooting is now right near it.
8.15: We return to evacuate the Centre as the army is now very close. People on the streets are running away. We move our base to someone’s shop in a Jabalia main street. No more tea kettle or generator.
9.30: 3 ambulances attempt to reach wounded. We wait to have access co-ordinated with Israel by the Red Cross. Israel refuses.
8.20: Bread and tea at the Centre. Ambulances called out.
8.40: Medic worries “we are taking too long; ten minutes.” However at our dangerous and darkened destination no-one arrives in response to the ambulance loudspeaker, the electricity lines are down, and smoke fills the air. The ambulances retreat, describing it as a no-go area. Immediately beside it, a peasant family of about 10 emerge from the smoke, looking bewildered. Some of the children are crying, everyone is holding tight to each other’s hands. One woman is pregnant. The medics shout at them to leave the area, then decide to evacuate them in the ambulances. We drop them in the nearest town, to go god knows where.
8.55: we hear the Israeli army has crossed the border – in Rafah, in Gaza centre near Bureij camp, and here in Jabalia. We hear Israel has told the Red Cross (the communication medium) that people must evacuate to a distance of 1km in this area. I glimpse a teapot and tea but we are called out again.
9.10: We collect a young woman and an older. I am not sure what the issue is, although the younger woman appears pregnant. We deliver them to Al Awda hospital where we are given tea. H, one of the medics, tells me about his 3 children and his wife, who is very worried about him.
9.30: Back to the Centre for short period of quiet (except for the noise.) Our driver has decided he likes me because my beret reminds him of Che Guevara. He is driving with his arm in plaster.
10pm: Ambulances called out. A family of about 12 was round the fire outside their house, having no other way to cook or get warm. They were hit by a rocket and all are injured. Many ambulances converge at Karmel Adwan to transfer them to Al Shifa in Gaza city which has more resources. The wounded are pushed into one after the other. We have a young man, perhaps a teenager, whose breathing is being done for him by a medic with a handheld pump. I can’t help but wonder if one of the 29 ventilators is free right now. But our driver says afterwards that he probably won’t survive the night.
10.55: We leave Al Shifa to head back to the Jabalia Centre. There is coffee. Mo makes a coffee sandwich, which is just weird. There is a pause in the calls. Hassan asks me about my book, “Nature Cure”; I explain it is about an ecologist’s route out of depression. “People get depressed in the West?” he asks in surprise. Understanding how implausible that must sound right now, I say that many people get caught up in a life that mainly holds work and buying stuff, and without some sort of meaning – religion, or the dream of your land being free, or something like that, people can get very lost.
“Actually Israel is trying to force us into a meaningless life like this,” he says. “Like, sometimes I feel that all that really matters to me right now is a kilo of gas. I built a stove for my family and I feel like I did something amazing.” The discussion becomes animated as all the medics join in, but it’s in Arabic. We have a quiet stretch – again, despite the noise.
1am: This is a call to a woman in labour. V has a similar call. What a night to give birth. The stress is bringing on labour early for many women. Hassan says he should have documents for her to hand in at Al Awda, but they’ve not been allowed through from the West Bank for some time.
At this point I lose track of the time for a while and also get a couple of hours sleep. When I wake I find that A has come back from a grim call. The ambulances were called to the Beit Lahia Salatin area, outside the Mu’a'ia School to assist the Atar family. However the IOF forced them to turn back by dropping a bomb in front of the ambulances and shooting in front of them, so they were not able to access the wounded.
However, as they turned back, a donkey cart pulled in front of A’s ambulance. On it were an older man and woman, probably the parents of the three teenage boys on the cart. One of the teenagers was attempting to shield the other two with a blanket. One of these two had a serious head wound and his eye was detached. The other had an open chest wound, and his arm was partially detached. Despite this he was conscious and shouting. A could see his lungs, one appeared punctured, and the clearly disturbed mother was patting his wounds. Back at the Jabalia Centre, A quietly described how he had assisted the medics to lift this boy off the donkey cart, and in doing so, found his hand inside the boy’s body.
