Update on Gaza – ACT Forum Palestine (AFP)
It is being reported that a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will take effect prior to the inauguration of US President-Elect Barack Obama as a gesture and in the hope to consolidate the “anti-smuggling” memorandum signed last week by the US and Israel. On another note, there are numerous reports stating that Israel has exeprimented with a new weapon which has not been used before in similar combat situations. According to Dr. Erik Fosse, a Norwegian cardiologist who was working in Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, the unkown weapon seems to be affecting the lower part of the body as it severs the legs, leaves burns around the stump, causes small punctures in the skin and causes internal bleeding.
It is being reported that a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will take effect prior to the inauguration of US President-Elect Barack Obama as a gesture and in the hope to consolidate the “anti-smuggling” memorandum signed last week by the US and Israel. On another note, there are numerous reports stating that Israel has exeprimented with a new weapon which has not been used before in similar combat situations. According to Dr. Erik Fosse, a Norwegian cardiologist who was working in Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, the unkown weapon seems to be affecting the lower part of the body as it severs the legs, leaves burns around the stump, causes small punctures in the skin and causes internal bleeding.
In terms of our partners on the ground in Gaza, the two NECC-DSPR clinics in Rafah and Daraj have resumed their work at full capacity starting today. The medical staff of the destroyed Shija’ia clinic have joined the staff in Daraj and are assisting with the efforts there. The expected visits of the patients and families are in huge numbers considering that the hospitals and tertiary care institutions are still coping with the injuries of the war. DanChurchAid shipment of nutritional supplement milk DANO arrived yesterday and NECC-DSPR staff in Central Office Gaza worked till 11:00 pm to unload the 39,479 packages comprising 9865 kilograms. These packages will be used immediately through NECC-DSPR clinics. It is important to note that these packages are originally part of DanChurchAid nutritional program in cooperation with NECC-DSPR Gaza. In regards to the Vocational Tranining Centres in Gaza, they remain to be closed but NECC is studying the possiblity of opening them as soon as the students can travel from the South to Gaza City. Additionally and in coordination with the Coca Cola Company, 100,000 Jericho 1.5 Litre bottles will be shipped to Gaza. DSPR would contribute 50% and the Coca Cola Company would match this. The bottles once they reach Gaza will be distributed via the two DSPR clinics. The logistics of shipping the water bottles remain to be worked out since the delivery of the bottles could be done only in Jericho, the source of water.
