23 may 2019
by Haneen Abed Elnaby
“No one knows what the next day will be like. Hope is the only thing that keeps me moving forward. Coping with cancer is only possible when I take it one day at a time, and value the present.”
Those are the words of my Aunt Hanan, 55 years young. And, she was diagnosed with breast, ovarian and colon cancer—all at the same time. Since the colon cancer is advanced (stage IV), she likely won’t live more than three to five years—and, that is with proper treatment. She has a strong will to live, though, and knowing my aunt, she can beat the odds. (Her name means “tenderness,” but she has a will of steel.) But, she needs help, fast. I want to believe in miracles. And, so, I share her story:
I have 11 aunts (yes, you read that correctly!), but Aunt Hanan is my favorite. Part of the reason, of course, is that two of her daughters are my best friends, so I spend a lot of time in their home. But, it’s more than that. At night, when I am there, I burrow into bed with my cousins and she tucks us in, sitting down beside us like when we were children. She tells us stories from the Quran, and her low, soothing, melodic voice—strong with confidence and conviction—filled me with a deep sense of peace, lulling me off to sleep. I treasured my nights, there.
But, my aunt’s entire world—and thus mine—changed in December, 2015, when a routine colonoscopy found a tumor that turned out to be cancerous. Three weeks later, she was in the operating theater, to remove the tumor, when cancer was found on one of her ovaries, as well. Then, the physicians found the beginnings of cancer in her left breast.
It came as a shock to everyone, me included. Imagine that a woman who is as close to you as your mom is drowning and tries to catch your hand. You frantically reach out, trying to save her, but your effort is in vain. That is exactly how I felt.
For the next three years, my aunt received 30 doses of chemotherapy; the only time when she wasn’t having those toxic chemicals injected into her veins was about five months when Israel refused to let her travel out of Gaza. (According to the World Health Organization, nuclear medicine scanning, which is needed for staging cancers, radiotherapy equipment and some specialized surgeries are unavailable in Gaza. As for chemotherapy, more than half of the needed drugs dropped to less than a month’s supply, throughout 2018.)
Many patients are forced to leave Gaza, to get the care they need. But, 39 percent of applications for exit permits were unsuccessful, last year. For some, their health spirals downward before then, even resulting in death. Yet, Israel never offers a reason for its delays and denials.
“No one knows what the next day will be like. Hope is the only thing that keeps me moving forward. Coping with cancer is only possible when I take it one day at a time, and value the present.”
Those are the words of my Aunt Hanan, 55 years young. And, she was diagnosed with breast, ovarian and colon cancer—all at the same time. Since the colon cancer is advanced (stage IV), she likely won’t live more than three to five years—and, that is with proper treatment. She has a strong will to live, though, and knowing my aunt, she can beat the odds. (Her name means “tenderness,” but she has a will of steel.) But, she needs help, fast. I want to believe in miracles. And, so, I share her story:
I have 11 aunts (yes, you read that correctly!), but Aunt Hanan is my favorite. Part of the reason, of course, is that two of her daughters are my best friends, so I spend a lot of time in their home. But, it’s more than that. At night, when I am there, I burrow into bed with my cousins and she tucks us in, sitting down beside us like when we were children. She tells us stories from the Quran, and her low, soothing, melodic voice—strong with confidence and conviction—filled me with a deep sense of peace, lulling me off to sleep. I treasured my nights, there.
But, my aunt’s entire world—and thus mine—changed in December, 2015, when a routine colonoscopy found a tumor that turned out to be cancerous. Three weeks later, she was in the operating theater, to remove the tumor, when cancer was found on one of her ovaries, as well. Then, the physicians found the beginnings of cancer in her left breast.
It came as a shock to everyone, me included. Imagine that a woman who is as close to you as your mom is drowning and tries to catch your hand. You frantically reach out, trying to save her, but your effort is in vain. That is exactly how I felt.
For the next three years, my aunt received 30 doses of chemotherapy; the only time when she wasn’t having those toxic chemicals injected into her veins was about five months when Israel refused to let her travel out of Gaza. (According to the World Health Organization, nuclear medicine scanning, which is needed for staging cancers, radiotherapy equipment and some specialized surgeries are unavailable in Gaza. As for chemotherapy, more than half of the needed drugs dropped to less than a month’s supply, throughout 2018.)