6am: My ambulance goes to three women, waiting in the dark street. They are young and quietly weeping. One carries a boy of about 4 years old wrapped in a blanket. His head flops back and his eyes are half open. I find myself hoping maybe he has just fainted from fright. Eventually I understand, perhaps from the weight of grief on their faces, that he is dead. We deliver them to the hospital.
6.30: several of the ambulances leave again to try again to reach the Atar family. Mine only gets a short way before rubble bursts the tire. This appears to happen nightly. While the medics try to fix it, we see a rocket strike very close to the Ambulance Centre. By the time we get back from getting spare tires, we have been told not to return to the Centre as the shooting is now right near it.
8.15: We return to evacuate the Centre as the army is now very close. People on the streets are running away. We move our base to someone’s shop in a Jabalia main street. No more tea kettle or generator.
9.30: 3 ambulances attempt to reach wounded. We wait to have access co-ordinated with Israel by the Red Cross. Israel refuses.
Family fleeing Jabalia
9.45: Israel broadcasts the message all over the Gaza strip: “for your own safety, leave your homes immediately and head towards the city centre.” Many people have been on the streets this past night, carrying children and bundles, and now the number increases. But there are also many people simply waiting at home, without any belief in a safe place. A rocket hits near us while the ambulances are all off. The injured man is pushed into a car, which rushes off. |
Elderly woman shot in shoulder
10.50: We collect an old women from a farming area. She is very distressed and has a bullet wound to her upper shoulder. The medic inserts a cannula into her arm despite the bumpy road. 11.30: We go straight from the hospital to another call. As with many of our calls, locals line the way, pointing the ambulance to the correct turn. |
A house has just been bombed. Neighbours are frantically dragging out the wounded and the medics cram four people into our ambulance, which is meant for one. (I took some footage of this which may be available via http://www.palsolidarity.org later).
Bilal Rabell
Bilal Rabell
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One dead, three injured in house attack
The stretcher place is taken by the dead body, covered in dust, of a man in his 30s. His abdomen is ruptured and damaged organs visible. His legs look as if they no longer contain bones and are twisted implausibly. One foot detaches as he is put in the ambulance. Another man, maybe older, looks to have internal injuries and might also have had injured legs, but the chaos is such that I can’t clearly identify his injuries, neither can I with the man in his sixties, who is shoved into the remaining space. He is in shock, sweat covering his grey face. I helplessly stroke his cheek, wondering if he is about to stop breathing. Halfway through the journey, his eyes focus slightly. I hope not enough to realise he is crushed against a corpse. The injured boy of about 3 is held in the front seat by his father. At Karmel Adwan hospital, a wail of grief goes up from all waiting there at this scene of disaster. They haul out the living, and we are left with the dead man. We move the ambulance away from the delivery area. Our medic strokes the man’s face. “Actually, he was my friend.” he tells me. “His name was Bilal Rabell.” We are told that since last night 47 people are dead, 12 of them children, and more than 130 injured. These numbers are increasing as more people are found and as more die from their injuries. 3.55pm Just after I posted the above, E heard that one of the medics of the Jabalia team – Arafa – was shot and killed. 4.55pm Unconfirmed report another medic has been killed in Al Sheikh Ejleen. |
ALERT 1.30pm Jan 4
We have reports that Jawahl telephone service may have to shut down soon due to the electricity problem. If this happens we, and Palestinians, will have little way to contact emergency services, each other, or the outside world. If you want to interview us, phone now and keep trying til you get on.
We also understand that the Israeli army may attempt to partition and isolate sections of Gaza from each other, as it has with the West Bank. I and several colleagues will head back to Jabalia tonight to continue to ride with medical workers, others are in other areas. If this shutdown occurs we may no longer be able to access internet to make reports. The best (though not great) chance of getting information will then be via ISM in the West Bank, please check the website for the latest info.
