{"id":207780,"date":"2025-01-04T15:11:42","date_gmt":"2025-01-04T15:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/04\/gaza-rescuers-are-haunted-by-voices-of-those-they-couldnt-save\/"},"modified":"2025-01-04T15:11:43","modified_gmt":"2025-01-04T15:11:43","slug":"gaza-rescuers-are-haunted-by-voices-of-those-they-couldnt-save","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/04\/gaza-rescuers-are-haunted-by-voices-of-those-they-couldnt-save\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza Rescuers Are Haunted by Voices of Those They Couldn\u2019t Save"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/02\/multimedia\/00gaza-rescuers-01-vwbq\/00gaza-rescuers-01-vwbq-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Gaza Rescuers Are Haunted by Voices of Those They Couldn\u2019t Save\" title=\"Gaza Rescuers Are Haunted by Voices of Those They Couldn\u2019t Save\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When he sleeps, Nooh al-Shaghnobi, a rescue worker in Gaza, is haunted by the cries of those he could not save.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The memories of the past 14 months come flooding back, nightmares of collapsed buildings with no equipment to dig out survivors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe hear the voices of the people under the rubble,\u201d he said in an interview between rescue calls. \u201cImagine there are people under the rubble who we know are alive, but we can\u2019t save them. We have to leave them to die.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For more than a year now, Gaza\u2019s <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/10\/11\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-airstrikes-rescues.html\" title=\"\">rescue workers<\/a>, paramedics and ambulance drivers have toiled on the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/video\/world\/middleeast\/100000009321758\/northern-gaza-rescue-worker.html\" title=\"\">front lines<\/a> of the war, racing to the sites of countless Israeli airstrikes to try to save those who survived and recover the bodies of those who did not. In the war\u2019s first seven weeks alone, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/26\/world\/middleeast\/israel-hamas-gaza-bombing.html\" title=\"\">Israel fired nearly 30,000 munitions into Gaza<\/a>, unleashing one of the most intense bombing campaigns in contemporary warfare.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that Gaza rescuers face dangerous conditions without sufficient equipment, vehicles or fuel. They are mostly left to dig out survivors from under tons of broken stone, concrete and twisted metal with their hands and rudimentary tools.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The carnage has taken a heavy physical, mental and emotional toll on rescuers, and Israeli strikes have killed at least 118 of them during the conflict, according to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ochaopt.org\/content\/reported-impact-snapshot-gaza-strip-16-october-2024\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">local rescue officials<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cFirst responders suffer from unspeakable levels of stress, anxiety and frustration,\u201d said Hisham Mhanna, a Red Cross spokesman in Gaza. \u201cWe have heard them describe feelings of helplessness toward the victims who they could not save, and of the immense pain of losing colleagues on duty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">From the war\u2019s onset \u2014 which began after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel \u2014 rescue workers were <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/10\/11\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-airstrikes-rescues.html\" title=\"\">struggling to keep up with the pace of airstrikes<\/a>. In the first year of the war, the Israeli military said it struck more than 40,000 targets across an area the size of Detroit with approximately 60,000 bombs and other munitions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This war has been like no other that Gazans have lived through, with no safe place to shelter and no target off limits, residents and aid officials say. The Israeli military has said it takes \u201cfeasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite the trauma, Mr. al-Shaghnobi, 23, said he was compelled to persist with his rescue work with the Gaza Civil Defense, an emergency services agency, knowing that he could save at least some lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He said he regularly shared videos and images on social media to draw attention to the suffering in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In one <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DA_wEVwtwy0\/?hl=en\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">video posted in October<\/a> in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, he calls out to a young boy whose muffled screams can be heard from under rubble.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cDon\u2019t be scared,\u201d Mr. al-Shagnobi yells, issuing a stream of rapid-fire instructions: \u201cRashid, don\u2019t tire yourself out. Don\u2019t talk. Don\u2019t lose consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Illuminated by a head lamp, the rescuer crawls in between collapsed floors to reach Rashid\u2019s partly exposed head, the rest of him buried in crushed cement and stone. After three hours, Rashid is pulled alive from the rubble.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEvery day is harder than the day before,\u201d Mr. al-Shaghnobi said. \u201cMy soul is tired from this war.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Red Cross, which has provided masks, boots, protective uniforms and body bags to rescuers, has also offered limited mental health counseling. But given the extreme trauma of the situation, the sessions have not been enough, said Mr. Mhanna, the Red Cross spokesman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Amir Ahmed, a paramedic, said that a few months ago, his nightmares had become too much for him and he quit his work with the Palestine Red Crescent rescue service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cYou reach a point where you can no longer continue with this,\u201d he said recently.