"Doctors Without Borders"
December 30, 2008
Gaza: First Wounded Patients Receive Treatment (click here)
Four days after air attacks against the Gaza Strip began hospitals are already overwhelmed by an influx of wounded patients. Two Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have begun treating them and an initial MSF truckload of medical supplies and drugs entered the Gaza Strip today.
A two-person MSF team, composed of a doctor and a nurse, are providing support to the hospital in Shifa, Gaza’s referral hospital, to triage the wounded and refer patients to the MSF clinic in Gaza City, thus easing the hospital’s workload. The facility is already overwhelmed by the influx of wounded patients. A second team – including a doctor, three nurses, and a physical therapist—has treated approximately a dozen wounded patients at that clinic. Twenty more are already scheduled for tomorrow.
Tomorrow, a third MSF teams hopes to reopen MSF’s second pediatric clinic in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, to treat pediatric emergencies and help relieve some of the burden at Kemal Edwan hospital, which is also crowded with wounded patients.
A fourth team is planned for our Khan Yunis clinic in the southern Gaza Strip, if security conditions allow, to relieve the Al Nasser hospital (Khan Yunis) and the Al Najar hospital (Rafah).
An initial MSF truck carrying medical supplies and drugs managed to enter the Gaza Strip today. These items will allow us to re-stock our emergency inventories and supply hospital facilities in the Gaza Strip, which lack drugs and materiel. This truck contains medical kits for treating several hundred wounded and burned patients, as well as mattresses and logistical supplies.
For now, only MSF national staff are working in the Gaza Strip, but MSF is trying to strengthen its teams with international staff.
From the article at the title to this entry - thank you.
..."It is vital that moderation must now prevail - there's a humanitarian crisis."
He said he had spoken on the telephone to the prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, and received assurances that humanitarian aid would be able to get through and help casualties in Gaza.
Mr Brown said: "We have now set aside $10m of aid so that will happen....
The people of Gaza believe in Hamas and that is an issue for Israel. The Israeli soldier is 'at risk' with increased cooperation regarding humanitarian efforts. Israel needs reassurances and they also need clear communication with their forces to know where aid agencies are working. If we recall, the UN suffered tragedy in Southern Lebanon when Hezbollah were lobbying rockets to Israel due to poor communication. We don't need disaffected efforts that escalates the confrontation or causes injury and death to aid workers or journalists reporting on the efforts and the delivery of the supplies and their ultimate use.
I agree whole-heartedly the circumstances of the civilians are very poor, but, the support of Hamas by these same people have brought them to this juncture. While The West has a conscience regarding the elderly, women and children of Gaza as Palestinians with a right to a quality of life; their own government and propensity for that government does not.
It is profound tragedy that exists in Gaza. While the citizens are the ultimate victims of any failed policy, the 'peace' that everyone seeks chronically has been out of reach while the 'citizen' of Gaza have 'leaned' toward a preference to destroy Israel rather than recognize it and begin an economic relationship. The citizens of Gaza have been unable to discern their best outcome with Israel and Hebrews. They aren't interested in compassion, they are interested in war and place their children in the middle of that philosophy.
There needs to be effective policy based human rights for Gaza, but, it has to be Hamas that changes their methodology of leadership and government, not Israel. Other areas of Palestine are successful. They don't these problems. Hamas chronically volates human rights as using their civilians as human shields and 'bargaining chips' in hopes of a bigger game.
When that is addressed there will be 'a peace' between Israel and Palestine.
