[News] Gaza medic killed by Israel as she rescued injured
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Mon Jun 4 17:37:01 EDT 2018
electronicintifada.net
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/gaza-medic-killed-israel-she-rescued-injured>
Gaza medic killed by Israel as she rescued injured
Ali Abunimah <https://electronicintifada.net/people/ali-abunimah> Rights
- <https://electronicintifada.net/blog/rights-and-accountability> 2 June
2018
------------------------------------------------------------------------
/This article has been updated since first publication./
Israeli occupation forces shot dead a volunteer medic and injured dozens
of people as they continued their indiscriminate attacks on Palestinians
taking part in Great March of Return
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/great-march-return> protests in
Gaza for the 10th consecutive Friday.
Razan Ashraf Abdul Qadir al-Najjar, 21, was helping treat and evacuate
wounded protesters east of Khan Younis when she was fatally shot on
Friday evening.
She was about 100 meters away from the boundary fence with Israel at the
moment she was shot and was wearing clothing clearly identifying her as
a medic, the human rights group Al Mezan stated
<http://www.mezan.org/post/25733>, citing eyewitnesses and its
investigations. Al Mezan stated that al-Najjar was shot in the back.
However, on Saturday, the Associated Press reported
<https://apnews.com/8f422c62bc9c4adeadbd05d2cb1c5463>, citing the Khan
Younis hospital where al-Najjar was taken, that she “had a gunshot wound
in the chest with an exit wound in the back.”
Al-Najjar had become known for her bravery and insistence on carrying
out her medical rescue work despite the obvious danger.
She had previously been injured by tear gas inhalation, and on 13 April
broke her wrist while running to attend to a wounded person. But
al-Najjar refused to go to the hospital that day and continued working
in the field.
“It’s my duty and responsibility to be there and aid those injured,” she
told
<https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/meet-palestinian-women-forefront-gaza-protests-180419154907955.html>
Al Jazeera.
She also bore witness to the final moments of some of those fatally
wounded before her.
“It breaks my heart that some of the young men who were injured or
killed made their wills in front of me,” she told Al Jazeera. “Some even
gave me their accessories [as gifts] before they died.”
Al-Najjar spoke about her work in an earlier TV interview that was
shared widely on social media following the news of her death:
Who is Razan? pic.twitter.com/BObf0qiLp4 <https://t.co/BObf0qiLp4>
— Muhammad Smiry 🇵🇸 Gaza (@MuhammadSmiry) June 1, 2018
<https://twitter.com/MuhammadSmiry/status/1002660778099560448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Many Twitter users, especially from Gaza, paid tribute to al-Najjar:
I can’t believe she’s been murdured. I have been very proud of how
she had grown to be a strong and kind woman. I remember her as a kid
playing around. Whenever she came to visit my grandma would call me
to go to play with her... my heart is in pieces #GreatReturnMarch
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/GreatReturnMarch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
pic.twitter.com/ghd6PESnpU <https://t.co/ghd6PESnpU>
— Dalia Alnajjar (@AlnajjarDalia) June 1, 2018
<https://twitter.com/AlnajjarDalia/status/1002615900980293635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
An Israeli sniper shot and killed Razan Al Najjar, a 21 year old
Palestinian nurse known for her daily presence at the
#GreatReturnMarch
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/GreatReturnMarch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
in Gaza.
Her memory as a hero and angel of mercy will outlast her murderer.
pic.twitter.com/a5b9t92rdw <https://t.co/a5b9t92rdw>
— Belal Aldabbour (@Belalmd12) June 1, 2018
<https://twitter.com/Belalmd12/status/1002608177169551363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Volunteering Palestinian paramedic Razan Najjar was shot dead by
israeli snipers while providing first aid to the wounded at
#GreatReturnMatrch
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/GreatReturnMatrch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Gaza's eastern border. pic.twitter.com/9uGMYKchTt
<https://t.co/9uGMYKchTt>
— Great Return March (@GreatReturnMa) June 1, 2018
<https://twitter.com/GreatReturnMa/status/1002592144337620992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Razan Alnajjar “ Rest In Peace ✌🏼 angel of mercy 💔 killed by
Zionists Israeli snipers at #Gaza
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
borders today. #رزان_النجار
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%B1%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
pic.twitter.com/G3BGASyR1R <https://t.co/G3BGASyR1R>
— Ÿousef🇵🇸 (@Joo_Gaza) June 1, 2018
<https://twitter.com/Joo_Gaza/status/1002655634406498305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Palestinian media shared images of al-Najjar’s family and colleagues
mourning her death:
#صور
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>|
مراسل "صفا": الحزن يخيم على عائلة وزميلات وزملاء الشهيدة المسعفة
رزان أشرف النجار (21 عامًا) والتي قتلها الاحتلال أثناء تطبيبها
المصابين بمسيرة العودة شرق خانيونس pic.twitter.com/zlEVF7XBBz
<https://t.co/zlEVF7XBBz>
— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) June 1, 2018
<https://twitter.com/SafaPs/status/1002599314844241920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Sad and painful farewell 💔 to Razan from her friends and
colleagues. Razan, a volunteer nurse, 21 yrs, killed by #Israel
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Israel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
sniper, while helping other injured Palestinians, participating in
the peaceful #GreatReturnMarch
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/GreatReturnMarch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>.
