HHo0s

Injured paramedic Akram Al Awoor, Al QudsHospital, Gaza City. Photo by LR, 10 Sep 2014Interview with injured paramedic AkramAl Awoor at Al Quds Hospital, Gaza City.Photo by LR, 10 Sep 2014Case Study: Shuja’iya 20 July 2014According to the medical professionals interviewed by the two FFM teams, there weretwo mass-casualty attacks on the neighbourhood of Shuja’iya in the eastern part of GazaCity, close to the Israeli border. The first was on 20 July 2014. The Ministry of InteriorMedical Military Aid ambulance doctor interviewed by the second FFM team reportedan extreme case of multiple attacks on rescue personnel, and described the death ofhis colleague, a paramedic. His testimony also illustrates the typical massive residentialdestruction, with people still inside their homes, resulting from this form of attack:The fourth call we answered that shift was from Al Nazzaz Street [in Shuja’iya-Ed.]. Several houses were hit directly while residents were inside. There was severeshelling in the area. Three ambulances went back to Shifa Hospital carrying deadand injured and the fourth ambulance remained in the area, with myself and theparamedic Fouad Jaber, giving first aid to the many people injured on the streets.Around 05:30 or 06:00 the attacks intensified and prevented us from reachingthe ambulance. We were moving from house to house, treating people as wecould. Our colleagues from the other three ambulances called us telling that itwas impossible to enter the place. I told them not to come, it was too dangerous.A man called us from the end of the street crying that many of his children wereinjured. We tried to reach the place on foot. When we were around 30 metersfrom the house, there was heavy gunfire in our direction despite our uniforms.The shooting came from nearby houses, but I couldn’t see the shooters. We hadto go back to the ambulance, where the driver and the photographer were waitingfor us, ready to leave. The driver and myself in the front seats and Fouad and thephotographer in the cabin.46