Israel denying aid site attack in Gaza ‘nonsense' says surgeon
We asked him what his understanding of the situation is, following the reported Israeli attacks on civilians near an aid distribution centre.
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BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Gaza is a conveyor belt of carnage, says Kettering paramedic
Warning: this article contains upsetting content A British paramedic working in Gaza said the territory felt like a "conveyor belt of carnage" as he has treated a "steady stream" of patients with blast, shrapnel and gunshot Sears, 44, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, a paramedic with East Midlands Ambulance Service, was stationed for three weeks in Gaza with the charity UK-Med. On arrival, Mr Sears said he began working in response to a mass casualty incident where two children, aged nine and 11, had died from blast injuries."I put the children in body bags and zipped them up," he said. "In the UK I've had to deal with a number of deceased children, but the difference was I'm never involved with putting them in a body bag. It's normally a very calm, slow situation, allowing parents time to grieve."It was particularly heartbreaking putting a child in a body bag, seeing their face for the last time, then moving them out the way so we could treat more people."Part of me felt guilty that there was no dignity for them because the emergency situation meant it was a case of 'they are dead, let's get them out the way to free the beds'."But there was simply no alternative because with such a high volume of casualties, we had to focus on people we might be able to save." The 44-year-old paramedic has carried out humanitarian work in other countries, but said Gaza was like other conflicts "times 1,000". The paramedic said a 16-year-old boy was left paralysed and needing an amputation after suffering blast and shrapnel wounds and the patient's 18-year-old brother wept when told he would now have to care for him Sears also told of seeing more pregnant women and newborn babies suffering severe malnutrition because the mothers lacked the nutrients to breastfeed."That first night, another child came in with shrapnel embedded in their stomach and bleeding internally. "I was personally convinced they would die, but we got him to surgery within 20 minutes," said Mr Sears, who returned to the UK on 31 July."Next day when I saw them they were recovering well and the prognosis was really good. "Gaza's the hardest thing I've ever done but moments like that that keep you going. We have saved that child's life." Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says that in total more than 61,000 people have been killed as a result of Israel's military campaign since launched its offensive in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October that year, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
New Statesman
4 hours ago
- New Statesman
Gaza's children need Britain's support now
RAFAH, GAZA - MARCH 29: A child runs among debris following Israeli air strikes on March 29, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. Despite warnings from US President Biden, Israeli forces have targeted the city of Rafah which is currently home to an estimated million Palestinian refugees. According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed, and over 74,000 wounded in Israel's ongoing bombardment of Gaza starting on October 7. (Photo by) After months of moral contortions, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that his government would recognise a Palestinian state sometime within this parliament. Not today, not tomorrow, but soon, well, soon-ish. The announcement notably came with a heavy dose of 'unless Israel' – grounding the position of the UK firmly in the realm of theory. But the timing of this rhetorical pivot is not coincidental. It follows a second, more immediate shift: the UK's announcement that it will evacuate over 100 critically ill and injured Palestinian children from Gaza to receive NHS treatment. A move campaigners, medics and charities such as ours have long demanded and one that arrives months – indeed, years, too late. Still, after months in which Gaza's children suffered under a siege in which starvation was strategy not side effect – whilst the British government clung to the safety of ambiguity – this feels like movement. Movement graded on a curve set by years of inaction. For Gaza's children, many of whom my colleagues at Children Not Numbers have been treating, it's less a breakthrough and more an indication that Britain may potentially, maybe, consider a late delivery on a stack of broken promises. As the situation begins to spiral out of control, Gaza's children are making a stand. S and S are among three critically ill children at the centre of a potential landmark legal challenge against the UK government. The two siblings are suffering from cystinosis – a rare, progressive disorder that severely damages kidney function. Amidst Israel's all out assault on healthcare facilities, the medication they urgently need is entirely unavailable in Gaza; without it, both face complete renal failure. Their case demonstrates that the government's rationale for denying medical evacuations – a preference for supporting treatment on the ground, is no longer tenable. Last month, with the support of Children Not Numbers, the siblings decided to act. The children initiated legal proceedings, sending a pre-action letter to the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary. This marks the first formal attempt to hold the British state accountable for failing to establish a medical evacuation pathway for children in Gaza. The letter argues that ministers have breached their Tameside duty of inquiry – a legal requirement to properly inform themselves before making decisions – by failing to seriously assess the overwhelming evidence of medical necessity and humanitarian urgency before choosing inaction. Like so many others facing down a complex life-threatening condition, both brothers are malnourished. