A year on, war memories linger for Gaza paramedic

by Ahmed Aldabba, Fares Akram

GAZA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian ambulance driver Khaled Abu Saada still remember the moment when an Israeli tank shell tore apart his vehicle with three injured teenagers and his colleague on board a year ago.

"All of them were killed," he said.

When Israel started the ground invasion of Gaza on Jan. 3 after a week of intensive aerial bombing, Khaled and first aid officer, Arafa Abdul Dayem, were directed to northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya to rescue a group of teenagers hit by a tank shell.

"The scene was horrible. Five youngsters were seriously injured and the place was awash in blood," he said, adding that "one of them lost one leg and another had both legs amputated."

Abdul Dayem ran out of the ambulance to evacuate the injured. When he was putting the third one in the ambulance, a projectile hit the rear of the vehicle.

"I was thrown out of the burning ambulance due to the explosion," Khaled said, "I knew I was injured in the head, but I was still able to move and perform my duty."

"(After the explosion) I only heard low whining voices. Then I saw Abdul Dayem, whose chest was wide open. There were small pierces and darts all over his body, but he was alive," Khaled said.

The injured teenagers were killed instantly in the attack, and one of them had his head cut off.

"It was a horrible carnage," Khaled said, pausing from time to time to answer the phone in the ambulance station in northern Gaza." I still cannot believe what I have seen, it's a nightmare."

Abdul Dayem received several operations, but died a few hours after being transferred to the intensive care unit. Doctors at Shifa hospital in Gaza said he suffered massive internal bleeding in his abdomen, and had blood in his lung.

At the time, the Israeli attacks were increasing as the troops inched deeper into Gaza, which caused unprecedented pressure on paramedics.

But Khaled refused to stay at home and made the hardest decision in his life to continue his work, even though this would cost his life, like his colleague Abdul Dayem.

At least seven ambulance drivers, paramedics and doctors were killed and more than 20 others injured during the Israeli war on Gaza between Dec. 27 and Jan. 18 while transporting or attempting to collect the wounded and the dead, according to the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

The offensive also left about 1,420 Palestinians killed, more than two-thirds of whom civilians, and over 5,500 people injured, the center said.

The war experience has seared into Khaled's memory. "We were astonished with the horrific scenes and deaths we witnessed," he said.

Khaled is satisfied with what he did during the war, but he felt sad for those killed because they can not receive immediate medical treatment.

"I could not reach many of those who asked for help, and many of them passed away. The situation was dangerous as ambulances were deliberately targeted by the Israelis," he said regretfully as he put on his fluorescent jacket to leave for a place where two cars collided.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/31/content_12731817.htm.