Health-care workers refuse to leave north Gaza despite Israel's calls to flee
‘We can't leave our patients in the hospital,’ says Palestinian Red Crescent
Nebal Farsakh says she was speechless when her colleagues decided to stay behind in Gaza's evacuation zone to care for vulnerable patients despite the coming military onslaught.
Farsakh is the spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC), a health-care organization that operates hospitals, ambulance services and emergency clinics in the Palestinian territories.
"We had several meetings and we made the decision. We can't leave our patients in the hospital," she told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "We have elderly people. We have people with disabilities. We can't leave them alone and turn our backs."
On Friday, Israel ordered more 1.1 million people to leave the northern half of the Gaza Strip within 24 hours as it prepares to launch a ground invasion to root out Hamas militants in retaliation for a deadly surprise attack earlier this week. Hamas, meanwhile, has advised Gazans to stay.
Farsakh, who is based in Ramallah in the West Bank, says it's simply not feasible for her organization to relocate its hundreds of patients from the Al-Quds Hospital in northern Gaza within that time frame.
She's been saying farewell to friends and colleagues who, she fears, she may never see again.
"It was one of the hardest times [this] morning when my colleague called me to say goodbye," she said, weeping. "He told me, 'I'm not going to leave. Even if our organization decides to leave, I want to continue providing my services, helping people.'"
Asked about the fate of health-care workers, a spokesman for Israel's army pinned the blame on the militant organization that runs Gaza.
"What I want to say to these medical personnel, I understand the extreme complexity of the situation, but the responsibility for this terrible, terrible situation lies with Hamas," Lt.-Col, Jonathan Conricus of the Israel Defence Forces told Köksal.
"We didn't start this war. We will end this war with a dismantled Hamas."
The latest outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas began on Saturday when the militant group launched a surprise attack on several Israeli sites, killing at least 1,300 people, and taking more than 100 hostages.
In retaliation, Israel ordered an all out siege of the Gaza Strip, cutting off food, electricity, water and medicine to the 2.3 million people who live there in the densely populated enclave — all while bombarding them with airstrikes. Authorities in Gaza say more than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in the retaliatory attacks.
Hamas has threatened to kill hostages should Israel strike civilians without warnings. The country has been issuing evacuation orders ahead of all its strikes, forcing people to flee from one location to another.
"We are still trying to do the right thing. We are still telling people in Gaza, civilians to leave despite the fact that Hamas is telling them not to leave," Conricus said.
UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, says some 420,000 people have been displaced inside Gaza since the strikes began.
That number is expected to grow dramatically as Gazans flee the evacuation zone.
But not everyone can get out. The World Health Organization (WHO) says local health authorities are unable to evacuate vulnerable hospital patients.
"Moving those people is a death sentence," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said.
Only two Ministry of Health hospitals in North of Gaza remain operational, according to WHO, and they already have thousands of patients, greatly exceeding their 760-bed capacity. Of those, WHO says 100 require critical care.
"These are the sickest of the sick," WHO said in a press release. "The compressed timeframe, complex transport logistics, damaged roads, and, above all, lack of supportive care during transport all add to the difficulty of moving them."
And it's not just patients and staff. Farsakh says hundreds of Palestinians are showing up at the hospitals to seek shelter, hoping they will be spared from the invasion.
Asked whether hospitals and medical facilities will be protected, Conricus said: "We will definitely not actively target them."
"We continue to abide by the law of armed conflict and we continue to map and monitor what we call sensitive humanitarian facilities," he said.
"Despite the fact, by the way, that Hamas constantly, systematically abuses these locations for their combat, for their activities. They fire from near, around or under these facilities, including hospitals."
Whatever happens, Farsakh says her people will be on the ground doing whatever they can.
"We will continue until the last second, providing our humanitarian services and helping people as much as we can," she said.
But Conricus was clear: Nobody should stay behind.
"Until Hamas is dismantled, we will not stop. We will try not to kill civilians. And out of their own safety, they should evacuate south of the Gaza River," he said.
"We have given them ample time."
With files from The Associated Press and Reuters. Interview with Nebal Farsakh produced by Chris Harbord. Interview with Jonathan Conricus produced by Chloe Shantz-Hilkes
