JERUSALEM, 12 January 2009--Fifteen year old girl from Gaza City died last week from fear. The heartbreaking story is told by her aunt, Suhaila Tarazi, who is the director of Al Ahli hospital in Gaza. Aunt Suhaila was waiting at the hospital for the sick relative, but the teenager never arrived. She died on the way.
"She had asthma and was very scared when the bombardment started," Suhaila Tarazi tells. "She was so full of fear that she couldn't breath. Her father, who is a medical doctor, was not able to help her breathing, so they headed to the hospital. She died during the transport, and never got treatment.
Monday afternoon the war came closer to Suhaila Tarazi. The Al Ahli hospital was hit by machinegun fire, but no one was wounded. The hospital is run by ACT International through the Middle East Church Council. The hospital is struggling to continue its action for the sick and wounded population. All the windows are gone, from earlier attacks. It is freezing cold for the patients and the situation is turning desperate. "We had applied for 10 000 liter of fuel. We only got 900 only. That will not last long," hospital director Suheila Tarazi says.
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Action by Churches Together (ACT) International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.Media contact:
Tomm Kristiansen, Communications Officer
(office: +41 22 791 6039 / mobile: +41 79 358 3171 / tkr@act-intl.org )
Sidney Traynham, Assistant Communications Officer
(office: +41 22 791 6711 / mobile: +41 79 681 1868 / sjt@act-intl.org )
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
An Israeli army officer holds an electronic device at the Kerem Shalom crossing outside the southern Gaza Strip January 12, 2009. Israel said on Monday it was investigating how a night-vision ...
