Reports from The Ground

I am sitting in disbelief, wondering how to eat my evening meal after reading this report from a volunteer currently riding with Palestinian ambulances in Gaza. After reading it, I checked the BBC website to see what they were reporting on Gaza today. Nothing like this. Nothing about medics being killed, hospitals being bombed, families being locked in buildings and shelled... certainly nothing about the 80% of emergency calls that Israel are refusing the Red Crescent ambulances permission to attend... This is their front page story today, as usual, even the headline frames this as regrettable but justifiable military action against terrorists. The report from this volunteer is tragic... What makes it worse is that she says that she has been contacted by the BBC for reports... what have they done with them?

This is from http://talestotell.wordpress.com I will post it here to make it easier to read, but do visit this blog for more stories from the ground.

Jabalia 4 Jan 6pm - 5 Jan 5pm

6pm: To Al Awda hospital, run by the Union of Health Work Committees. It normally has a 50 bed capacity but has been stretched to 75. E and Mo interview Ala’a, the medic from Jabalia RC who was injured when Arafa was killed yesterday.

The story goes as follows:

It was about 8.30 am Saturday morning in Jabalia. Five teenagers found themselves under shell attack and tried to get away. Three escaped. One, Tha’er, 19, had his foot blown off. His friend Ali, also 19, tried to pick him up and carry him to safety, but was shot in the head and killed. It took 75- 90 minutes before a Jabalia Red Crescent ambulance could reach them. Medic Arafa, 35, and Ala’a, 22, carried Tha’er to the ambulance, and then went back for Ali’s body. As they closed the van door, they were shelled.

Ala’a says “I felt nothing - just that I was flying in the air and then falling.” Other ambulances evacuated all. Arafa, who was married with 5 children, had a severe chest wound with most of one lung gone and only survived 2 hours. Ali’s head was blown off. Ala’a is now in hospital with severe shrapnel wounds all over, especially chest and legs. Tha’er survived but also now has several lacerations to back and body from shrapel.

Arafa was a teacher for the UN, gave medic training, and volunteered as a medic after being one professionally earlier.

7pm: We arrange to sleep in shifts at Al-Awda hospital. V and I crash. E, A and M hitch a ride with the first RC ambulance that turns up, out to Karmel Adwan hospital, the Red Crescent’s second new base since evacuating their centre. The base is a few blankets in a corridor, but there is tea sometimes.

11pm: E comes back to sleep, V and I ride with O’s ambulance to Karmel Adwan. O has a scarf wrapped round his knee, he was shot there some years ago and has pain in cold weather. I talking A and Mo into going to back to rest, but fail to convince EJ. The night turns out to be quiet. Unfortunately, I soon understand this is because a) a lot of Jabalia people have run away, and b) Israel is not letting the ambulances collected most of the wounded that do call for help.

2pm: we collect a woman in labour. Back at the hospital, I chat to Om, who is a nurse but volunteers at the Al-Assyria Centre that the Union of Health Work Committees runs. Also to M, in a hospital bed. He is 23, six months married, and made the mistake of standing next to the Jabalia mosque that was bombed two days ago. He is now recovering from abdominal surgery.

Everyone has naps in the ambulances. EJ and I are being called hourly by the BBC to contribute to news bulletins, “live from Gaza”.

5am: we hear that there has been a threat to bomb Al Wafa hospital which I understand is a centre for the disabled.

7.15am: we collect a man seriously injured by rocket explosion from a house in Sikha St, Jabalia; I doubt he has more than minutes to live, but he is still alive when we reach the hospital.

Injured woman having panic attack9am: we collect a woman whose home has just been shelled, she is having a panic attack and I am not clear on her injuries. Back at the hospital people are loudly grieving for two recent dead. These may be the nearly dead man my ambulance collected and another I saw arrive, both horribly mangled by rockets and the now-familiar grey colour.

9.30: we hear that Beit Hanoun is almost completely occupied by the Israeli army, as is the nearby small town Zahra which commands the north/south road. The north (us) and the south (F, G, and OJ in Rafah) may now be cut off from each other. We check in by phone, making contingency plans.

10am: Mo’s sister calls to tell him his village of Khosa is being shelled; the farmland in the centre which is surrounded by housing. “There’s nothing there, just people’s homes.” he tells us. He says there are now Israeli tanks in the Attatta and Shaimah areas of Beit Lahia. This is 1km inside the border, and 2km away from us at Jabalia. He says tank invasions used to take main roads, but he expects this time they will do what they did in February; bring in bulldozers and go directly through the houses.

He tells us that today Palestinian phones are receiving recorded messages from the army, saying “To the innocent civilians: our war is not with you, but with Hamas. If they don’t stop launching rockets, you are all going to be in danger.”

