Gaza’s rescuers had to bear the brunt of their work: ‘I am afraid of my memories’

In the last 15 months, some of the thousands of funerals in Gaza have put a bright orange jacket over the dead body.

The vests are usually well worn out and there are dust, sometimes blood marks on them. They relate to Gaza’s main emergency service, civil security.

During the Israeli bombing, civil protection was responsible for removing the surviving and dead from the rubble. With Gaza’s ambulance service, rescue personnel have done some most painful tasks in the bandage.

And they have paid a heavy price. Prior to Monday, the entire day of peace, the agency said that 99 rescuers were killed and 319 were injured, some suffered injuries to change their lives.

When civil protection burys itself, their clothes are placed on the body of the dead where possible.

In a phone interview from Gaza City, 24-year-old rescue worker Noah al-Shaghnobi said, “We put a vest there because our colleague had sacrificed his soul in it.”

“We hope that it will show God that this man did well with his life, that he saved others.”

According to Hamas -run Health Ministry, Israel killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza during the conflict – most of the women and children – and more than 111,000 injured, whose figures were considered reliable by the United Nations. A recent study published by the Lancet Medical Journal found that the death toll during the first nine months of the war would have been estimated to be less than 40%.

The delicate ceasefire that came into force last weekend remains. But for civil defense rescuers, the next phase of their work is still beginning.

The agency estimates that more than 10,000 people are buried under the huge sea of ​​debris in Gaza. The figure is based on the information collected throughout the war as to who was in every building destroyed by Israel, and the agency knows who has already been recovered.

The areas that were completely occupied by Israeli forces during destruction do not have detailed information and are dependent on the residents to help. On Tuesday, in the oil al-hwa neighborhood of Gaza city, rescue worker Al-Shagnobi found a person who had information about the fate of a flat apartment building.

Al-Shagnobi said, “They told us that seven dead have been recovered, but an elderly gentleman, a child and a baby lagged behind.”

He said, “Luckily there was a personal owned bulldozer nearby and we were able to dig the upper layer of debris.” “And below we found three skeletons that matched the details.”

Al-Shagnobi has earned a large number of followers by sharing his experiences on social media during the war. Although he pixes some images, other photos show what horrific he has faced by other young rescuers.

In a video, he is shown carefully removing the body of an infant from the surrounding body of another small child under the rubble, which is alive. Other photographs sent by him to the BBC reflect the extreme nature of rescue work.

During a shift in Gaza City, Al-Shagnobi said, “As time passes, you should become numb.” “But I am worse. I feel more pain, not less. I find it difficult to overcome it. I have seen my 50 colleagues dying in front of me. Who can imagine it outside Gaza?”

As the Israeli hostages were first released from Gaza last week, instead of 90 Palestinians from Israeli jails, Israeli officials described extensive psychological support in waiting for the returning hostages.

But for those who experience horrificness in Gaza, such support is extremely limited. This week, none of the four rescuers who spoke to the BBC to Gaza said that they were offered counseling.

Mohammad Lafi, 25, a 25 -year -old rescue worker from Gaza City, said, “We all need it, but no one talks about it.”

Laughter, who has been in the agency for six years, has a wife and newborn son in the house. “When I remove the body of a child from the rubble, I shout inside whether he is of my son’s age. My body trembles.”

Abdullah al-Mazdalvi, a 24-year-old civilian security activist living with his parents in Gaza city, said, “Consultation is widely available,” One year of medicine will not be sufficient for a day of this job. “

Al-Mazdalavi said that when he returned to his home in the middle of Pali, he used to continuously do small work and work, “Because I am afraid of my memories”.

He said, “I am very lonely now.” “I do not really talk to others about what I have seen. But I think my whole body is strutting, and I have some kind of treatment There is a need because things are accumulating. “

Al-Mazdalavi said that civil security workers have been seen as heroes from outside. “But they don’t see what is happening inside. I am fighting war against me.”

As soon as the ceasefire began, the new images inside the Gaza, especially in the north of the enclave, appeared visible almost complete destruction. Civil Defense Spokesperson Mahmood Basal said that the agency is expected to evacuate the remaining dead under the rubble within 100 days, but he admitted that it was a difficult goal, as they had no bulldozers and other heavy equipment yet. .

Civil protection has accused Israel of deliberately targeting and destroying its vehicles and equipment in attacks on Israel – Israel refuses the allegation. Rescuers told the BBC that they are currently working with ordinary hand tools such as hammer and they have some vehicles working. Al-Mazdalavi said, “We have so few equipment that we need another civil security to save civil security.”

A spokesperson of the agency said on Friday that they have been able to recover only 162 bodies since the ceasefire started about a week ago.

The United Nations Assistance Coordination Office OCHA has warned that the recovery of bodies may take several years due to lack of equipment, personnel and estimates that 37 million tonnes of debris is filled with dangerous materials such as torn bombs and asbestos.

The process of identification of many dead also takes a long time. In the European Hospital of Khan Younis to the south of Gaza, people were looking for their loved ones among the hospitals brought to the hospital this week and the remains placed on the white sheet outside. In many cases, searching for shoes, clothes or other personal items was the only option.

The university’s professor Ali Ashore said about his 18 -year -old boy, Zajod, “I am confident that I will recognize my son immediately, even if there are no characteristics on his face and he is only skeletal.”

He said, “I will recognize him because I am his father and I know him better than a million people.”

He said, Ashore still hopes that Mahjoud may have been taken captive, but he planned to search for the dead every day until he came to know. He said, “Whenever they bring more remains, I will come.” “And if I see my son, I will take him out of the other bodies and take it.”

Nisreen Shaban was searching for her 16 -year -old son Moatssem, she said that she had left her home in Bet Hanoun for 15 minutes and never returned again.

He said, “I have opened every shroud here in search of her dressed clothes, trying to sniff her fragrance.” She was surrounded by human remains. He said, “I feel as if I am living in a cemetery.” “It is a city of horrors.”

The Civil Protection Agency estimates that about 3,000 people may have been burnt in the bombing, which could not complete the search for some families. But apart from this, there are many people who still need to recover.

Rescue worker Al-Shagnobi said, “These people need to be found and honored.” “This work is waiting for us. We just need the equipment and we will do it.”

Muath al-Khatib and Amr Ahmed Tabash contributed to this report.