Many patients are forced to leave Gaza, to get the care they need. But, 39 percent of applications for exit permits were unsuccessful, last year. For some, their health spirals downward before then, even resulting in death. Yet, Israel never offers a reason for its delays and denials.
“The challenges we as doctors face are many,” says Dr. Rasmi Qishta, her physician. “For example, we often lack the right medicines. Sometimes, we are able to start to give a patient a course of treatment, but then run short.
The gap affects patients in a very bad way. We also have no access to radiation therapy or atomic scanning equipment. That’s important to help us figure out exactly where the carcinoma is located. Likewise, in Gaza, we don’t have the tools to study cancer cells to determine the right way to fight them. As a result, we must send many patients to Jerusalem. That’s assuming they can get an exit permit.”
Chemotherapy was not enough for my aunt. Last year, she received the news that, in addition to her ovaries, part of her colon had to be removed. And, that meant she needed a colostomy, in which the lower part of her intestine is replaced by a bag for collecting waste, worn on the outside of her body.
“When I lost my hair during chemotherapy, I was ok,” says my aunt. “But, the colostomy is hard; the skin around the (exit) tube is painful most of the time. And, it’s not temporary; I have to live with it.”
A colostomy, also, is not cheap. While the local Ministry of Health gives cancer patients colostomy bags free, every month, they are of poor quality, leaving the skin even more sore than usual. Thus, my aunt buys her own bags, which cost 70 shekels (about $20) each. She requires 30 every month, totaling $600. That’s in addition to other expenses, such as the medicine.
Even with a loving family and a crowd of friends, cancer is lonely. Very lonely. No matter how strong and deep your support system, cancer is a journey that must be taken alone. Still, I fight against that.
I have talked to her doctor many times, asking what can be done.
“Her case is very complicated, since cancer is spreading throughout her body,” says Dr. Qishta.
Hope is all we have and all we seek. That, and the money needed to afford the treatment to help her stay comfortable.
~We Are Not Numbers/Days of Palestine
The gap affects patients in a very bad way. We also have no access to radiation therapy or atomic scanning equipment. That’s important to help us figure out exactly where the carcinoma is located. Likewise, in Gaza, we don’t have the tools to study cancer cells to determine the right way to fight them. As a result, we must send many patients to Jerusalem. That’s assuming they can get an exit permit.”
Chemotherapy was not enough for my aunt. Last year, she received the news that, in addition to her ovaries, part of her colon had to be removed. And, that meant she needed a colostomy, in which the lower part of her intestine is replaced by a bag for collecting waste, worn on the outside of her body.
“When I lost my hair during chemotherapy, I was ok,” says my aunt. “But, the colostomy is hard; the skin around the (exit) tube is painful most of the time. And, it’s not temporary; I have to live with it.”
A colostomy, also, is not cheap. While the local Ministry of Health gives cancer patients colostomy bags free, every month, they are of poor quality, leaving the skin even more sore than usual. Thus, my aunt buys her own bags, which cost 70 shekels (about $20) each. She requires 30 every month, totaling $600. That’s in addition to other expenses, such as the medicine.
Even with a loving family and a crowd of friends, cancer is lonely. Very lonely. No matter how strong and deep your support system, cancer is a journey that must be taken alone. Still, I fight against that.
I have talked to her doctor many times, asking what can be done.
“Her case is very complicated, since cancer is spreading throughout her body,” says Dr. Qishta.
Hope is all we have and all we seek. That, and the money needed to afford the treatment to help her stay comfortable.
~We Are Not Numbers/Days of Palestine
by Sarah Collins, for Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency
Sarah Collins has just completed her first mission with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The emergency department nurse from Woodbury, in Devon, reflects on her time in Gaza.
I don’t think I will ever forget May 14, 2018. I have worked as a nurse for 13 years in many different settings and I didn’t think there was much left that could shock me.
“I began to realize my mission might be quite different from what I anticipated.”
I had arrived in Gaza less than a month earlier. My job description was to support and train emergency department staff to improve trauma care – a ‘hands-off’ role – but, things didn’t exactly turn out that way.
A few weeks before I was due to travel to Gaza, the first ‘Great Return March’ took place. The subsequent violence resulted in more than 700 people suffering gunshot wounds, in the border areas, and the health service was taken completely by surprise.