#GazaBleeds
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/GazaBleeds?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
#GazaMassacre
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/GazaMassacre?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
#BDS <https://twitter.com/hashtag/BDS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
pic.twitter.com/1Fm9eIftuh <https://t.co/1Fm9eIftuh>
— Dr. Basem Naim (@basemn63) June 2, 2018
<https://twitter.com/basemn63/status/1002729275102031872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Dr. Ashraf al-Qedra
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/ashraf-al-qedra>, the spokesperson
for Gaza’s health ministry, paid tribute
<https://www.facebook.com/Ashraf.ability/posts/987705114740418> to
al-Najjar as a dedicated humanitarian volunteer who did not leave her
post until she “gave herself as a martyr.”
Hands in the air
The medical vest al-Najjar was wearing, displayed by her mother in this
video, shows a hole in the back of the garment:
ماذا قالت والدة الشهيدة رزان النجار عن ابنتها المسعفة
pic.twitter.com/UEHYoIwDTW <https://t.co/UEHYoIwDTW>
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) June 2, 2018
<https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1002919780741976064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
A statement
<https://www.facebook.com/Ashraf.ability/posts/988351168009146> released
by the health ministry in Gaza on Saturday said that al-Najjar was part
of a team of paramedics who “went to evacuate the wounded, raising both
hands, as an affirmation of not posing any danger to the heavily armed
occupation forces.”
“The Israeli occupation forces fired live bullets directly at Razan’s
chest and wounded several other paramedics,” the health ministry added.
The ministry also released a video it said showed al-Najjar and
colleagues walking towards the boundary fence with their hands in the
air shortly before al-Najjar was shot:
#update
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/update?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>:
#Gaza
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> MoH
shared a video, reportedly taken minutes before Razan al-Najjar was
shot, showing her & the rest of her paramedic team walking towards
the #GazaFence
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/GazaFence?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
w/ hands in the air. According to 1 report, the 21-year-old nurse
was shot while helping another paramedic pic.twitter.com/uuwlvGmgG2
<https://t.co/uuwlvGmgG2>
— Asaf Ronel (@AsafRonel) June 2, 2018
<https://twitter.com/AsafRonel/status/1002978370093834245?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
On Saturday the UN special representative for the Middle East peace
process, Nickolay Mladenov, tweeted that “medical workers are not a
target. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Razan al-Najjar.”
Medical workers are #NotATarget
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotATarget?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>!
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of #Razan_AlNajjar
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Razan_AlNajjar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>!
#Palestinians
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Palestinians?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
in #Gaza
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> have
had enough suffering. #Israel
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Israel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
needs to calibrate its use of force and Hamas need to prevent
incidents at the fence. Escalation only costs more lives.
— Nickolay E. MLADENOV (@nmladenov) June 2, 2018
<https://twitter.com/nmladenov/status/1002833316914057217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
However Mladenov failed to condemn Israel’s actions, calling on it
instead to “calibrate its use of force.”
On Saturday, thousands marched in al-Najjar’s funeral, as colleagues
carried her body, draped with the Palestinian flag and the
blood-drenched medical vest she was wearing when she was shot:
جثمان الشهيدة الممرضة #رزان_النجار
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%B1%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
وسط زملائها، حيث انطلقت مسيرة تشييعها قبل قليل.
pic.twitter.com/6evGggzOPk <https://t.co/6evGggzOPk>
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) June 2, 2018
<https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1002830656672550912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
صورة جوية لجنازة الشهيد #رزان_النجار
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%B1%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
قبل قليل، بمشاركة شعبية واسعة.
