When Israel Attacks Gaza, These People Run to Save Lives

Civil defense members and Palestinian residents conduct a search and rescue operation in the rubble of a building bombed by Israel in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Gaza City Gaza on July Photo Hassan Jedi Anadolu Getty Images In the besieged Gaza Strip three professions have emerged as a lifeline their practitioners heroic in their efforts to alleviate the worst of the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding under Israel s constant attacks on civilians and civic infrastructure The rescuers the healers and the viewers civil defense responders making unimaginable sacrifices to try and save people from the rubble of bombed buildings health professionals fighting an impossible battle with poor supplies in hospitals and journalists risking their lives to expose the truth are all supporting the entire population enduring genocide and famine According to the Strength Ministry the Israeli military has killed at least civil defense responders around journalists and at least medicinal workers since October Here are their stories Nooh Al-Shaghnobi in his uniform on May Photo Courtesy Nooh Al-Shaghnobi Nooh Al-Shaghnobi is a civil defense worker in Gaza He often goes on missions not knowing whether he ll return home Plenty of of his colleagues have been injured gone missing or even targeted and killed in the program of their work There are dire shortages of staff equipment and vehicles for their rescue operations The work of the civil defense organization involves life-or-death decisions prioritizing the living even under direct bombardment and even at great personal hazard We cannot leave the living under the rubble even if it takes hours al-Shaghnobi noted This war has proven to us that there are no rights in the world His colleague Ali Omar was killed while rescuing a pregnant woman Ali suspended by a rope was directly targeted and struck by a rocket His hand still clutched by a colleague was all that remained What happened to us is not normal at all al-Shaghnobi noted trembling as he recalls the rocket that took Ali and the woman atomizing them into fragments That situation was a great shock for me I entered a great hysteria to the extent that I would kiss the palm of Ali that was separated from his hand by the Israeli rockets Related Trauma and Terror in the North of Gaza Where is our international protection al-Shaghnobi appealed Civil defense teams have been killed numerous times with little international outcry in response Nooh Al-Shaghnobi and his colleagues try to make tea over a fire in May Photo Courtesy Nooh Al-Shaghnobi He recalls another heart-wrenching operation an eight-hour attempt to rescue a baby trapped under rubble digging from all sides while Israeli forces fired upon them Despite being able to hear the baby s cries limited guidance prevented a triumphant rescue Where is humanity And the world And children s rights al-Shaghnobi solicited adding This war has proven to us that there are no rights in the world He continues to hear the baby s cries in his nightmares a haunting reminder of his inability to save the child The psychological toll is immense Dealing with dismembered bodies and horrific scenes leads to severe psychological distress He rarely sleeps In the aftermath of the Fahmi al-Jarjawi school bombing al-Shaghnobi witnessed people melting in the flames beyond hope of extraction He tried to reach them but the intense heat was about to burn his body He will never forget pulling out a body charred beyond recognition A -year-old girl melted under the rubble only identifiable by her leg bone The rescue of another girl Ward from beneath the rubble miraculously alive despite the inferno around her with her entire family killed nearby leaves him questioning how anyone can forget such scenes We the people of Gaza with the scenes we have seen and our resilience we teach the psychologist steadfastness and stability al-Shaghnobi explained Dr Tiziana Roggio in Khan Younis in late May Photo Courtesy Tiziana Roggio The Health Professionals take over after al-Shaghnobi and his colleagues rescue survivors from Israeli attacks Dr Tiziana Roggio an Italian plastic surgeon from London who volunteered in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in May described an overwhelming experience What I ve experienced in Gaza is on a utterly different scale she revealed The number of trauma cases the severity of the injuries the lack of basic supplies and the overwhelming number of children affected it s unlike anything I ve ever seen elsewhere Roggio s days are a relentless cycle of operating for to hours often for malnourished children with devastating burns blast injuries open fractures and extensive soft tissue damage She highlighted that she has seen a huge number of amputations and patients with shrapnel wounds She recalled a particularly haunting situation a -year-old boy with severe burns covering over percent of his body including his face He had lost his entire family in a strike He didn t cry He just stared blankly in complete shock she declared She remembers imagining the pain he was going through What life will this child have if he survives the horrific injury Read our complete coverage Israel s War on Gaza Beyond the operating