Suddenly, Gaza dominated the headlines, once more, and I began to realize my mission might be quite different from what I anticipated.
I was thrown into it as soon as I arrived – spending each Friday of my first few weeks in the emergency departments of different hospitals, helping the local staff to manage the influx of mass casualties.
We knew in advance that May 14 was going to be big, but no one could have predicted quite how bad it would be. Everyone was on high alert, at the hospital.
It was a trickle, at first, but that soon became a steady stream. Patient after patient – mostly young men, but there were older people and women, too.
“Soon, we began to run out of beds. An emergency donation was made, but it didn’t last.”
Almost all had gunshot wounds to the legs. We moved from patient to patient, doing what we could – mostly packing wounds, splinting fractures, applying makeshift tourniquets and starting intravenous fluids.
We picked up shattered limbs and tried, over and over, with endless packets of gauze and bandages, to stop the bleeding. At the same time, I knew that many legs were past saving.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the critical cases – those with gunshot wounds to the chest, or the head, being whisked through to the resuscitation room.
The number of patients kept increasing. Soon, we began to run out of beds. An emergency donation was made, but it didn’t last.
Before long, we had no choice but to lay our patients on the ground, and kneel beside them, to treat them. The numbers quickly threatened to overwhelm us. Each patient was accompanied by family or friends, and the small department became desperately overcrowded.
After some hours, we were pulled outside, through the crowds that had gathered, and we sat on a bench at the back of the hospital.
Someone pressed coffee and falafel sandwiches into our hands. I couldn’t believe what was happening. After a few minutes, we fought our way back inside.
The crowds and patient numbers had become overwhelming: it was no longer possible to triage or organize people – they just piled in, filling every conceivable space: you could not move a meter without stepping over a patient.
“I cannot remember the face of a single patient I cared for, that day.”
It was impossible to work in any kind of systematic way – all you could do was try to do something for the patient nearest you, until another nurse, or a relative, called you to help them with something else.
Everyone was giving every bit of their energy. Hospital cleaners became nursing assistants, families did whatever they could. I remember clearly the moment when I knew it was really bad: in this deeply conservative place, cultural boundaries were suddenly forgotten – male colleagues reached into my pockets to take scissors or bandages, fathers grabbed my hands to pull me to where their son lay on the floor.
People became desperate, fights broke out. I tried to close my ears to the cries of patients as I wrestled with their broken legs: we didn’t have enough pain killers, and we had to stop the bleeding.
I remember a moment when I stood in the middle of the room, chaos swirling around me, and I thought, “I don’t know what to do!” … and, then, one of the nurses called my name, pulled me to another patient, pressed more packets of gauze into my hand, and we continued.
The hours flew past like that. Eventually, as supplies became critical, the flow of patients finally began to slow down. The security situation was deteriorating as emotions ran higher, and our management decided to pull us out.
I remember coming back to the office where many of our colleagues were waiting for us: I remember the concern on their faces when I couldn’t hold back the tears. I remember putting my scrubs, and my shoes, in a bucket of bleach when I arrived home. I remember standing alone in my kitchen, in the dark, trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened.
The one thing I don’t remember is faces. I cannot remember the face of a single patient I cared for, that day.
“I share something special with the nurses I worked with, that day.”
Once a man stopped me and told me he recognized me, that I took care of his father when he was lying on that crowded floor, bleeding. We saw almost 600 patients, that day.
There was a doctor on duty that I saw many patients with. I found out, later, that they had brought his brother in, during the afternoon. He died before they could find my colleague.
It’s nearly one year on, now, and we have all found a way to put that day behind us: tucked it away in a corner of our minds so that we can carry on with our jobs.
I share something special with the nurses I worked with that day – if I see them now for a training session, or in passing, we share a nod, a smile, a greeting.
We hold the memory of that day silently between us, for just a second, and then we move on. I left a tiny part of myself on the floor of that emergency room, that day, and I know that long after I have moved on from Gaza, that part of me will remain, remembering.
Sarah Collins is an emergency department nurse with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza.
Sarah Collins has just completed her first mission with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The emergency department nurse from Woodbury, in Devon, reflects on her time in Gaza.
I don’t think I will ever forget May 14, 2018. I have worked as a nurse for 13 years in many different settings and I didn’t think there was much left that could shock me.
“I began to realize my mission might be quite different from what I anticipated.”
