Category: Features

Waiting

Eva Bartlett | In Gaza

Today was the first day that medics and journalists were able to reach areas occupied by the invading Israeli troops. Palestinians by this

Graffiti
Graffiti
point, by weeks ago, were desperate for any semblance of a normal life, though normality here is far from normality anywhere else. They were desperate to return to their homes, survey the damage and if possible repair it, find displaced family members, or their corpses, as well as neighbours, friends.

Not everyone returned home to stay; many could be seen returning to where their homes were, or had stood, to retrieve anything worthwhile. Donkey carts and taxis were piled with blankets, clothes, cooking pots, cupboards, pieces of furniture, people…

I went straight to Ezbat Abed Rabbo, the area east of Jabaliya which had been cut off since day 1 of the ground invasion, over 2 weeks ago. The Red Crescent had been receiving calls to evacuate the injured and dead since day 1, and were prevented, at gunpoint, by gunfire, from reaching those needing evacuation. We heard the cries of those who managed to escape, their stories of being locked in homes at gunpoint, losing family members to point-blank assassinations or house-bombings.

And although the area was crammed with troubled, panicked, residents, many of them injured, without water, without food, with homes occupied by Israeli soldiers, I worried particularly about one man: the father of my friends.

We had no idea if he was alive, though we knew he’d stayed in the area. My panic was great, daily, I felt like I had said goodbye to a grandfather.

I bee-lined for his house, though had a hard time doing it since the streets and the land were turned upside-down, torn apart, filled with carcasses of houses and animals.

He was there, miraculously, noble in his traditional gown, long beard, hat. But he looked shattered.

“He cried for us,” his son told me. “He didn’t know if we were alive or dead.” So the confusion and desperation was both ways. Utterly cut off from one another, we were but mirror examples of families and loved ones all over the Gaza Strip. And we were luckier, because we are all alive. Except his wife, my friend’s mother, who was killed on the very first day of attacks. But now everything is relative and we cling desperately to the positive, for its all there is to cling to.

I have so much to tell, so many photos that don’t do justice to the suffering, heart-break, trauma, psychological damage, and despondency of people here. So many smells ingrained in my memory, that when sniffed will bring images of dead children, burned houses, chemical fires.

Slamming doors will forever remind of the missiles slamming the earth, the life below.

And just visiting the few areas I saw today, so many people, so desperate to tell their stories, tell of their anguish. For some the anguish is immense: pulverized homes, killed family members, corpses unretrieved, sanctimony and all that is sacred defiled. For others, the suffering is in the tragedy of shattered dreams, of every personal item destroyed or lost. It all matters, and they were all desperate to tell me. And I to listen. But quickly their words became a blur, a swirl of agony. My basic Arabic began to fail me as I wrote their ailments, their losses.

I will go back, to take careful inventory of the destruction, physical and emotional. Many of those who returned to where their homes were have to return to overcrowded schools with memories of slaughters even within school premises.

While the bombs may have stopped, for now, the terror remains. F-16s still flew low, terrifyingly low, today, so loud, so unpredictable. No one here has any reason to believe any words Israeli leaders proclaim. Only reason to believe in the worst. But out of necessity, we must hope for the best.

Samouni family members found dead in Gaza rubble

International human rights activists have witnessed the recovery of dead members of the Samouni family.

Several bodies of the Samouni family have finally been retrieved, 12 days after an attack by Israeli military forces that led to the death of an unknown number of family members. Red Crescent ambulance crews finally gained access to the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on 18 January 2009.

The family was killed in their home by an Israeli air-strike on January 6th, but their bodies could not be recovered until recently due to ongoing Israeli operations in the area.  Seven family members including men, women and children, were retrieved from the rubble.  At least 13 family members are still unaccounted for.

Our ambulance crew set off at 10:20 am to go into the Zeitoun neighborhood.  We haven’t been able to enter the area most days because it’s been sealed by the army.  When we arrived at the Samouni family house, the house was flattened, so the roof was very close to the ground.  We made a hole in the roof and began pulling up bodies for an hour.  We were able to retrieve 7 bodies before the Red Cross asked us to leave, as the army was likely to return to Zeitoun.  There are at least 13 bodies still in the house, as one of the medics had a list of 20 missing family members.

Sharon Lock – International Solidarity Movement

One of the Samouni family children Ahmed Nasser, 10 or 11 years old, came to us at Al Quds hospital in a very bad condition on January 6th.  He had been shot in the chest and needed test tubs.  He told us that all of his family had been taken into a room by the soldiers when they came to their house.  When missiles hit the house, most of the family was killed.  Ahmed’s father is alive, but his mother, sisters and brother are all dead. Ahmed stayed with the bodies of his family members for four days before he was found and brought here.  The first thing he asked for was for bread and water.  Many family members are still missing but today we will know for sure when all of the bodies come in.

