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This Israel war has no mercy, Gaza rescue workers say | Israel-Palestine conflict<\/p>\n
Gaza City \u2013<\/strong> Ibrahim Abu Rish feels fresh, thanks to a barber at al-Shifa Hospital who gave him a haircut.<\/p>\n The civil defence rescuer, who has been doing this job for 15 years, has not been home in more than a month.<\/p>\n \u201cMy home is in Karameh, and the whole neighbourhood got destroyed,\u201d he said. \u201cI haven\u2019t had a chance to see my wife and children yet, who are displaced. My wife calls me many times a day, but I can\u2019t answer her every time.\u201d<\/p>\n Abu Rish, 35, has witnessed things over the past month that are worse than anything he could have imagined. The Israeli bombardment of the blockaded Gaza Strip has killed more than 10,500 Palestinians since October 7, most are women and children. Israeli air raids have targeted homes, residential blocks, entire neighbourhoods, schools, mosques, churches and hospitals.<\/p>\n \u201cThis war has no mercy,\u201d Abu Rish said. \u201cWe cannot guarantee our own safety.\u201d<\/p>\n At least seven rescue workers have been killed.<\/p>\n Abu Rish\u2019s colleague Mohammed al-Ghaleez and five other civilians were killed in an Israeli air attack on the al-Tuffah police station on Salah al-Din Street in Gaza City.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hardest thing I\u2019ve seen is the torn bodies of children, the children under the rubble who we can\u2019t reach,\u201d Abu Rish said. \u201cBodies litter the streets. The smell of this city is one of rotting, decomposing bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n He has also seen people desperate for water drinking from the hoses the civil defence uses to extinguish fires.<\/p>\n More than 2,660 people are missing under the rubble, including 1,350 children.<\/p>\n \u201cIt drives me crazy that we can\u2019t save these people,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve had to tell people that we cannot rescue them. I could see them, but there was no way to reach them. Imagine waiting for death like this.\u201d<\/p>\n The civil defence is sorely lacking in heavy machinery and equipment needed to move the rubble, his colleague Musleh al-Aswad said. Their vehicles are rusty, and if they don\u2019t break down from a mechanical problem, the damaged roads and shrapnel hinder their operations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have the resources,\u201d the 40-year-old said. \u201cNo fire engines, vehicles, ambulances, machines. People use metal cutters and their hands to dig through the rubble.\u201d<\/p>\n Tractors and excavators are rare and, even if available, need fuel to work, which is not available.<\/p>\n Telecommunications blackouts add stress and prevent rescue teams from coordinating with each other.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been in the field since 2007 and in every war since then,\u201d al-Aswad said. \u201cBut this one, \u2026 what is happening to us is unprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n He sees his family every few days, stealing half an hour with them and making sure they\u2019re OK before changing his clothes to head out again.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are definitely afraid in our line of work, but our determination is stronger,\u201d he said. \u201cWe took an oath to protect our people.\u201d<\/p>\n Abu Rish said there hasn\u2019t been a single road that Israeli warplanes and tanks have not targeted, and when they strike, it\u2019s always more than once.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want a ceasefire and for the injured to be transferred outside for treatment and for all of this to end,\u201d he said. \u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0635\u062f\u0631<\/a>
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