تصوير أركان غريب#ملاك_الرحمة
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%83_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A9?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
pic.twitter.com/mmAalVMEvb <https://t.co/mmAalVMEvb>
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) June 2, 2018
<https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1002857282567331840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Attacks on medics
Al-Najjar is the second rescue worker to be killed by Israeli forces
since the Great March of Return protests began on 30 March. According to
the health ministry in Gaza, more than 200 others have been injured and
37 ambulances have been damaged.
Two weeks ago, Israeli snipers fatally shot
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-slaughters-palestinians-marching-return>
paramedic Mousa Jaber Abu Hassanein
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/mousa-jaber-abu-hassanein>.
About an hour before he was shot, Abu Hassanein had helped rescue one of
his colleagues, the Canadian doctor Tarek Loubani who had been injured
by an Israeli bullet.
Loubani later told The Electronic Intifada Podcast
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/listen-clearly-marked-gaza-medics-shot-israeli-snipers>
how he was shot in the leg when everything was quiet around him: “No
burning tires, no smoke, no tear gas, nobody messing around in front of
the buffer zone. Just a clearly marked medical team well away from
everybody else.”
After Musa, RIP Razan Alnajjar, 21 year old nurse, shot in chest
during lull in today's peaceful protests in #Gaza
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>. She
previously "fainted twice due to gas inhalation, while on April 13
she broke her wrist after falling while running to attend to a
wounded protester." pic.twitter.com/VBdgcePEoo <https://t.co/VBdgcePEoo>
— Tarek Loubani (@trklou) June 1, 2018
<https://twitter.com/trklou/status/1002590471548473344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
War surgeons
This Friday, as they have every week, Israeli forces fired live
ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas at Palestinians
along Gaza’s eastern boundary, injuring almost 100 people, more than 30
of them with live bullets, according to Al Mezan.
#Watch
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Watch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> ||
Palestinians are marching to the eastrern border of #Gaza
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Strip to participate in #GreatReturnMarch
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/GreatReturnMarch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>.
Video from the middle area camp in the east of Al-Buraij Refugee Camp
Video by: @pallive_en
<https://twitter.com/pallive_en?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
pic.twitter.com/gAR3hvXCW2 <https://t.co/gAR3hvXCW2>
— Great Return March (@GreatReturnMa) June 1, 2018
<https://twitter.com/GreatReturnMa/status/1002601303741169664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
“Protesters presented no danger or threat to the safety of the soldiers,
which confirms that the violations committed by these forces are grave
and systematic and amount to war crimes,” the human rights group stated.
Since the end of March, Israeli forces have killed 129 people in Gaza
including 15 children, 98 of them during protests, according to Al Mezan.
As Israel continued to add to the staggering toll on Friday, the health
system in Gaza was already beyond coping with the accumulation of people
injured by the apparent use of fragmenting ammunition that causes
horrifying
<https://www.map.org.uk/news/archive/post/828-horrific-injuries-reported-among-gaza-protesters>
injuries
<http://www.msf.org/en/article/palestine-msf-teams-gaza-observe-unusually-severe-and-devastating-gunshot-injuries>
requiring intensive and complex treatment and often leaving victims with
permanent disabilities.
More than 13,000 people
<https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=980519228792340&set=pb.100005028168199.-2207520000.1527943221.&type=3&theater>
have been injured since the start of the protests, including those who
suffered due to tear gas inhalation. Of the more than 7,000 people who
suffered injuries other than by tear gas, more than half were shot with
live ammunition.
-Drugs scarce.
-Electricity cut off.
-Medical equipment limited.
With hundreds of people in need of intensive care, hospitals in
#Gaza
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> are
on the brink of collapse. pic.twitter.com/SlfXInCG9Q
<https://t.co/SlfXInCG9Q>
— ICRC (@ICRC) June 1, 2018
<https://twitter.com/ICRC/status/1002576561927835649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
On Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced it
was dispatching two teams of war surgeons
<https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/05/31/world/middleeast/31reuters-israel-palestinans-health.html>
and medical supplies to Gaza to shore up a healthcare system it said was
on the “brink of collapse.”
With the health system in #Gaza
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> on
the brink of collapse, @RMardiniICRC
<https://twitter.com/RMardiniICRC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> has announced
additional @ICRC <https://twitter.com/ICRC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
medical support pic.twitter.com/g3ZKo930vp <https://t.co/g3ZKo930vp>
— ICRC UK & Ireland (@ICRC_uk) May 31, 2018
<https://twitter.com/ICRC_uk/status/1002116458091044865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
The ICRC said
<http://blogs.icrc.org/ilot/2018/05/31/gaza-surgeons-supplies-sent-gaza-meet-overwhelming-medical-needs/>
the priority for its six-month mission will be to treat gunshot wound
victims, among them about 1,350 patients who will need three to five
operations each.
