– People attacked the car and our column. They thought we brought food. They were completely starved, wild in their eyes, desperate.
Geir Stray Andreassen leads the Norwegian medical team of Norwac (Norwegian Aid Committee) which crossed into northern Gaza on Saturday afternoon.
Videos from the city show people banging on the window and climbing on the car. A road has broken, and one of the cars punctured the road.
A boy tries to get into one of Norwac’s cars. The video was taken shortly after they crossed into northern Gaza.
– We just had to step on the gas and drive on. It would be dangerous to stop, says Andreassen further.
– A loudspeaker on the roof shouted messages that we only had medicine in the car, no food. That should get the crowd away from the car.
After the immediate shock, all four arrived safely at al-Awda hospital in Beit Hanoun. They will live and work there for the next two weeks.
Only team at al-Awda
The Norwegian league is one of only two teams in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and the only one that takes place at al-Awda.
The team first crossed into Gaza through the Rafah border on Wednesday 3 April.
They tried to get to the hospital on Friday, but had to cancel because of the security situation. The column returned to Rafah the same day.
According to the plan, these four will help in Gaza for the next two weeks. But the Ikea bags are filled with medical equipment, medicines and food for twice as long.
Photo: Norwac
Both Andreassen and colleague Odd Arild Ågedal have worked in Gaza several times before. This time they did not recognize the landscape around them.
First-mentioned tale:
– It was as if someone had dropped an atomic bomb there.
This map, based on information from Factik on April 5, shows the 10 hospitals in Gaza that are partially in operation (blue), the one that is in minimal operation (light blue) and those that are not in operation (red).
– Completely grotesque
300,000 people are estimated to be left in northern Gaza, where the need is greatest as a result of Israel’s warfare in Gaza.
This was the view from al-Awda hospital when Andreassen arrived on Saturday afternoon.
Photo: Geir Stray Andreassen / NRK
In addition to the nutritional challenges, there are many who are chronically ill in addition to those who are injured in attacks.
– This is a health situation that is completely grotesque and we don’t know how we can handle it, the daily manager of Norwac, Erik Fosse, told NRK.
– It doesn’t help if more trucks come in here and there. The only thing that can save the children in Gaza now is an immediate ceasefire.
On the top floor is the children’s department. This is what it looks like after six months of war.
Photo: Geir Stray Andreassen / Norwac
Getting help from Verdas health organization
Several aid organizations have also hesitated to send people in with food and other emergency aid.
This is especially as a result of the Israeli attack on Monday evening, which killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen.
The trip to the Norwegian medical team was coordinated by Norwac via the World Health Organization (WHO) in consultation with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities.
Fosse says that NORWAC has been contacted by lots of Norwegian health personnel who want to help with the work in Gaza.
Photo: Synne Sørenes
– The situation is that society has completely fallen apart. Hospitals are refugee camps and not hospitals. That makes it very difficult for them to operate, says Fosse, who was in Gaza himself two months ago.
– We are scratching the surface, but at the same time we are working around the clock. So those we manage to help, we help, but it’s not enough.
People killed since October 7, 2023
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Sources: Palestinian Health Authorities / United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) / Israeli authorities
Reservation:
Figures from the Palestinian health authorities do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, and may periodically be delayed. The figure for the number of people killed in Palestine is a figure for Gaza. Figures from Israeli authorities show that 1,163 civilians and soldiers were killed in connection with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. According to figures published on April 3 by Israeli authorities, 256 Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 27, 2023. None of the figures are confirmed by independent sources.
Close More information about the figures
Will have Norwegian doctors present until 2024
Norwac is working to get more medical teams into Gaza, and wants to have people there in pools at least until the new year.
Fosse says that they have received a lot of response from Norwegian health workers since they started this work.
– We have experienced specialists in all the subjects we need now for a long time to come and are constantly contacted by people who want to contribute. I think that is very moving and wonderful.
Geir Stray Andreassen / Norwac
He says it is also an extensive process to select personnel who are equipped to carry out the work on the ground.
– There will be noise everywhere and you have the background noise all day and night from bombings, houses shaking, patients coming into hospitals with major injuries that have to be dealt with. So this is also quite mentally demanding.
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Published 06.04.2024, at 11.49 Updated 06.04.2024, at 17.35
2024-04-06 15:35:39
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