(I am working on last night’s report now to be posted in the next hours.)
We have reports that Jawahl telephone service may have to shut down soon due to the electricity problem. If this happens we, and Palestinians, will have little way to contact emergency services, each other, or the outside world. If you want to interview us, phone now and keep trying til you get on.
We also understand that the Israeli army may attempt to partition and isolate sections of Gaza from each other, as it has with the West Bank. I and several colleagues will head back to Jabalia tonight to continue to ride with medical workers, others are in other areas. If this shutdown occurs we may no longer be able to access internet to make reports. The best (though not great) chance of getting information will then be via ISM in the West Bank, please check the website for the latest info.
(I am working on last night’s report now to be posted in the next hours.)
GAZA: 4 January The moment we all feared has come - ground troops are in Gaza.
For the first time I was forced to hide in the basement of our house, as there are no shelters or bunkers to take refuge from the bombing or shelling.
With seven members of my family - the youngest, Majd, being seven months old - we spent the night listening to explosions.
The bombardment was relentless. Some of the explosions were near our home and were causing Majd to cry. Our house was rocked by a nearby explosion - it was terrifying.
This is worse than the aerial bombing - everything feels so close.
The night was very cold and we spent it listening to the radio to see if we could find out what was going on. We knew what was happening; that now the fighting would be on the streets of Gaza.
This was what we were hoping would not happen. Everyone selected a corner in the basement to sit in - we knew it was going to be a long night.
I woke up at 0710 - exhausted and suffering from a headache, like most people I had barely slept. Outside there was silence - maybe everything had stopped? But almost immediately, I heard an air strike and realised that the nightmare wasn't over.
Islamic Relief Worldwide had planned to deliver some aid today but the situation on the streets of Gaza was just too dangerous.
Instead, we made preparations for the delivery of aid to hospitals. Our emergency manager was at the al-Shifa hospital; he told us many of the injured were being taken there.
It is very dangerous now to be out in the streets. With each passing day and night, the dangers in Gaza increase and so does the humanitarian crisis.
Electricity is not available and people are using generators.
Even in the Islamic Relief Worldwide office we have to leave early in order to save fuel for the generators for the coming days.
On Monday, we plan to distribute aid to the hospitals - I, like the rest of Gaza, hope it will be safe to do so.
For the first time I was forced to hide in the basement of our house, as there are no shelters or bunkers to take refuge from the bombing or shelling.
With seven members of my family - the youngest, Majd, being seven months old - we spent the night listening to explosions.
The bombardment was relentless. Some of the explosions were near our home and were causing Majd to cry. Our house was rocked by a nearby explosion - it was terrifying.
This is worse than the aerial bombing - everything feels so close.
The night was very cold and we spent it listening to the radio to see if we could find out what was going on. We knew what was happening; that now the fighting would be on the streets of Gaza.
This was what we were hoping would not happen. Everyone selected a corner in the basement to sit in - we knew it was going to be a long night.
I woke up at 0710 - exhausted and suffering from a headache, like most people I had barely slept. Outside there was silence - maybe everything had stopped? But almost immediately, I heard an air strike and realised that the nightmare wasn't over.
Islamic Relief Worldwide had planned to deliver some aid today but the situation on the streets of Gaza was just too dangerous.
Instead, we made preparations for the delivery of aid to hospitals. Our emergency manager was at the al-Shifa hospital; he told us many of the injured were being taken there.
It is very dangerous now to be out in the streets. With each passing day and night, the dangers in Gaza increase and so does the humanitarian crisis.
Electricity is not available and people are using generators.
Even in the Islamic Relief Worldwide office we have to leave early in order to save fuel for the generators for the coming days.
On Monday, we plan to distribute aid to the hospitals - I, like the rest of Gaza, hope it will be safe to do so.
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Days: Jan 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - Dec 31 - 30 - 29 - 28 - 27