CAIRO, EGYPT — The relentless rumble of Merkava Tanks, mortar bombardments, and the incessant whizzing of bullets in Gaza, Palestine, have been unyielding for over 60 days. Victims continue to accumulate indiscriminately, unconcerned with time, age, gender, or profession. Among the devastation, medical services have not been spared, including the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza.
Reports from Al Jazeera, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) detail the grim toll: as of December 6, 2023, at least 16,248 individuals have perished, encompassing 7,112 children and 4,885 women. Additionally, approximately 7,600 people are reported missing in Gaza.
The West Bank has witnessed 262 fatalities, including 63 children, with over 3,365 injuries reported. Since the onset of the major conflict between Israel and Palestine on October 7, 2023, the conflict has forcibly claimed the lives of at least 63 journalists.
Amid the war’s tragic narratives, the loss of life’s sanctity has become incalculable. On the 15th day of the Dompet Dhuafa Humanitarian Team’s assignment in Cairo, Egypt, we encountered patients evacuated from Gaza at the Palestine-Egypt Hospital. Among them was Hakim Majidi, a dedicated nurse from the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza.
Baca juga: Dompet Dhuafa-IHA Gulirkan Bantuan untuk Penyintas Palestina di Banyak Rumah Sakit di Kairo
Hakim recounted to Dompet Dhuafa that by December 3, 2023, the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza was overwhelmed with over 3,000 patients. The situation necessitated the setup of emergency tents outside the hospital until it too fell victim to bombing and destruction. The injured were trapped, with no possibility of evacuation.
“The ordeal to escape was extraordinarily daunting, granted only by narrowly obtained permission. Gaza has become devoid of any refuge, not even a moment’s respite is safe from the relentless pursuit of bullets, mortar shells, and missiles launched by Israel, indiscriminately from land and air. Their brutality knows no bounds, targeting children and civilians without a shred of humanity,” he recounted on Sunday (3/12/2023).
Hakim’s harrowing journey took him across the Gaza border at Rafah, finally reaching Cairo. He accompanied a gravely injured woman, struck by mortar fragments in her leg, a sniper’s bullet in her waist, and crushed by rubble on her fingers. Initially treated at the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, she was referred to a European Hospital, where adequate care was unattainable. Through immense struggle, she was extricated from Gaza, arriving here for further treatment.
The hospitals in Gaza stand incapacitated, unable to receive either war casualties or regular patients. The assault by Israeli forces has rendered every medical facility inoperative, blatantly ignoring international humanitarian laws that dictate hospitals as sanctuaries.
The profound anguish shared by Hakim and the female patient mirrors the broader despair felt across the Palestinian community, in both Gaza and the West Bank. Our collective hope is for the swift realization of a permanent ceasefire and the restoration of the Palestinian people’s lives. Free Palestine! (Dompet Dhuafa/DMulyadi)