– In the last 24 hours, there has been massive bombing. There are significant hostilities here right now. And last night there was fighting near the hospital. We heard machine gun fire, both from Kalashnikovs and from heavier weapons, says Erik Fosse to news. We will get hold of him on Friday morning, when the mobile network is up. A few hours later, the mobile operators warn that lines and networks are down, and no one knows when contact with the outside world can take place. On to the second attempt The retired surgeon with a background from Ullevål University Hospital and Rikshospitalet leads the group of six Norwegian health workers from NORWAC, the Norwegian Aid Committee, who were allowed into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. For three months, NORWAC has been trying to get in, to assist Palestinian colleagues and help the Palestinian civilian population. In October, they had to make a return trip after the Israeli authorities put their foot down, despite the Norwegian authorities pushing. No foreign health workers were allowed in. Now they finally got the green light. Besides Fosse, the NORWAC team consists of orthopedists Geir Stray Andreassen and Thor-Erling Engemyr, operating nurses Hilde Vollan and Kjersti Fiveland and anesthesiologist Mohammed Abou-Arab. Orthopedist Geir Stray Andreassen examines an 18-year-old girl with a blast injury to her arm. Photo: NORWAC Living in a tent inside the hospital The situation after three months of brutal war is desperate. More than 23,000 people have been killed and around 60,000 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities, aid organizations and the UN. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 15 of the Gaza Strip’s 36 hospitals are operational, most of them located in southern Gaza. One of them is the European hospital in Khan Younis, where the Norwegian health workers will now work. According to Fosse, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has sent word that other hospitals must evacuate patients to the European Hospital. – These are the kinds of warnings they send before entering an area, so what people fear is that the Israeli army will take over this area soon. 85 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have now been displaced. Many have sought refuge at the hospitals where they hope to be safe from attack, according to the health authorities in Gaza and the UN. Around 25,000 of them stay inside or outside the European Hospital, according to sources at the hospital. – Many live in makeshift tents inside the hospital, so we have to walk in narrow passages between the tents, Fosse says. Although Norwegian doctors are used to corridor patients, working indoors between tents is a bit unusual. Photo: NORWAC Got all the equipment in Since Israel began bombing the densely populated coastal strip on October 7, in retaliation for Hamas attacking Israel, it has been difficult to get in emergency aid. Columns of trucks have been queuing to deliver food, medicine and fuel through the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza. Israel makes it a condition that all cargo must be examined. The NORWAC team brought 600 kilograms of equipment. According to Fosse, they had no problems with getting the cargo. – We have heard stories from others who have had their cargo confiscated, but we got everything in. We went in with a WHO convoy together with several other humanitarian organizations and had no problems at the border, says Fosse. An agreement has now been concluded between WHO, the IDF and Egyptian security forces to bring in international health personnel and medical equipment to the Gaza Strip. Most of the hospital has been put to use, by both patients and health personnel. Photo: NORWAC Lack of staff A problem at the European Hospital is a lack of water and stable electricity. But the biggest problem is the lack of staff. – For our Palestinian colleagues, it is very difficult to get to work because it is extremely risky to move out in the streets here. But now several international delegations are in place, including from the Red Cross, says Fosse. The fact that there are now so many international health workers present makes the Palestinians feel safer, he believes. Several Palestinians set up tents in the hospital area. They expect this to be a safe place. According to the hospital, 25,000 people have fought both outside and inside. Photo: NORWAC Patients pour into the hospital all the time. Many have injuries after explosions, such as burns and lacerations. They have wounds all over their bodies, says Fosse. The UN has said several times that there is not a single safe place in Gaza. No one is safe from Israel’s attacks with rockets, drones and bombs. And there are no bomb shelters. – This is an unsafe place. The most important thing is that we move outside as little as possible, so we will probably stay inside the hospital area as long as we are here. The Norwegians live together in two rooms inside the hospital. The plan is for the current group to work at the hospital for two weeks, before another group from NORWAC takes over. Orthopedist Thor-Erling Engemyr and operating room nurse Hilde Vollan talk to a Palestinian plastic surgeon about a patient who is to be operated on. For Palestinian doctors, it is important to see that colleagues from other countries are coming to help them now. Photo: NORWAC Reporting to the army The international health workers have a separate reporting system where they report to the IDF where they move and stay. This is also an agreement between the WHO and the IDF, and so far it is working as intended, according to Fosse. The Norwegian surgeon really became famous when he and colleague Mats Gilbert became the international community’s eyes on Gaza during the Gaza war in 2008-2009. They were at the Shifa hospital when the 22-day Israeli military offensive began. Together they subsequently wrote the book “Eyes in Gaza”, a depiction of the horrors of the war. This is the team from NORWAC: Bak Geir Stray Andreassen (left) and Thor-Erling Engemyr. In the middle are Kjersti Fiveland and Mohammad Abou-Arab. Hilde Vollan and Erik Fosse stand in front. Photo: Norwac The Norwegian doctor would not have been anywhere else right now. – We in the Norwegian team probably all feel that we are in the right place now. We get to use our expertise here, says Erik Fosse. Another important reason is to stand side by side with Palestinian colleagues. – They really appreciate seeing us here, he says.
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Notifies Israel’s army of where they are moving – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
