烽火加沙，浴血救護

Ibrahim Abuelkas is eight hours into his 24-hour shift， and every minute is filled with new risks. Suddenly， the 35-year-old gets a signal from his colleague Saed Zaineddin — the emergency phone call operator — and the red and white 2）ambulance is off again.

There is not much talking on the way to the location， as Abuelkas says he is “entering the unknown.” Abuelkas and his driver use body language and gestures more than words. Within a few minutes， they are driving sideby-side with another ambulance， also headed to the city’s al-Zaytoun neighborhood.

Abuelkas does not know what exactly to expect when he steps out of the van. The moment he arrives， people run towards him， screaming， “Ambulance， come here， come here！” The people here expect another Israeli airstrike to hit at any minute， and they are 3）frantically trying to 4）evacuate the women and children.

The ambulance driver quickly navigates through the crowd， lights flashing， to assist a number of residents that have been injured by an Israeli bomb. “Usually we travel in ambulance pairs to the same location to assist as much as possible，”says Abuelkas， as the ambulance sirens wail.

The injured are helped into the back of the ambulance， which then rushes towards al-Shifa hospital. The moment it arrives， the Operational Rescue Team opens the ambulance doors to offload the patients， who are taken on 5）stretchers to reception and 6）triage.

The workers clean the ambulance， check that supplies are stocked， and take a brief rest with other ambulance crews until the next call comes in. Then， it’s time to move again， this time to another part of Gaza.

Since the shelling of Gaza began on July 8， close to 200 7）Palestinians have been killed and more than 1，400 wounded. Attempts at an Egyptbrokered cease-fire collapsed Tuesday， with the 8）resumption of Israeli strikes and continued Hamas rockets. With fresh raids， comes the prospect of further 9）casualties.

Ambulance drivers in Gaza have been working nonstop in extremely difficult conditions throughout the Israeli military 10）offensive. According to the United Nations， one doctor has been killed and 19 medical staff have been injured in Gaza since July 7， while two hospitals， four clinics， one treatment center， and four ambulances have sustained damage from Israeli airstrikes.

The emotional impact has also taken a toll on medical workers in the besieged coastal 11）enclave. Abuelkas told 12）Al Jazeera that one of the worst calls he responded to was to help the al-Batsh family； 18 members of the same family were killed by an Israeli missile in Gaza City.

When he got to the site of the bombing， he didn’t know what he would find. At the house， he met women， children and old men； everyone was either screaming， crying or silent， in shock. He said the most difficult part was collecting 13）dismembered body parts to identify the dead and prepare them for burial.

“This was a terrible， emotional mission. We found all types of injuries — light [and] medium to critical， body parts blown off， 14）amputated limbs， and other dead bodies，” he says.

For many days during the Israeli assault， the roads in Gaza City were empty， as residents hid indoors. “I have been afraid of bombing， but the fear of the unknown haunts me，” Abuelkas says， while holding a 15）Quran and reciting prayers in the lulls between calls.

Abuelkas started this job in 2008. While he says his first months on the job were challenging， his colleagues now say he has become more experienced， and he is able to deal with more difficult situations. He witnessed three major Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip； Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009， Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012； and the current escalation in July 2014.

He says he saw a difference between the three wars： “In 2008 we saw missiles split flesh into chunks， missiles that burned into the whole body and amputated limbs clean off， like a surgeon. Compared with today’s attack， [when] we mostly find missiles that 16）dissolve flesh into even smaller scraps. It’s more violent， if that’s possible.”

Attending to Gaza’s injured isn’t the only thing on Abuelkas’ mind， however. When he’s working， his thoughts inevitably turn to his own family， and his five children — the eldest is 12， and the youngest is only one. His family lives in al-Zaytoun， one of the worst hit areas in the recent Israeli bombings.

As much as he worries about his wife and children， they also worry about him. “When they see me on live TV carrying bodies， at least they know I’m alive，” he says， as his operator informs him of another air strike and more casualties.

Finally， after spending 24 hours rushing between tragedies， Abuelkas’ shift finally ends.“At least then， I know [that] whatever happens， I’m with my family.”

易卜拉欣·阿布拉卡斯的24小時值班已過了8個小時，每一分鐘都充滿著新的危機。突然，35歲的他收到同事塞德·扎伊丁發來的信號——塞德是負責接聽緊急電話的，然后紅白兩色的救護車再一次出發了。

在駛往目的地的路上，大家都沒怎么說話，因為阿布拉卡斯說他對接下來的事“茫然不知”。阿布拉卡斯和他的司機更多地是采用肢體語言和動作來交流，而不是話語。幾分鐘后，他們和另外一輛同樣是駛往該市阿爾扎伊圖區的救護車并肩而行。

阿布拉卡斯不知道他踏出小車后將會遇到什么情況。抵達的瞬間，人們涌向他，叫喊著：“救護車，來這里，來這里！”這里的人認為隨時還會再來一次以色列空襲，于是他們發狂似地疏散婦女和兒童。

救護車司機駕駛著車子迅速地在人群中穿梭，燈光閃來閃去，前往救助那些被以色列炮彈炸傷的居民?！巴ǔＮ覀兌际莾奢v救護車同時前往以盡可能地救助更多的人?！?阿布拉卡斯說道，此時救護車的警笛一直長鳴著。

傷者被送入救護車的后部，然后車子就匆忙駛往阿爾希法醫院。救護車一抵達，救援隊就馬上把車門打開，接下患者，用擔架把他們抬到接待處進行傷員驗傷分類。

工作人員清理救護車，檢查物資的儲備，然后和其他救護車人員作短暫的休息，直到下一次傳喚。不久，又一次行動開始，這次是到加沙的另一個地方。

自從7月8日對加沙的炮轟開始后，已有近200名巴勒斯坦人遇襲身亡，超過1400人受傷?！?br>