"Imagine, 1,350 people with complex cases who will need 3 to 5
operations each, a total of 4,000 surgeries, half of which will be
carried out by @ICRC <https://twitter.com/ICRC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
teams. I think such a caseload would overwhelm any health system in
the world, including in Geneva.” - at RMardiniICRC
<https://twitter.com/RMardiniICRC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> on #Gaza
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
pic.twitter.com/7cSZsRnBkT <https://t.co/7cSZsRnBkT>
— ICRC NYC (@ICRC_NYC) May 31, 2018
<https://twitter.com/ICRC_NYC/status/1002197558469545984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
“Such a caseload would overwhelm any health system,” the ICRC stated
<http://blogs.icrc.org/ilot/2018/05/31/gaza-surgeons-supplies-sent-gaza-meet-overwhelming-medical-needs/>.
“In Gaza, the situation is worsened by chronic shortages of drugs,
equipment and electricity.”
“Toxic slum”
The sustained protests in Gaza are to call for the right of Palestinian
refugees to return to their homes and lands now in Israel, and to demand
an end to Israel’s more than decade-long siege
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/gaza-siege> of the territory.
Gaza’s two million residents are being “caged in a toxic slum from birth
to death,” United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/zeid-raad-al-hussein> told
<http://www.dw.com/en/gaza-residents-caged-in-a-toxic-slum-un-human-rights-chief-zeid/a-43835139>
a special session of the UN Human Rights Council
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/un-human-rights-council> on Friday.
Zeid also told the council that there is “little evidence” that Israel
is doing anything to minimize casualties.
He confirmed that protesters’ “actions alone do not appear to constitute
the imminent threat to life or deadly injury which could justify the use
of lethal force.”
Zeid spoke to the council as it was considering a draft resolution on
sending an international war crimes probe to Gaza.
Last week, the Human Rights Council voted by 29-2
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/50-hamas-members-claim-does-not-justify-gaza-massacre>
to establish an independent inquiry into the violence in Gaza.
Only the United States and Australia voted against an inquiry, but
several European Union governments including the UK and Germany were
among the 14 that abstained.
Medical Aid for Palestinians, a charity that has been providing
emergency assistance amid the growing calamity, and a dozen other
organizations, have criticized
<https://www.map.org.uk/news/archive/post/854-uk-based-organisations-deeply-concerned-by-uk-government-decision-not-to-support-un-gaza-inquiry>
the British government’s refusal to support an inquiry “to assess
violations of international law in the context of large-scale civilian
protests in Gaza.”
A vital plea for the UK to take international law seriously in @Gaza
<https://twitter.com/gaza?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>. The UK must
reconsider failure to support an independent UN Commission of
Inquiry to investigate all violations. Proud @MedicalAidPal
<https://twitter.com/MedicalAidPal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> is standing
with these other excellent organisations in speaking out.
pic.twitter.com/HYNkIZPlDw <https://t.co/HYNkIZPlDw>
— Rohan Talbot (@rohantalbot) June 1, 2018
<https://twitter.com/rohantalbot/status/1002609909031161858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
But attempts to hold Israel accountable continue amid the intransigent
opposition of Israel’s backers.
On Friday evening, the UN Security Council voted
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/vetoes-unsc-resolution-protection-palestinians-180601201831238.html>
on a draft resolution
<http://www.innercitypress.com/gaza19unsczoabi053118.html> put forward
by Kuwait, deploring “excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate
force by the Israeli forces” and calling for “measures to guarantee the
safety and protection” of Palestinian civilians.
It also called for an end to the blockade of Gaza and deplored “the
firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip against Israeli civilian areas.”
Ten countries, including permanent members Russia and France, voted in
favor. Four, including Britain, abstained.
Despite having enough votes to pass, the resolution was killed by US
ambassador Nikki Haley
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/nikki-haley>, who – as she had
promised <https://twitter.com/USUN/status/1002327541850558465> to do –
cast her country’s veto.
Haley then put forward her own draft resolution absolving Israel of any
responsibility for the violence in Gaza and laying all blame for the
situation on Hamas.
The United States was the only country to vote in favor.
--
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