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Since the blockade began in mid-March 2025, we've recorded a 30 per cent increase in the death rate amongst children under our care. Alongside this devastating development, starvation is spreading like wildfire through the besieged enclave, leading to 70 per cent of the children we treat now being at risk of malnutrition. The crippling hunger gripping Gaza's children means the UK cannot afford to wait a moment longer. The shame is in the contrast: while the UK moved at lightning pace to welcome Ukrainian medical evacuees in 2022, Gaza's children have been met with bureaucratic fog and political equivocation. This disparity is now under legal scrutiny – the law, unlike politics, has a low tolerance for hypocrisy. If in Starmer's statehood plans, peace, even an unjust peace, can delay recognition, the legal challenge brought by the three children suggests the inverse might also be true: that properly filed paperwork can force principle to the surface. Questions abound as to the precise details of the proposed pathway and the question of recognition is likewise, up in the air. Officials say they'll assess 'progress' in September, which is Westminster-speak for: the red lines are written in pencil. One thing is certain, the ministerial press releases and soundbites that have long been failing Gaza's children are now failing the Prime Minister. Instagram humanitarianism will no longer suffice amidst the mounting legal challenges and hefty political premium on inaction. With Gaza's hospitals in ruins and its children starving on camera, the dam is cracking. The moral ambiguity that once cloaked our policy in the fine mist of 'complexity' is evaporating under the glare of mass civilian suffering. What we're left with is not just a humanitarian crisis, but a mirror: reflecting a British foreign policy that has, for years, outsourced its ethics to perceived strategic interests, PR management and the enduring fiction that some human lives are worth less than others. Dylan Stothard is the Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for Children Not Numbers Related
Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Daily Record
Medics to give insight into life in war-torn Gaza at documentary screening in Paisley
Members of Medical Aid for Palestine will be at the Wynd Centre on Tuesday, August 19 as part of a screening of the Gaza: Doctors Under Attack documentary People will have the opportunity to hear from medics who have treated people in Gaza at a special event in Paisley next week. Doctors, including Abdulla Alhasso, will give a first-hand account of their experiences of looking after vulnerable people in Gaza before it was engulfed by war. Members of Medical Aid for Palestine will be at the Wynd Centre on Tuesday, August 19 as part of a screening of the Gaza: Doctors Under Attack documentary. The documentary features live footage of medics treating the injured following attacks by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), as well as their detention and mass disappearances. Members of the production team who made the documentary will also take part in a Q&A session. The event is being organised by Paisley 4 Palestine in partnership with Scottish Palestinian Health Partnership (SPHP). John Kelly, a founding member of Paisley 4 Palestine, said both the documentary and guests would provide a powerful insight into the battle for survival at a time when journalists are prevented from entering and reporting in Gaza. He told the Paisley Daily Express: 'This is a real opportunity for people in Paisley to hear first hand from medical volunteers as well as those behind this powerful documentary. 'SPHP held a screening recently at Glasgow University which was full to capacity on the night. We hope the people of Paisley will similarly turn out to watch it. 'The clear message from us is that people just need to keep talking about Palestine, we want people to continue to shine a spotlight on what is happening there and the suffering of the Palestinian people.' Doctors Under Attack bills itself as a 'forensic investigation' into claims that the IDF has been systematically targeting Palestinian medics in Gaza's hospitals. It demonstrates what the UN has called a pattern of attacks, in which hospitals first come under bombardment, are later besieged and finally invaded by tanks and soldiers. It is then, the Palestinians allege, doctors are taken and detained. In the documentary, doctors who have since been released, and an Israeli whistleblower, say medics are being systemically tortured. The documentary was first broadcast by Channel 4 in July. Despite the previous broadcast of the documentary, public screenings across west Scotland have proved incredibly popular, with people also keen to hear from those who have been on the ground in Gaza in the past two years. Gaza: Doctors Under Attack was initially commissioned by the BBC but it infamously backed out of broadcasting it due to partiality concerns. This was despite an Israeli whistleblower confirming accounts of torture by the IDF and analysis by independent human rights organisations. The documentary also features the harrowing violence inflicted on innocent Israelis during Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, when more than 1,000 people were killed and 250 people were taken hostage.