I had arrived in Gaza less than a month earlier. My job description was to support and train emergency department staff to improve trauma care – a ‘hands-off’ role – but, things didn’t exactly turn out that way.
A few weeks before I was due to travel to Gaza, the first ‘Great Return March’ took place. The subsequent violence resulted in more than 700 people suffering gunshot wounds, in the border areas, and the health service was taken completely by surprise.
Suddenly, Gaza dominated the headlines, once more, and I began to realize my mission might be quite different from what I anticipated.
I was thrown into it as soon as I arrived – spending each Friday of my first few weeks in the emergency departments of different hospitals, helping the local staff to manage the influx of mass casualties.
We knew in advance that May 14 was going to be big, but no one could have predicted quite how bad it would be. Everyone was on high alert, at the hospital.
It was a trickle, at first, but that soon became a steady stream. Patient after patient – mostly young men, but there were older people and women, too.
“Soon, we began to run out of beds. An emergency donation was made, but it didn’t last.”
Almost all had gunshot wounds to the legs. We moved from patient to patient, doing what we could – mostly packing wounds, splinting fractures, applying makeshift tourniquets and starting intravenous fluids.
We picked up shattered limbs and tried, over and over, with endless packets of gauze and bandages, to stop the bleeding. At the same time, I knew that many legs were past saving.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the critical cases – those with gunshot wounds to the chest, or the head, being whisked through to the resuscitation room.
The number of patients kept increasing. Soon, we began to run out of beds. An emergency donation was made, but it didn’t last.
Before long, we had no choice but to lay our patients on the ground, and kneel beside them, to treat them. The numbers quickly threatened to overwhelm us. Each patient was accompanied by family or friends, and the small department became desperately overcrowded.
After some hours, we were pulled outside, through the crowds that had gathered, and we sat on a bench at the back of the hospital.
Someone pressed coffee and falafel sandwiches into our hands. I couldn’t believe what was happening. After a few minutes, we fought our way back inside.
The crowds and patient numbers had become overwhelming: it was no longer possible to triage or organize people – they just piled in, filling every conceivable space: you could not move a meter without stepping over a patient.
“I cannot remember the face of a single patient I cared for, that day.”
It was impossible to work in any kind of systematic way – all you could do was try to do something for the patient nearest you, until another nurse, or a relative, called you to help them with something else.
Everyone was giving every bit of their energy. Hospital cleaners became nursing assistants, families did whatever they could. I remember clearly the moment when I knew it was really bad: in this deeply conservative place, cultural boundaries were suddenly forgotten – male colleagues reached into my pockets to take scissors or bandages, fathers grabbed my hands to pull me to where their son lay on the floor.
People became desperate, fights broke out. I tried to close my ears to the cries of patients as I wrestled with their broken legs: we didn’t have enough pain killers, and we had to stop the bleeding.
I remember a moment when I stood in the middle of the room, chaos swirling around me, and I thought, “I don’t know what to do!” … and, then, one of the nurses called my name, pulled me to another patient, pressed more packets of gauze into my hand, and we continued.
The hours flew past like that. Eventually, as supplies became critical, the flow of patients finally began to slow down. The security situation was deteriorating as emotions ran higher, and our management decided to pull us out.
I remember coming back to the office where many of our colleagues were waiting for us: I remember the concern on their faces when I couldn’t hold back the tears. I remember putting my scrubs, and my shoes, in a bucket of bleach when I arrived home. I remember standing alone in my kitchen, in the dark, trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened.
The one thing I don’t remember is faces. I cannot remember the face of a single patient I cared for, that day.
“I share something special with the nurses I worked with, that day.”
Once a man stopped me and told me he recognized me, that I took care of his father when he was lying on that crowded floor, bleeding. We saw almost 600 patients, that day.
There was a doctor on duty that I saw many patients with. I found out, later, that they had brought his brother in, during the afternoon. He died before they could find my colleague.
It’s nearly one year on, now, and we have all found a way to put that day behind us: tucked it away in a corner of our minds so that we can carry on with our jobs.
I share something special with the nurses I worked with that day – if I see them now for a training session, or in passing, we share a nod, a smile, a greeting.
We hold the memory of that day silently between us, for just a second, and then we move on. I left a tiny part of myself on the floor of that emergency room, that day, and I know that long after I have moved on from Gaza, that part of me will remain, remembering.
