At the entrance to the emergency room of the Indonezi hospital, which is so called because it was erected with the support of funding from Indonesia, in the north of the Gaza Strip, an ambulance of the fire service arrives. A man is extracted from it, until recently buried under the rubble of his house in the Mashrua district of nearby Beit Lahya, just bombed by Israel. He still does not realize that he has miraculously remained alive. But he bursts into sobs at not being able to save his brother, who remained under the stones of what was once known as House Othman.
In the garden surrounding the hospital there is a crowd of people, some on the benches, some lying on the grass, anxious to know the conditions of their newly hospitalized loved ones. To maintain order, the intervention of the agents is necessary. The areas to the north and east of that hospital were evacuated due to the intense Israeli bombardment still ongoing. On the entrance door are lined up cots and stretchers, in anticipation of upcoming emergencies.
Gaza under siege lives days of darkness and despair. The health services warn that they are close to collapse, that they do not have the means to assist the thousands of wounded who have poured into the medical centers of the Strip since Saturday. The medical staff is exhausted. To aggravate the situation the shortage of diesel and interruptions in the supply of electricity, which now comes only from generators. Yesterday, Hamas called for the opening of a humanitarian corridor to bring urgent humanitarian aid from Egypt. So far, everything has remained closed. 500 meters away there is a second hospital, private, which is called al-Awda. Its director, Dr. Ahmed Muhanna, explains that he proclaimed a state of emergency already on Saturday, with the beginning of hostilities and the first evictions of the population from the areas closest to Israeli territory. All medical staff were recalled and the less seriously ill were discharged. His hospital, with just 80 beds, had to treat 450 wounded. Others were sent elsewhere. "We asked for 10,3 liters of diesel - he says - but we received only 000,24. They will only be enough, if all goes well, for five days. Our generators operate 24 hours a day. We also lack oxygen supplies. We are going through unspeakable difficulties."
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza risks getting out of control soon," the International Red Cross warned. At a press conference in Geneva, its regional director Fabrizio Carbone - quoted by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa - noted that the ongoing bombings do not allow his organization to distribute the necessary material reserves. Among these he mentioned diesel for electric generators and chlorine for the water network. "The security conditions - he added - do not allow us to move freely. Since the beginning of this round of hostilities - he specified - five paramedics of the Red Cross and Red Crescent have been killed".
The Red Cross also believes that it is therefore necessary to establish a humanitarian corridor as soon as possible to allow medicines and fuels into Gaza, as desired by the United Nations. The death toll from Israeli bombing is 1,417 dead and over 6,<> wounded. But it grows by the hour.
All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA