Special correspondent
The war’s horrors multiply. The dead, the pieces of the dead. The dying. The starving. More and more of them now – all the weight of human suffering witnessed by my brave colleagues in Gaza.
The urge to avert our gaze can be overpowering. But the cameramen who work for the BBC cannot turn away, and on Tuesday one of them became a casualty himself. For their safety we do not reveal the names of our colleagues in Gaza.
Our cameraman was not seriously wounded, but that was a matter of luck. The Israeli bombs launched into the car park of the European Hospital in Khan Younis killed and wounded dozens.
The Israelis say the leader of Hamas was hiding in a command-and-control compound under the hospital. The army said it conducted a “precise strike” – and blamed Hamas for”cynically and cruelly exploiting the civilian population in and around the hospital”. Hamas denies such charges.
At the time of the attack, families whose sick children are to be evacuated from Gaza were gathering in the hospital. There were also families waiting to meet children returning from treatment abroad.
One of the fathers was with our BBC colleague and was wounded by the bombs. He has now been discharged from hospital. Harrowing images show our journalist trying to console the man’s terrified children.
Warning: This report contains distressing images.
Much of my colleague’s work in recent days has focused on the plight of malnourished children.
A short time before the blast, I messaged to thank him for his work filming, with immense sensitivity, the story of Siwar Ashour. This was his response:
“Siwar’s story broke something in all of us, and working on it was one of the most painful things I’ve ever had to do. But I knew her face, her name, and her story had to be seen – had to be heard.”
Siwar is five months old and acutely malnourished, a child whose large, brown eyes dominate her shrunken frame. They follow her mother Najwa’s every move. On Tuesday Najwa sent us a video message from her room at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.
She wanted the world to know how much she loves her child. “I wish she could receive the treatment she needs, to recover fully, and return as she was before – to play like other children, to grow and gain weight like other children. She is my first child, and as her mother, I’m deeply heartbroken for her.”
In the past few days Siwar has developed a skin infection. Sores have appeared on her hands. She also has a severe gastrointestinal condition. The battle is to keep nourishment inside her. Her immune system is fighting the deprivation caused by the Israeli blockade.
The baby’s cry is weak, yet it is full of urgency, the sound of a life struggling for its survival. Siwar can only drink a special milk formula due to severe allergies.
On Tuesday there was some better news. Medics at the nearby Jordanian Field Hospital managed to find some of the formula she needs. It is a small amount but they plan to send more.
In the coming days there are plans to bring sick children to the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Here in Amman there are already several Gaza families who have children being treated for illness or war injuries in local hospitals. These evacuations are co-ordinated with the Israelis who do background checks on the parents travelling with their children.
In January we filmed the arrival of Abdelrahman al-Nashash and his mum Asma. Abdelrahman lost his leg in an Israeli bombing.
For four months they’ve lived in a place with food and shelter. A safe place.
When we visited them on Tuesday Asma called her children and their grandmother in Gaza.
Grandmother Najwa spoke of the war all around them. “The rockets are everywhere, firing over our heads. The food. Life is very bad. There is no flour. The prices are very high.”
The children waved and blew kisses to their mother.
Afterwards, Asma told us: “I don’t know what to say. I am very grateful for my mum for all she is doing for me. I wish I can return back to find them safe and in good health.” She broke down and was silent.
It is only through the eyes of a mother who sees her children trapped, frightened and hungry from a safe distance, that it is possible to imagine why anyone would want to go back to Gaza.
With additional reporting by Alice Doyard, Suha Kawar and Nik Millard.