Sarah Collins is an emergency department nurse with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza.
15 may 2019
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR): During Protests In Commemoration of 71st Anniversary of Palestinian Nakba: Israeli Forces Wound 144 Palestinian Civilians, including 49 Children, 4 Women and 1 Paramedic:
On Wednesday, 15 May 2019, Israeli forces wounded 144 Palestinian civilians, including 49 children, 4 women, and 1 paramedic, in excessive use of force against the peaceful participants in the protests organized in commemoration of the 71st anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba.
Those protests- which were called for by the Supreme National Authority of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege under the name of “Millions for Land and Return” in commemoration of the 71st anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba- were preceded by the Israeli forces’ military reinforcements along the border fence with the Gaza Strip, indicating a deliberate intent to use excessive force against the protesters.
PCHR’s fieldworkers monitored the deployment of dozens of Palestinian police officers to control the situation and try to prevent the protesters from approaching the border fence. Meanwhile, the protesters acted in a fully peaceful manner as there were no attempts to burn tires.
However, in very limited incidents, some protesters approached the border fence and tried to throw stones at the fence.
According to PCHR’s fieldworkers, the Israeli forces stationed in prone positions and in their military jeeps along the border fence with Israel continued to use excessive force against the protesters.
They fired live bullets and teargas canisters at the protesters, wounding dozens of them without posing any imminent threat or danger to the soldiers’ life.
The Israeli forces also used skunk water cannons against the protesters, particularly in Khan Younis and eastern al-Boreij, in addition to using drones that fire teargas canisters amid the protesters, who were hundreds of meters away from the border fence.
The incidents on 15 May 2019 were as follows:
At approximately 13:00, thousands of civilians, including women, children and entire families, started swarming to the five encampments established by the Supreme National Authority of Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege adjacent to the border fence with Israel in eastern Gaza Strip cities.
Hundreds of protesters, including children and women, gathered adjacent to the border fence with Israel in front of each encampment and its vicinity and protested between tens and hundreds of meters away from the fence.
The protesters chanted slogans, raised flags, and in very limited incidents attempted to approach the border fence and throw stones at the Israeli forces.
The Israeli shooting, which continued until around 18:00, resulted in the injury of 144 Palestinian civilians, including 49 children, 4 women and 1 paramedic, with live and rubber bullets and by being directly hit with teargas canisters.
Meanwhile, dozens of protesters, paramedics, journalists and PCHR’s fieldworkers suffered tear gas inhalation and seizures due to tear gas canisters that were fired by the Israeli forces from the military jeeps, riffles and drones in the eastern Gaza Strip.
The following table shows the number of civilian casualties due to the Israeli forces’ suppression of the Great March of Return since its beginning on 30 March 2018:
Killed Wounded
Total 206 12559
Children 44 2492
Women 2 382
Journalists 2 202
Medical personnel 3 203
Persons with disabilities 9 Undefined
Note:
Among those wounded, 548 are in serious condition and 137 had their lower or upper limbs amputated; 123 lower-limb amputations, 14 upper-limb amputations, and 25 children had their limbs amputated according to the Ministry of Health.
The number of those wounded only include those wounded with live bullets and directly hit with tear gas canisters, as there have been thousand others who suffered tear gas inhalation and sustained bruises.
PCHR reiterates Palestinians’ right to peaceful assembly to confront Israel and its forces’ denial of the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, right to return and right to end the occupation of the Palestinian territory.
PCHR stresses that the Israeli forces should stop using excessive force and respond to the legitimate demands of the protesters, particularly in regard with lifting the closure that is the real solution to end the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
PCHR emphasizes that continuously targeting civilians, who exercise their right to peaceful assembly or while carrying out their humanitarian duty, is a serious violation of the rules of international law, international humanitarian law, the ICC Rome Statute and Fourth Geneva Convention.
Thus, PCHR reiterates its call upon the ICC Prosecutor to open an official investigation in these crimes and to prosecute and hold accountable all those involved in issuing or applying orders within the Israeli forces either at the security or political echelons.
PCHR also emphasizes that the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention should fulfill their obligation under Article 1; i.e., to respect and ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances and their obligations under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
PCHR calls upon Switzerland, in its capacity as the Depository State for the Convention, to demand the High Contracting Parties to convene and ensure Israel’s respect for this Convention, noting that these grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions regarding the guarantee of Palestinian civilians’ right to protection in the occupied territories.
