Rafah crossing- Groans from children Gaza strip The world was born prematurely among the rubble and rubble of the Shifa Medical Complex, and among the remains of the martyrs who died in the bombing of the Israeli occupation army, with calls for help to be transferred for treatment in a safe place.
Yesterday, Wednesday, oxygen was cut off from premature Palestinian babies after the Israeli occupation forces stormed Al-Shifa Medical Complex Those inside it and all its departments were searched, according to a statement by the Director of Gaza Hospitals, Muhammad Zaqout.
On the Egyptian side, specifically in front of Rafah crossing Berri: Ambulances are lined up waiting for the green light to enter the neutral zone at the crossing to transport those injured in the Gaza Strip who have been treated in Egyptian hospitals.
Khaled Hussein (a pseudonym), a paramedic with the North Sinai Ambulance Authority who is located in front of the Rafah crossing, says, “We are awaiting the directives of the Egyptian Ministry of Health to transfer any injured person from Gaza, including children, and we do not enter the crossing gate except after a signal from the authorities.”
Extremely dangerous situations
Khaled Hussein adds to Al Jazeera Net, “The ambulances in front of the crossing are equipped with the highest health standard to deal with emergency cases awaiting treatment in Egyptian hospitals. A few days ago, we received some children with cancer, and they were transferred to Cairo for immediate treatment.”
In turn, Mohamed Mahdi, an Egyptian ambulance driver, told Al Jazeera Net, “We transport dozens of injured people from Gaza for treatment in Egypt, but most of those I saw with my own eyes had moderate injuries, while very serious cases died before reaching hospitals.”
He added that he and his colleagues transported 27 cancer patients from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah land crossing to Al-Arish International Airport last night, in preparation for their travel for treatment in Turkish hospitals.
For his part, Hassan Muhammad (also a pseudonym), one of the paramedics working at the Rafah crossing, said that the ambulances lined up in front of the crossing contain dozens of cars equipped with the latest medical equipment to ensure that patients reach their destination safely.
This includes ventilators and oxygen, a pacemaker, bandages and a first aid kit for emergency situations. Some cars also have temporary incubators to transport newborns, stressing that they are ready to transport Gaza’s premature babies for treatment in Egypt at any time.
Hassan says, “We have not received any indication of the arrival of premature babies in need of first aid equipped with incubators from the Gaza Strip to the Rafah crossing, but we transfer patients who arrive on the Egyptian side to hospitals in the north.” Sinai According to sovereign directives.
Occupation disruptions
He continues, “We transport critically ill cases via intensive care vehicles outside the governorate to complete their treatment free of charge and under full medical supervision.”
Egyptian Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said in a press conference with his Turkish counterpart yesterday, Wednesday, “Egypt is ready to receive any wounded and injured in accordance with the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, upholding the principles of brotherhood and humanity.”
The minister revealed that the Egyptian Ambulance Authority has mobilized 35 cars equipped with baby incubators in preparation for rescuing newborn babies upon their arrival at the Rafah crossing at any time.
A special source at the Rafah land crossing told Al Jazeera Net, “The ambulances that arrive to us from the Palestinian side are broken and damaged by the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip areas, and the ambulance equipment inside them has been damaged.”
He added that the injured person dies, most of the time, inside the ambulance when it arrives at the crossing from the Palestinian side, due to the malfunction of the ambulance equipment, or the security procedures followed and the closure of the crossing from the Palestinian side, and obstruction of the crossing of the injured.
The same source confirms that there are some arrangements that reach the authorities on the Egyptian side of the crossing with the names of the injured Palestinians, and they are postponed for days until they are allowed to cross for treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
This is due to harsh procedures imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities, which screen names before entering Egyptian territory.
Muhammad Saad tells Al Jazeera Net, a paramedic waiting for the signal to enter the Palestinian side to transport the injured from Gaza, that due to the long wait for Palestinian ambulances dilapidated as a result of the war and Israeli bombing, the patients’ condition is getting worse.
Wrestling with time
He says, “The injured arrive on the Egyptian side and we receive them to take them to Egyptian hospitals, but the occupation’s procedures for inquiring and security refuting the identities of the injured delay the attempt to treat them, which makes us fight against time to reach them to any medical destination while they are alive.”
Muhammad Saad adds, “We are busy trying to keep the injured people we are transporting alive while transporting them from the Palestinian side to the treatment destination in Egypt. The paramedics in front of the Rafah crossing are waiting for the decision to transfer premature babies from the Palestinian side of Rafah to the Egyptian side, which has been long overdue.”
He expressed his anger and dissatisfaction with the mechanism used by the Israeli occupation to examine the names of the injured who are allowed to cross for treatment in Egyptian hospitals, claiming the presence of members of the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation) between them.
He called for the deterrence of those mechanisms that affect the lives of the injured and make the mission of his and his colleagues to provide them, especially serious and incurable cases, impossible. He called for the necessity of responding and coordinating with the International Red Cross to receive the injured, including the elderly and children in particular, quickly.
