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| Gaza hospital draws on emergency reserves and waits for worse to come | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Seventy-five-year old Radwan Abu El-Khamsan was buried up to his neck in sand and chunks of masonry after the taxi he was riding in was hit by a missile fired from an Israeli F16 fighter plane. | Seventy-five-year old Radwan Abu El-Khamsan was buried up to his neck in sand and chunks of masonry after the taxi he was riding in was hit by a missile fired from an Israeli F16 fighter plane. |
| The explosion killed his brother, created a two-metre crater in the road and caused nearby buildings to collapse. Abu El-Khamsan was dug out from the rubble and rushed to the Shifa hospital with a broken pelvis and internal bleeding. | The explosion killed his brother, created a two-metre crater in the road and caused nearby buildings to collapse. Abu El-Khamsan was dug out from the rubble and rushed to the Shifa hospital with a broken pelvis and internal bleeding. |
| Now he is in the intensive care unit in the heart of Gaza's largest hospital, waiting for his condition to stabilise before undergoing surgery. He is a relatively lucky man: he took one of the last ICU beds in the Gaza Strip. | Now he is in the intensive care unit in the heart of Gaza's largest hospital, waiting for his condition to stabilise before undergoing surgery. He is a relatively lucky man: he took one of the last ICU beds in the Gaza Strip. |
| Doctors at the Shifa have seen it all before. "So far there are not as many injured as there were in the last war," said Hani al-Shanti, a surgeon. "We are waiting. It is still at the beginning." | Doctors at the Shifa have seen it all before. "So far there are not as many injured as there were in the last war," said Hani al-Shanti, a surgeon. "We are waiting. It is still at the beginning." |
| Hisham Kandil, the Egyptian prime minister, arrived at the hospital at the same time as two ambulances pulled up carrying victims of an explosion – a dead four-year-old and an injured man. | |
| Kandil, accompanied by Gaza's de facto prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, in his first public appearance since the offensive began, helped carry the dead boy into the hospital, smearing his shirt with blood and kissing the child's head in front of amassed cameras. | |
| "What I saw today, the wounded and the martyrs, the boy ... whose blood is still no my hands and clothes is something we cannot keep silent about, " he said. "The Egyptian people are supporting you. The Egyptian revolution will be side by side with the Palestinian people. The world should take responsibility in stopping this aggression." | |
| Most of the injured had been admitted to the Shifa at night, with fractures, shrapnel wounds to the chest and abdomen and lacerations from flying glass, according to medical staff. "We have seen no fighters, all the people are civilians," Shanti said. A high proportion were children, he said. | Most of the injured had been admitted to the Shifa at night, with fractures, shrapnel wounds to the chest and abdomen and lacerations from flying glass, according to medical staff. "We have seen no fighters, all the people are civilians," Shanti said. A high proportion were children, he said. |
| According to the Gazan ministry of health, more than 130 people have been wounded since the conflict began. One of the earliest casualties was Mohammed al-Shorfa, 36, whose stomach was ripped open by shrapnel. He had gone to the aid of neighbours whose house was struck by a missile on Wednesday, soon after the Hamas military commander Ahmed al-Jaabari was killed in a targeted assassination. | According to the Gazan ministry of health, more than 130 people have been wounded since the conflict began. One of the earliest casualties was Mohammed al-Shorfa, 36, whose stomach was ripped open by shrapnel. He had gone to the aid of neighbours whose house was struck by a missile on Wednesday, soon after the Hamas military commander Ahmed al-Jaabari was killed in a targeted assassination. |
| Shorfa, a father of five, ignored appeals from his children to stay inside, instead ferrying the injured to an ambulance whose access was blocked by fallen masonry and glass. "Then the second strike came," he said from his hospital bed. | Shorfa, a father of five, ignored appeals from his children to stay inside, instead ferrying the injured to an ambulance whose access was blocked by fallen masonry and glass. "Then the second strike came," he said from his hospital bed. |
| When Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defence, the Shifa activated its emergency plan, with round-the-clock rotas of medical and support staff to ensure that all injuries were treated as swiftly as possible, said Luay el-Khaldi, a senior doctor. | When Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defence, the Shifa activated its emergency plan, with round-the-clock rotas of medical and support staff to ensure that all injuries were treated as swiftly as possible, said Luay el-Khaldi, a senior doctor. |
| Staffing, however, is not the problem. The hospital has faced a chronic shortage of fuel since the blockade of Gaza began more than five years ago, and now it is drawing deeply on its emergency reserves to run generators required as backup during long and frequent power cuts. | Staffing, however, is not the problem. The hospital has faced a chronic shortage of fuel since the blockade of Gaza began more than five years ago, and now it is drawing deeply on its emergency reserves to run generators required as backup during long and frequent power cuts. |
| A sizeable proportion of the Shifa's fuel supply is smuggled from Egypt through the vast network of tunnels under Gaza's southern border. Israel has stepped up its bombing of these tunnels in the past few days to try to prevent fresh supplies of weapons reaching militant groups. | A sizeable proportion of the Shifa's fuel supply is smuggled from Egypt through the vast network of tunnels under Gaza's southern border. Israel has stepped up its bombing of these tunnels in the past few days to try to prevent fresh supplies of weapons reaching militant groups. |
| Fuel supplies from Israel were still reaching Gaza, but the quantities were smaller and the process was taking longer, Khaldi said. The Red Cross was helping with supplies, he added. "We have enough fuel for 48 hours of continuous use. If we run out, our plan is to evacuate patients to Egypt. Egyptian ambulances are already standing by at the border." | Fuel supplies from Israel were still reaching Gaza, but the quantities were smaller and the process was taking longer, Khaldi said. The Red Cross was helping with supplies, he added. "We have enough fuel for 48 hours of continuous use. If we run out, our plan is to evacuate patients to Egypt. Egyptian ambulances are already standing by at the border." |
| All of Gaza's 30 power-hungry intensive care beds were now occupied, he said. "If there is a ground invasion, we will see many more casualties." | All of Gaza's 30 power-hungry intensive care beds were now occupied, he said. "If there is a ground invasion, we will see many more casualties." |
| Shortly after Kandil's visit, a second delegation, headed by Abdelmoneim Aboul Fotouh, secretary general of the Arab Medical Union and a candidate in the Egyptian presidential elections earlier this year, swept through the hospital. | Shortly after Kandil's visit, a second delegation, headed by Abdelmoneim Aboul Fotouh, secretary general of the Arab Medical Union and a candidate in the Egyptian presidential elections earlier this year, swept through the hospital. |
| He had come in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their doctors who, he said, were "helping the unarmed and innocent people, children and women, from ferocious Israeli attacks. Humanity will be held responsible for the blood of these children." Palestinians, he added, were exercising their "right to self-defence". | He had come in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their doctors who, he said, were "helping the unarmed and innocent people, children and women, from ferocious Israeli attacks. Humanity will be held responsible for the blood of these children." Palestinians, he added, were exercising their "right to self-defence". |
| Medical staff said they could see no respite in the days ahead. "The situation is very serious, and we don't know what is going on inside [the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin] Netanyahu's head," said Shanti. He did not know when he would next go home. "I haven't seen my wife for 48 hours. I miss her." | Medical staff said they could see no respite in the days ahead. "The situation is very serious, and we don't know what is going on inside [the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin] Netanyahu's head," said Shanti. He did not know when he would next go home. "I haven't seen my wife for 48 hours. I miss her." |