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
On Wednesday, 15 May 2019, Israeli forces wounded 144 Palestinian civilians, including 49 children, 4 women, and 1 paramedic, in excessive use of force against the peaceful participants in the protests organized in commemoration of the 71st anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba.
Those protests- which were called for by the Supreme National Authority of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege under the name of “Millions for Land and Return” in commemoration of the 71st anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba- were preceded by the Israeli forces’ military reinforcements along the border fence with the Gaza Strip, indicating a deliberate intent to use excessive force against the protesters.
PCHR’s fieldworkers monitored the deployment of dozens of Palestinian police officers to control the situation and try to prevent the protesters from approaching the border fence. Meanwhile, the protesters acted in a fully peaceful manner as there were no attempts to burn tires.
However, in very limited incidents, some protesters approached the border fence and tried to throw stones at the fence.
According to PCHR’s fieldworkers, the Israeli forces stationed in prone positions and in their military jeeps along the border fence with Israel continued to use excessive force against the protesters.
They fired live bullets and teargas canisters at the protesters, wounding dozens of them without posing any imminent threat or danger to the soldiers’ life.
The Israeli forces also used skunk water cannons against the protesters, particularly in Khan Younis and eastern al-Boreij, in addition to using drones that fire teargas canisters amid the protesters, who were hundreds of meters away from the border fence.
The incidents on 15 May 2019 were as follows:
At approximately 13:00, thousands of civilians, including women, children and entire families, started swarming to the five encampments established by the Supreme National Authority of Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege adjacent to the border fence with Israel in eastern Gaza Strip cities.
Hundreds of protesters, including children and women, gathered adjacent to the border fence with Israel in front of each encampment and its vicinity and protested between tens and hundreds of meters away from the fence.
The protesters chanted slogans, raised flags, and in very limited incidents attempted to approach the border fence and throw stones at the Israeli forces.
The Israeli shooting, which continued until around 18:00, resulted in the injury of 144 Palestinian civilians, including 49 children, 4 women and 1 paramedic, with live and rubber bullets and by being directly hit with teargas canisters.
Meanwhile, dozens of protesters, paramedics, journalists and PCHR’s fieldworkers suffered tear gas inhalation and seizures due to tear gas canisters that were fired by the Israeli forces from the military jeeps, riffles and drones in the eastern Gaza Strip.
The following table shows the number of civilian casualties due to the Israeli forces’ suppression of the Great March of Return since its beginning on 30 March 2018:
Killed Wounded
Total 206 12559
Children 44 2492
Women 2 382
Journalists 2 202
Medical personnel 3 203
Persons with disabilities 9 Undefined
Note:
Among those wounded, 548 are in serious condition and 137 had their lower or upper limbs amputated; 123 lower-limb amputations, 14 upper-limb amputations, and 25 children had their limbs amputated according to the Ministry of Health.
The number of those wounded only include those wounded with live bullets and directly hit with tear gas canisters, as there have been thousand others who suffered tear gas inhalation and sustained bruises.
PCHR reiterates Palestinians’ right to peaceful assembly to confront Israel and its forces’ denial of the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, right to return and right to end the occupation of the Palestinian territory.
PCHR stresses that the Israeli forces should stop using excessive force and respond to the legitimate demands of the protesters, particularly in regard with lifting the closure that is the real solution to end the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
PCHR emphasizes that continuously targeting civilians, who exercise their right to peaceful assembly or while carrying out their humanitarian duty, is a serious violation of the rules of international law, international humanitarian law, the ICC Rome Statute and Fourth Geneva Convention.
Thus, PCHR reiterates its call upon the ICC Prosecutor to open an official investigation in these crimes and to prosecute and hold accountable all those involved in issuing or applying orders within the Israeli forces either at the security or political echelons.
PCHR also emphasizes that the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention should fulfill their obligation under Article 1; i.e., to respect and ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances and their obligations under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
PCHR calls upon Switzerland, in its capacity as the Depository State for the Convention, to demand the High Contracting Parties to convene and ensure Israel’s respect for this Convention, noting that these grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions regarding the guarantee of Palestinian civilians’ right to protection in the occupied territories.