Reema Abu Lafi – nurse at Al Quds hospital in Gaza City

Nine year old girl, shot twice by Israeli snipers as her family sought refuge in Al-Quds hospital, has died

Haneen al-Badran, a nine year old girl who was shot in the face and abdomen by Israeli snipers as her family ran to the AL-Quds hospital in Tel al-Hawa, died at 5pm on January 16th.

The shooting of the al Badran family

The Al Batran Family from Tel Al Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City fled terrified from their homes and attempted to take refuge in Al Quds hospital on Between noon And 1:00PM January 15th, 2009. Israeli snipers stationed directly outside the hospital opened fire on the family. Nine year old Haneen Al Badran was shot through the face and in the abdomen. The father, 54 year old Fadel Al Badran, was shot in the thigh and fell to the ground. 12-year-old Jasmeen, can be seen in the videos above frozen in terror, being carried into the hospital by a medic who ran into the line of fire to retrieve her, and being treated by doctors in the hospital afterward.

Haneen al Badran died of her wounds in Al Shifa hospital at 5pm on January 16th.

The shelling and evacuation of Al Quds hospital
Al-Quds hospital was shelled repeatedly in the early morning and several wings destroyed. At approximately 11:00 PM a wing close to the wards was shelled and caught fire. The patients were all evacuated and transferred to Al- Shifa hospital and a nearby Red Crescent facility despite severe overcrowding.

The first floor of the burnt hospital is still being used as an ambulance depot for the Red Crescent. Doctors hope to have the hospital running on Monday despite fears of further shelling.

Quotes from residents of Tel al-Hawa

They were killing any person they could see in the street. They shot at my next-door neighbor. From the area around here, there are around 25 martyrs. They are still looking for missing people. They shelled a complete part of the hospital. The streets and infrastructure are completely destroyed. The building across the street is still burning, and it was a pharmacy depot. The people fled to seek refuge in Al Quds hospital 200 meters from here. Some of the ambulances were destroyed. I saw with my own eyes the burning, the smoke. This is savagery. I don’t think anyone in his life has ever witnessed such brutality and horror.

– Dr. Assad, Tel al-Hawa

We were in our house in Tel al-Hawa. The Israelis were shelling all around. We were really scared being under fire and not being able to do anything about it. None of the people in our building are resisting, we are all civilians. Our neighbors in the building next to us were injured from the shelling. The Red Cross made arrangements for us to leave but we couldn’t take any of our possessions, not even our identification cards. We left wearing only our pajamas. Outside, a man and his daughter were shot by Israeli Forces, and we were praying not to be shot as well. We stayed an hour in the hospital basement before moving on to the nearest UNWRA School. We walked a long distance, we couldn’t sleep, and some of the people were badly injured. Now we live with relatives. Everything we have is in that house but we can not go back there.

– Tel al-Hawa resident

Quotes from Medical staff and volunteers

The patients from Al Quds hospital were evacuated under white flags. Two or three patients were put in the same bed, and the beds were wheeled across the street for 500 meters or more. Those evacuated included numbered around 40 patients. Three newborn babies were evacuated in their incubators and at least four patients were in critical condition. We evacuated because of a fire which started on the second floor of the building and began to spread. The patients and staff were ready to die from the fire or die from shooting. Hospital medics are now cleaning the hospital, which sustained heavy damage from the attack, in the hopes that we can make it operational again by Monday.

– Dr. Waleed Ramadan

After around 600 people had gone to Al-Quds hospital, they then had to leave again. They thought they had found somewhere safe, but nowhere is safe here. I am accompanying ambulances working out of the first floor of what remains of Al Quds hospital. Since the same locations are often targeted repeatedly, we all fear that the hospital will again come under attack.

– Sharon Lock, an Australian volunteer who participated in the evacuation of the Batran family and the evacuation of the Al Quds hospital

Israeli military shell UNRWA school

17th January 2009, Beit Lahiya, Gaza: An UNRWA school in Beit Lahiya is being shelled by the Israeli Army. International Human Rights Activists are at the scene, assisting in the evacuation of families to neighboring buildings.

Irish Human Rights Activist Caoimhe Butterly said;

One UNWRA school was hit this morning. Two young children, ages 4 and 8, were killed. We don’t yet have an accurate count of the injured but there is at least one person with leg amputations as a result of the air-strike. There is an exodus of families now who are leaving, terrified, with possessions in hand, trying to get to safety. But there is no safe space in Gaza and I believe that has been made very clear to people.

British citizen Ewa Jasiewicz added;

It looks like a missile initially hit the UNRWA school around 6.30 this morning. The building was surrounded by black smoke and we saw them drop white phosphorous. As we were assisting in evacuating people from the building, it was hit with phosphorous again. We picked up a 5 year old girl who was injured by shrapnel on the way out from the school, and saw another phosphorous bomb hitting the school. There were no fighters in the area, according to the UN shelter manager, only civilians. This is a war crime.

Medics from the area have also reported that due to the severe fuel shortages in the Gaza Strip, there are some ambulances that cannot assist in the evacuation.