room the emotional and physical exhaustion is immense there is no time to process one tragedy before the next wave of wounded arrives The hospital itself is like a battlefield crowded chaotic filled with pain where cries prayers screams bombs and drones are the constant soundtrack However she has uncovered strength in the resilience of her Palestinian colleagues and their incredible determination Related Hundreds of Palestinian Doctors Disappeared Into Israeli Detention Roggio recounted the moment when Nasser Hospital received the nine children of Dr Alaa al-Najjar who were tragically killed by an Israeli airstrike The atmosphere was one of profound sorrow and heartbreak Staff members a large number of of whom knew Dr Alaa personally were visibly shaken she commented What impressed her deeply was that al-Najjar herself thanked Roggio and her colleagues after operating on her only surviving child During unimaginable grief her strength and gratitude were truly humbling Despite feeling her own life is constantly at exposure Roggio expresses no regret I couldn t sit comfortably at home knowing my skills were so needed here she asserts emphasizing the profound meaning she finds in her mission Her urgent message to the world is clear Humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter Gaza without restrictions this instant Every delay cost lives A ceasefire must happen NOW These atrocities must be documented even if the world seems unwilling to stop them Palestinian journalist Ahmad Alnajar on May Photo Courtesy Ahmad Alnajar Ahmad Alnajar a journalist for Press TV carries the weight of reporting a genocide from Gaza while living under its brutal shadow Safety he mentioned is almost an absurd concept and rare for anyone to find in Gaza His press vest rather than offering protection sometimes serves as a target When I stand before the camera I feel that this could be the last moment he stated His close colleague Hassan Eslaih was killed by an Israeli missile while recovering in his hospital bed from an earlier attack The psychological toll is profound What we witnessed and we continue to witness during this genocide is more than enough to wipe out the sanity of any human being Alnajar commented Alnajar explained that the people of Gaza don t really have the chance and time to be drowned in the oceans of grief and mourning for the people they lost Related Journalists Under Fire in Gaza Israel s Deadly War on Reporters Journalists now work out of tents with most of of their former offices destroyed They rely on hospital electricity or fragile solar panels to stay connected to the outside world Yet Alnajar remains driven by a powerful sense of duty We will never stop because the Israeli occupation never stops Alnajar reported The aftermath of every massacre is painful He vividly recalled the horror of covering the massive massacre of paramedics in Rafah city on the first day of Eid al-Fitr in March It was one of the the bulk horrific scenes to watch paramedics and civil defense who went to save lives instead return in death bags This scene he revealed is just one example of the countless horrors they assessment on Alnajar misses those who he lost Every material and every structure can be replaced and can be rebuilt but how do you bring your sister or your uncle or your friend back Allah yerhamhum may God have mercy on their souls he disclosed full of sorrow He ended our conversation with an urgent message Please wake up and take action before it s too late Imagine that what is happening is happening to you or happening to your children or to someone that you love Would you accept that Photojournalist Bashar Talab in Khan Younis on April the first day following the Israeli military withdrawal Photo Omar Shteiwi Courtesy Bashar Talab The task of photojournalists is just as harrowing Bashar Talab begins each day by identifying the locations of bombardments from the night before If he can access the internet for long enough to locate the strikes he then has to find transportation in the besieged north an often impossible feat since roads are closed and movement is restricted Finding electricity for charging laptops and devices is also a constant struggle taking a critical physical toll Related Gaza Journalist Fadi al-Wahidi Avoided Israel s Red Zone Israel Shot Him Anyway Accessing targeted or dangerous areas is a major hurdle to documenting the violence Selected areas are red zones accessible only with coordination The psychological impact of documenting destruction death and massacres is profound Talab frequently seeks refuge in sleep to escape the haunting images that linger in his mind acknowledging the absence of any aid to alleviate the trauma An image he took of a crying child begging for food still haunts him Talab sees his role as a photojournalist is crucial and sensitive especially with foreign journalists barred from Gaza by the Israeli occupation Despite moments of despair exhaustion and fatigue Talab refuses to stop The responsibility is greater as the massacres are everywhere I have not stopped photographing because there is a great responsibility and message that must be conveyed to the world at any cost and any form he explains The post When Israel Attacks Gaza These People Run to Save Lives appeared first on The Intercept