As Karl Schembri made a grim tour of Shifa Hospital in Gaza yesterday, he was shocked by the number of victims missing limbs after six days of Israeli bombardment.
Residents of Gaza have no shelter and they feel helplessly trapped
“The doctors told me it is mostly women, children, babies and the elderly that had the most serious amputations,” said Mr Schembri, media officer for development NGO Oxfam in Gaza City.
He said victims of Israeli bombs in the north of Gaza City were arriving at Shifa Hospital with “very serious injuries” caused by shrapnel.
“These are civilians who are reaching the hospital in very critical condition, some will die,” Mr Schembri added.
Hamas yesterday put the Palestinian death toll at more than 100 since Israel began air and naval strikes against Gaza last Tuesday, in what Israel describes as a defensive operation against militants firing missiles at its territory.
Israel yesterday put its death toll since last Tuesday at three civilians killed by a rocket from Gaza.
Its rocket-defence system has intercepted hundreds of rockets bound for populated areas.
While quick to point out that both sides needed to halt attacks, Mr Schembri said residents of Gaza have no shelter from air strikes and they feel help-lessly trapped.
“There are up to 35,000 (Israeli) reservists gathered on one border, the (Israeli) navy on the other and warplanes and drones above our heads, so it’s a dire situation,” Mr Schembri said.
“We are waiting for one of two extremes to happen – a ceasefire or a ground invasion,” added the former journalist.
Yesterday there were reports that both Israeli and Hamas officials have articulated their conditions for a ceasefire to Egyptian negotiators, but attacks continued.
Asked about the frequency of Israeli attacks in Gaza, Mr Schembri described them as “pretty relentless”.
When naval vessels began their attacks they would fire 10 to 15 missiles every 15 minutes, said Mr Schembri, who considers his own home in Gaza to be in a residential area that should be safe.
“Although nowhere is truly safe at the moment, because they could target a travelling car that would harm anyone nearby,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gaza militants launched at least 32 missiles into Israel yesterday, of which four were intercepted, according to the Israel Defence Forces.
With Gaza being so densely populated, Mr Schembri pointed out that the civilian infrastructure was inevitably in the line of fire, as it was in 2008 when Israel’s Operation Cast Lead killed some 1,400 Palestinians.
“Gaza was still rebuilding from the rubble and now the little there was is being destroyed,” he said, adding that many Western countries had donated aid for the reconstruction of Gaza.
“This cycle of aid, reconstruction and destruction is untenable, unacceptable and immoral.”
He called on the international community to hold to account all parties guilty of destroying human life and infrastructure.
“There must be consequences for both sides when they make any kind of violation,” he said.
Israel has a duty to provide for the welfare of the people living under its occupation, Mr Schembri added, “but instead it is doing the opposite”.
“The escalation is putting the civilian infrastructure once again under threat of destruction.”
» See also pages 12, 13