11.50 Call to near Gaza beach, turns out to be a mistake. Instead we pick up a family with two little children who are evacuating, sat on the side of the road, worn out from carrying bags. We passed Beit Lahia UNRWA school earlier, it is filling up with refugee families. Like Naher El Bared all over again.

Boy in bread queue collapses

Boy in break queue collapses
N draws my attention to one more extremely crowded bread queue, and then we discover a young teenage boy in the queue has collapsed from exhaustion; the medics treat him to the extent they can.

4pm: F calls to say they’ve heard Al Awda hospital has been shelled. I ring EJ. She says a structure immediately beside it received two shells; one person was injured, the man who lent her his jacket last night. He has shrapnel to the head and she says he isn’t looking too good. A apparently caught the shelling on his camera. We wonder if we should head back there to be again with Jabalia RC instead of Gaza city RC. But Gaza city lost 3 of their medics yesterday.

Latest:

There have been two separate reports about Israeli attacks on funeral tents. We are trying to confirm deaths and injuries for one. The second of the funerals attacked was medic Arafa’s yesterday afternoon; 5 people were injured.

We have also had reports that in the Zaytoun area two days ago, Israeli soliders rounded up a group of people into two houses; women and children into one, men into the other, where they were kept for two days. Then this morning at 11am Israeli forces shelled the houses. We have heard the number of deaths as between 7 and 20. One was a seven year old boy whose father was interviewed on TV while holding his body. We are trying to find out further details. It is getting very hard to keep up with this insanity.

We asked the Jabalia Red Crescent admin person how much of the emergency calls Israel is not letting them go to. These are in areas where co-ordination must be made with the invading forces via the Red Cross to enter. He said they are not being allowed to attend to about 80% of the calls from the north, covering the Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia area.

Shall I repeat that?
80%.
Eight of ten people calling for help are being prevented from receiving it.

Attacks on Hospitals and Medics in Gaza

I received the following press release today from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM:
----------------
2pm, Al-Awda hospital, Jabaliya, Gaza: The al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza has been damaged by two Israeli shells.

Spanish Human Rights Activist Alberto Arce said;

"Two consecutive shells just landed in the busy car park 15 meters from the entrance to the emergency room of the Al Awda hospital. The entrance of the emrgency rooml was damaged. At the time of the shelling Ambulances were bringing in the wounded that keep pouring in. Medical teams and facilities are being targeted. Nowhere is safe" Alberto Arce (Spain) – International Solidarity Movement

This attack on the hospital come the day after four medics were killed by the Israeli military as they attempted to rescue injured people. Six Palestinian medical personnel have now been killed by Israeli attacks.

On December 31st, medic Mohammed Abu Hassera was killed on the spot as his ambulance was shelled while trying to access the wounded. Dr Ihab Al Mathoon, who was also on the ambulance, died in hospital a few hours later. Yesterday, 4th January, Yaser Shbeir, Raf'at Al-A'kluk, Arafa Hani 'Abdul Dayem and Anes Fadel Na'im were killed when Israeli shells targeted the ambulances they worked in.

"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

International Solidarity Movement activists are accompanying ambulances in Gaza. They were, and will continue, working with medical personnel during the Israeli Occupation Forces' ground invasion into northern Gaza.

Please Contact:

Jabaliya
Alberto Arce Spain - (Spanish) - +972 59 8786094
Ewa Jasiewicz - Poland/Britain (Polish, English and Arabic) + 447749421576
Vittorio Arrigoni - Italy (Italian) - +973 59 8378945
Eva Bartlett - Canada (English) - +972 59 8836308
Sharon Lock - Australia (English) - +972 59 8826513

In Gaza City and Rafah

Dr. Haider Eid - South Africa (English and Arabic) - + 972 59 9441766
Fida Qishta - Palestine (English and Arabic) +972 599681669
Jenny Linnel - Britain (English) - +972 59 8765377
Natalie Abu Shakra - Lebanon (Arabic and English) +972 59 8336 328


For More General Information, Please Contact:

Adam Taylor - ISM media office in Ramallah - +972 598 503 948

For blogs from inside Gaza see:

www.ingaza.wordpress.com

www.talestotell.wordpress.com

www.palsolidarity.org

Protests Against Attacks on Gaza - Manchester - 3rd Jan, 2009

Thanks to James Chan for the photographs.

Photos From Gaza

Today I protested with about 4,000 other people in Manchester. We shouted until we were hoarse. I took my camera without the memory card, so I will refrain from posting about the protest until I have some copies of my friend's pics to put up.

I've deliberated for a while about whether to post these photos. I got them from a friend of a friend who posted them on facebook to let the world see what is happening in Gaza. These are not nice images, and we do not see them in the mainstream media. But I feel they should be seen.

