Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Israel is still continuing to attack the Gaza Strip. Medical volunteers in the area also told of the tense situation they experienced due to a series of attacks from the Zionist country.
One of them came from Fikri Rofiul Haq, an Indonesian citizen and volunteer from the humanitarian organization Indonesia Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) in the Gaza Strip.
As one of three Indonesian MER-C volunteers serving at the Indonesian Hospital, Fikri said every day is now a matter of survival in the region, where Israel is now focusing its attacks on hospitals.
“At the start of the war, we could still get some goods from around the hospital, such as vegetables and instant noodles, but now it is impossible to get fresh products such as onions, tomatoes and cucumbers,” said Fikri to Al Jazeera, quoted on Sunday (12 /11/2023).
“At the Indonesian Hospital currently, staff only get one meal a day at lunch, which is provided by Al-Shifa Hospital (nearby). For breakfast and dinner, staff eat biscuits or dates,” he said.
Conditions at the Indonesian and Al-Shifa hospitals, as well as other hospitals in Gaza, have worsened. Atef al-Kahlot, director of the Indonesian Hospital, said his facilities were only operating at between 30-40 percent capacity and he called on the world to help.
Terrifying Situation in Gaza
Fikri said that before the war, food supplies for Indonesian hospitals were usually sourced from the surrounding area. At the start of Israel’s total blockade and attack on Gaza, MER-C volunteers would go out looking for supplies in ambulances, provided by hospitals, which were considered safer than civilian vehicles.
Now the fighting has occurred so close to the hospital that it is too dangerous to leave the house.
Fikri said he had felt very shaken recently, after traveling about two weeks ago to get medical supplies for hospitals from civilian homes in the nearby Al-Jalaa district, where he thought he might die.
He and other volunteers from Indonesia were only about 20 minutes from the hospital when bombs started falling about 200 meters (218 yards) away.
“I felt most afraid and resigned to my fate at that time, because we were in a building owned by local residents and, as we know, the Israeli military destroyed civilians’ houses,” he said.
“There was no guarantee of our safety. This made me feel incredible fear, but by God’s grace, we were protected.”
As a result of the trip, Fikri was able to find some medical equipment for the hospital and distribute food packages to medical staff.
However, since the Israeli bullet and missile attacks that almost hit the target, he and the other volunteers have remained in the hospital yard and slept in the doctor’s room.
“The trauma we have experienced is huge, but if we stay in the hospital, I feel safe because the Israeli military has not attacked the hospital directly,” he said. “The area around the hospital was constantly bombarded and when that happened, I felt a very human fear.”
In the last week, the area around the Indonesian Hospital and other hospitals in the Gaza Strip has been the target of intensified Israeli bombardment.
Israeli tanks closed in, surrounding medical facilities where tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees had sought refuge. More than 11,000 people have now been killed in the region.
Keep Serving in Gaza
Fikri said when the bombing started, he and other staff took shelter in the hospital basement. Their daily work schedule fluctuates according to the significant needs of staff and patients.
“Some days I worked from 11am to 4pm the next day and only slept the few hours I could. One day, I slept from 7am to 8am and then it started again,” he said.
In 2011, MER-C raised donations to build the Indonesian Hospital, which was officially inaugurated in 2016 by the then Vice President of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla.
MER-C staff are technically medical humanitarian volunteers. Today, one of their main roles is to document sick and injured people coming to the hospital and monitor attacks around the facility.
Fikri and his colleagues also helped with medical care, especially when the situation continued to worsen and doctors at the hospital were flooded with patients from the surrounding area.
Although Indonesia has attempted to evacuate some of its citizens in Gaza, Fikri said he would not be one of them. He and two other MER-C volunteers decided to remain in the Gaza Strip.
“We really appreciate the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for helping to evacuate Indonesian citizens from Gaza, but that is our decision,” he said about choosing to remain in Gaza.
“We hope to continue helping Gazans to get fuel, food and medicine, as well as treating them at the Indonesian Hospital. That is our motivation to keep going.”
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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