Gaza today -lawless embargo , sanctions and occupation
by Dr. Mona El-Farra, 23 May 2007
A few days ago, a ceasefire has been signed again between the two Palestinian fighting parties, Fatah and Hamas. And children are back at school. My daughter started her end of the year exams early. All the schools had to squeeze the schedule of the examination, so they end as soon as possible before new violence erupts.
I believe it is a fragile ceasefire. The armed men are still in the streets of Gaza, some of them occupy the roofs of some of the multi-story buildings. Israel has intensified its air strike attacks against Gaza, north east and some areas in the south. Many people have been killed. Eight members of one family were killed, when airoplanes launched an air strike against the home of a Hamas leaders in Gaza. He wasn’t at home, he escaped the attack. Hospitals, including Al Awda , are overwhelmed with increasing number of casualties, with inadequate medical supplies and medications .
We all fear a large Israeli attack against Gaza.
From my apartment by the seaside, I can clearly hear and see the Israeli gunboats patrolling the sea of Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority armed men in their new base. It used to be a family resort. It is not any more, it is military place for security guards of the president. The smell of the death is strong, stronger than watching the lovely sea, or listening to the singing birds if there are any. Shooting sounds is prevalent, poverty too, and lawlessness.
My friend Mansour, whom I mentioned in one of my previous entries, and who needs urgent cytotoxic treatment , in Israel or abroad, after 45 of long waiting days, he got the referral to one of the hospitals inside Israel. But the Gaza borders are closed both north and south, and he has to wait again for its unpredictable opening. His story is the same daily story of many patients in Gaza, who are dying slowly because of the closure,
Where are we going, I don’t know, but I know very well, that the whole population suffers of the dreadful consequences of the Israeli Occupation, which is fully supported by the USA, I know also very well that women and children suffer the most. And that me and my colleagues, who work in different fields of the Palestinian civil society different fields, work hard to alleviate this suffering.