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Ahmed said he had worked in antiquity preservation before the war, and also volunteered with the Red Crescent during Gaza\u2019s many conflicts because he was trained as an emergency medical technician. He said he was called to duty on the second day of the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the conflict dragged on, he said, he found himself falling deeper into depression. At home with his wife and three children, he grew increasingly tense and angry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some days, he tried to avoid talking to anyone and wanted to spend all of his time sleeping, even when they were displaced in tents or crowded into one-room apartments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI would dream of the people who were in pieces that I picked up with my own hands,\u201d he said, lowering his voice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The smell of blood lingered on his hands for days after one rescue and recovery, he said, adding that there had been almost no psychological support or mental health help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Although he feels guilty about quitting his work as a rescuer, he said he did not regret his decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some rescue workers accuse Israel of targeting them, an accusation that the Red Crescent and the Gaza Civil Defense have echoed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Israeli military said it had never targeted rescue workers, and would never do so deliberately. \u201cThe Israel Defense Forces also recognize the importance of the special protections given to medical teams under international humanitarian law and takes action to prevent harm to them,\u201d a military statement said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They lost contact with Red Crescent dispatchers soon after arriving at the scene and nearly two weeks later were found <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/10\/world\/middleeast\/hind-rajab-gaza.html\" title=\"\">dead in their burned ambulance<\/a>. Hind, too, was found dead inside her family\u2019s vehicle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of bombing the ambulance as it arrived \u201cdespite prior coordination\u201d between the organization and the Israeli military. The Israeli military did not comment on the attack despite repeated requests. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Early on in the war, Mr. al-Shaghnobi said, he and his fellow rescuers would bid one another farewell each night, unsure how much longer they would survive the Israeli onslaught.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In November 2023, he said, he was with his crewmates at the scene of a seven-story building that had been felled by an Israeli airstrike days earlier, trying to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/06\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-israel-burials-deaths.html\" title=\"\">retrieve the bodies of a family<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the rescuers combed through the rubble, another Israeli airstrike hit, killing two rescue workers and the two surviving family members, according to accounts from relatives at the time and Mr. al-Shaghnobi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-11\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He captured the immediate aftermath of the strike <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/CzYxkQktVUJ\/?hl=en\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">on video<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWhy is this happening to those of us who just rescue people?\u201d he said more recently. \u201cWe have nothing to do with the weapons or the resistance. All our work is humanitarian work. Why are the Israelis targeting us?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-12\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Naseem Hassan, a paramedic and ambulance driver, said that his brother was killed nearly a year ago at Al Amal Hospital while working with the Red Crescent. He died in an airstrike after going up to the hospital\u2019s roof to turn on a generator, the surviving brother said. The Israeli military said it was \u201cnot aware of the incident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Hassan, 47, said he had been worn down by the strain and exhaustion of rescuing the war\u2019s wounded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When the conflict began, he said, he weighed 190 pounds. Now, after living mostly off canned food and bug-infested bread and enduring physically draining days spent digging through rubble, he is down to about 150 pounds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-13\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cMentally, we are patient and resolute, because we have to be,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we were to have a nervous breakdown, who else is going to rescue people? Who is going to recover the bodies? Who is going to bury them?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-14\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Patrick Kingsley<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/04\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-war-rescuers-trauma.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When he sleeps, Nooh al-Shaghnobi, a rescue worker in Gaza, is haunted by the cries of those he could not save. The memories of the past 14 months come flooding back, nightmares of collapsed buildings with no equipment to dig out survivors. \u201cWe hear the voices of the people under the rubble,\u201d he said in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/02\/multimedia\/00gaza-rescuers-01-vwbq\/00gaza-rescuers-01-vwbq-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[13375,163867,23966,43,32652,11573,42709,163868,48079,12874,1119,18840],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207780"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207782,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207780\/revisions\/207782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}