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
10 may 2019
Abdullah Jom’a Abdul-‘Al, 24
Israeli soldiers attacked, Friday, the weekly Great Return March processions on Palestinian lands along the eastern areas of the Gaza Strip, killing one Palestinian and wounding 30, including four children, and one medic who was shot in the head.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has confirmed that the soldiers killed Abdullah Jom’a Abdul-‘Al, 24, east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
It added that the soldiers also injured thirty Palestinians, including four children, and a volunteer medic, who suffered a head injury while providing treatment to wounded Palestinians.
The medic, identified as Mohammad Abu T’eima, was shot as he, and several other medics were providing treatment to wounded protesters, who were shot by the soldiers on Palestinian lands, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the coastal region.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers resorted to the excessive use of force against the protesters by firing a barrage of live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and high-velocity gas bombs at them.
Israeli soldiers attacked, Friday, the weekly Great Return March processions on Palestinian lands along the eastern areas of the Gaza Strip, killing one Palestinian and wounding 30, including four children, and one medic who was shot in the head.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has confirmed that the soldiers killed Abdullah Jom’a Abdul-‘Al, 24, east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
It added that the soldiers also injured thirty Palestinians, including four children, and a volunteer medic, who suffered a head injury while providing treatment to wounded Palestinians.
The medic, identified as Mohammad Abu T’eima, was shot as he, and several other medics were providing treatment to wounded protesters, who were shot by the soldiers on Palestinian lands, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the coastal region.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers resorted to the excessive use of force against the protesters by firing a barrage of live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and high-velocity gas bombs at them.
6 may 2019
The Government of Italy contributed 1.9 million Euros to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to support the provision of primary health care at six health centers in the besieged Gaza Strip for a period of six months in 2019.
According to an UNRWA press release, this contribution will help provide some 450,000 medical consultations and benefit approximately 340,000 Palestinian refugees.
Expressing his gratitude, Marc Lassouaoui, Chief of Donor Relations, UNRWA Department of External Relations and Communications, thanked Italy for its “continued and generous support towards our health program in Gaza at this time of great need.”
Lassouaoui added, “This contribution will help us ensuring the provision of health care which directly contributes towards the human development of Palestine refugees.”
The Consul General of Italy to Jerusalem, Fabio Sokolowicz, restated Italy’s longstanding support of the health sector in Palestine, underscoring the crucial importance of ensuring primary health care in the Gaza strip.
Sokolowicz said, “Since 2012 alone, the Government of Italy has contributed over 60 million Euros that enabled UNRWA to continue providing vital services to Palestine refugees.”
Cristina Natoli, Head of Office, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) also said, “Through this project, AICS reaffirms both its commitment as a lead donor agency in the health sector in Palestine and its dedication to supporting Palestine refugees in Gaza.”
Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the United Nations founded UNWRA, to help resettle nearly 700,000 Palestinians after the Arab-Israeli war; UNRWA says that there are 5.3 million Palestinian refugees in the world.
UNRWA currently provides services to some 5 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the occupied Palestinian territories, and the besieged Gaza Strip.
According to an UNRWA press release, this contribution will help provide some 450,000 medical consultations and benefit approximately 340,000 Palestinian refugees.
Expressing his gratitude, Marc Lassouaoui, Chief of Donor Relations, UNRWA Department of External Relations and Communications, thanked Italy for its “continued and generous support towards our health program in Gaza at this time of great need.”
Lassouaoui added, “This contribution will help us ensuring the provision of health care which directly contributes towards the human development of Palestine refugees.”
The Consul General of Italy to Jerusalem, Fabio Sokolowicz, restated Italy’s longstanding support of the health sector in Palestine, underscoring the crucial importance of ensuring primary health care in the Gaza strip.
Sokolowicz said, “Since 2012 alone, the Government of Italy has contributed over 60 million Euros that enabled UNRWA to continue providing vital services to Palestine refugees.”
Cristina Natoli, Head of Office, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) also said, “Through this project, AICS reaffirms both its commitment as a lead donor agency in the health sector in Palestine and its dedication to supporting Palestine refugees in Gaza.”
Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the United Nations founded UNWRA, to help resettle nearly 700,000 Palestinians after the Arab-Israeli war; UNRWA says that there are 5.3 million Palestinian refugees in the world.
UNRWA currently provides services to some 5 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the occupied Palestinian territories, and the besieged Gaza Strip.
