Following a call to rescue a family whose home was bombarded on the 15th of November in Zu’rob neighborhood (South of Rafah, Gaza Strip), Mohamad Shalouf and his colleagues, were faced with a large number of injured Palestinians, mostly children.
Mohamad (27), who has been working as a volunteer with PRCS for the past 3 years, had heard all about the Israeli attack on the Strip back in 2008, but he never thought that he would find himself in the same situation, under Israeli bombardments, having to rescue victims from under the rubble. Not once did he imagine coming to the rescue of an entire family trapped under what remained of its home.
In less than 2 minutes, Mohamad and his colleagues had evacuated all those injured (a mother, a father and their three children). They were taken to Al Najjar hospital for treatment. “I ran like I never did before, carrying one of the bleeding children, then went back to help yet another member of the family. Other colleagues helped rescue and evacuate the family’s other members”, he said.
Every morning, Mohamad says goodbye to his wife and two children, praying to God that he will see them again. Just like his colleagues who work with the emergency services, he knows that his life is threatened under Israeli bombardments and shelling which make no distinction between a journalist, a medic or a civilian. “Despite these difficult working conditions, I and my colleagues are adamant about continuing to provide humanitarian relief to those in need, especially in time of war,” he affirms.
It is to be noted that 200 PRCS volunteers have been deployed since the start of the Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip in order to help the Society’s teams in their emergency and relief efforts.
Raed Al Nems
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