Published 7 January 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b30
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b30

News

Agencies call for health workers in Gaza to be respected

John Zarocostas

1 Geneva

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The United Nations and international relief agencies fear that continuation of Israel’s onslaught in the Gaza Strip could exacerbate what they already define as a crisis.

Pierre Krahenbuhl, director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said, "We’re dealing with a full blown crisis in humanitarian terms," adding that the situation was "extreme, traumatic, and intolerable."

"Access to medical care is worsening by the day, and many people are not getting the emergency care they need," he said in a news conference on 6 January. He added, "Some people are dying because ambulances are not getting there in time. It’s appalling."

Mr Krahenbuhl called on the warring sides to respect medical workers, who are trying to collect and evacuate wounded people.

He said that an ambulance station at Jabalia was hit in raids over night and that hospitals had also been affected by collateral damage from . . . [Full text of this article]


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Rapid Responses:

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The situation in Gaza
Brian H Fisher
bmj.com, 9 Jan 2009 [Full text]
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