Moments of Gaza

I'd like to share a post from another blog with you. It's from Moments of Gaza - eyewitness accounts of life in Gaza - have a read. This post is from Professor Said Abdelwahed.

What Gaza looks like on Jan. 1st, 2009?
Death is everywhere in Gaza. Sorrow and sadness is the address of the new year 2009. There is a smell of blood and carnage! Every minutes witnesses new bad news; bangs, bombings, missile hissing, collapses, devastation, Israeli drones, Apaches and other choppers, F16s, land shakes under us; destruction everywhere, dead bodies, mutilated parts, crying children and mothers searching for their kids and husbands; no one knows where to go or where to hide! No safe haven under the Israeli attack. Even civil society establishments were targeted; the ministry of justice, the ministry of education, the ministry of culture have been destroyed! Mosques were badly hit with six of it became something of the past. Dozens of the homes around those mosques were devastated and shattered; people dies and injured. Until today, the first of January 2009, more than two thousands were injured and more than 420 have been killed in the attack. This number included more than fifty children.

Today, more than 20 air raids were executed on Gaza city only! The latest of the attacks destroyed a four floor building killing at least 15 people in Jabalia refugee camp! As I am dispatching this message, 5 floors building has been demolished in Sheikh Radwan to the north of Gaza city, by an Israeli warplane minutes ago! I cannot follow up with the news of bombing with a third large explosion right now!

Prof. Abdelwahed
Department of English
Faculty of Arts & Humanities
Al-Azhar University of Gaza

I Read the News Today

It's the seventh morning of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Last night I heard that the UK and US have vetoed a UN resolution calling on Israel to end its use of force. Much as I would prefer to bury my head in the sand and pretend that it isn't happening, it's probably time I checked the headlines. If they will tell me the full story, that is.



The frontpage of The Guardian Website has a small section dedicated to Israel vs. Palestinians, and their lead story is 'Israeli bomb kills Hamas leader', reminding us that this offensive is necessary and is reaching its well-justified aim. Just when you think you can trust a newspaper... At least they mentioned that two of Nizar Rayan's wives and four of his children were also killed in the attack. The article then quickly reports the death toll - now more than 400 (Palestinians that is), but is unable to reassure us that these two were 'wicked' people who deserved it. The prime minister, Ehud Olmert, travelled to Be'er Sheva, a city in the Negev hit by Palestinian rockets for the first time this week, but gave no hint as to whether a ground operation was imminent.

"I very much hope that we will succeed in reaching our goals as quickly as possible," he said. "We have not declared war on the residents of Gaza. I reiterate that we will treat the population with silk gloves but will apply an iron fist to Hamas."

Silk gloves?? Even the Guardian doubts this:

Despite his words, there is concern about civilian casualties, believed to number at least 60, as well as the humanitarian crisis.

60? Of 400 dead Palestinians only 60 are civilians?? Really?? They provide no source for this figure, but it can't possibly be right.

But the newspaper does reassure us that the sites bombed yesterday were worthwhile - the justice ministry and parliament building in Gaza city, more smuggling tunnels on the Egyptian border (what could they be smuggling? weapons? or maybe food? medical supplies?), the houses in Norther Gaza (just so we know they're within ranging of firing into Israel) of three more Hamas militants, and another group called the Popular Resistance Committees. At least the reporting cannot be accused of being biased, however, they do then go on to tell us that Palestinian militants fired 20 rockets into Israel (without casualties). The picture we are supposed to take away from reading this article is clear. Oddly, there is nothing in this, the main report from The Guardian this morning, about diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation. Nothing about UK and US vetoes on a UN resolution. Maybe I dreamed that I heard this...

My trawl through the day's media can only get worse from here on... The BBC News Homepage leads with a story on the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. Their frontpage headline on the situation in Gaza reads 'Israel braced for Hamas response: Israel tightens security as Hamas calls a "day of wrath" in protest at Israel's bombing of Gaza, now entering a seventh day'. Again, the myth of equal opposing forces is propagated by our publicly funded news agency. I'm going in to read the article. More of the same. Applause for Israel on successfully killing Hamas leader, both sides have ignored international call for ceasefire... but my favourite line:

'Israel says its air campaign, provoked by Palestinian rocket attacks, has been going according to plan.'

Good job they put in that middle bit, just in case we forgot that the Palestinians brought this on themselves. They report four Israelis have been killed by rockets since Saturday. 400 Palestinians are dead, at least 100 of them are civilians, according to the UN. I check the UN News Centre to see if I can verify this, but find nothing. They don't mention that of 20 civilians killed last night, 11 were children and 9 were women. They briefly mention that the UK and US vetoed a draft UN resolution put forward by Egypt and Libya on the grounds that it made no mention of Hamas rocket attacks against Israel.