Salvador and Sao Paulo
Since the worst attack in 50 years last Saturday (7), Israel has recorded more than 1,300 dead and 3,000 injured. The main injuries were caused by shots fired at close range, but also by burns as a result of house fires by the terrorist group Hamas.
A Sheet spoke to Yoel HarEven, 52, nurse and head of international and resource development at Sheba Hospital. The hospital is located in Ramat Gan in the Tel Aviv district and has already admitted more than 200 injured people following the Hamas attacks.
HarEven, father of two sons drafted into the war on Sunday, 8, and a retired Israeli Defense Forces lieutenant colonel, says the hardest part of the job was dealing with the mental toll of the stories that the Patients said that with the war they began to recover physically from the attacks.
“Right now the victims are starting to recover, wake up and tell their stories about what happened. They are stories about our country, about our people, and they will stay with them for a long time,” he says.
What is the profile of the patients in the Hospital?
Since the beginning of the war, around 200 wounded people have been treated in the hospital. Today we have 86 patients who were victims of the attacks. Of these, 33 are civilians who came from war zones and settlements around the Gaza Strip, and 51 are soldiers who were injured while protecting the settlements. Two are foreigners; the rest, Israelis. Of the 86 injured in hospital, three are soldiers in very serious condition, 40 are in serious condition, 30 are stable and 14 had minor injuries.
What are the most common types of injuries?
Among the patients in the hospital, most were injured by firearms. This is by far the leading cause of hospitalizations as the ammunition was used and the shots were fired just a few meters away. [de distância das vítimas]. We also have patients with burns, mainly because [os integrantes do Hamas] burned their houses. But most of the injured were hit by gunfire and shrapnel.
Are doctors and nurses trained to deal with such attack situations?
Unfortunately. It is important to understand the hospital’s role in treating numerous casualties and injuries. Unfortunately, we live in a rough area. From time to time our neighbors remind us of this, and every few months there are conflicts involving a combination of rockets and artillery. But I think this is the first time in a long time that we are seeing an invasion of terrorists from the Gaza Strip into the surrounding settlements, going from house to house setting fires and shooting civilians. It was Shabbat [dia sagrado para os judeus, que começa com o pôrdosol na sextafeira e termina ao anoitecer do sábado] and vacation in Israel [Dia de Yom Kippur]. So now we are getting used not only to rocket attacks, but also to terrorist attacks with guns fired at close range against civilians.
What does the training for medical professionals look like?
In Israel, every hospital must undergo a threeyear training cycle. When he finishes, another begins. In the first year of the cycle, we are trained to respond to events involving mass deaths and injuries, which sometimes occur. The following year the training for CBRN takes place [defesa contra armas químicas, biológicas, radiológicas e nucleares]. The third year is against earthquakes. What is special about this attack is the high number of dead and injured. On the same day as Shabbat, there was a big festival where about 3,000 people were celebrating, and terrorists came and attacked them. So the numbers were higher than we expected.
What are the biggest challenges currently facing doctors and nurses?
The biggest challenge at the moment is not of a professional nature. It’s about not knowing how to proceed or how to deal with burns. The biggest burden on the team’s shoulders is mental, because now the injured are starting to recover, emerging from surgeries and starting to talk, to tell their stories. Professionals cannot remain indifferent. You have to get involved. And your parents. They are your people. The biggest challenge today is to support the families and the injured, given their history, which will remain with them for a long time.
What is the most difficult story you have heard so far?
Every soldier and every family hospitalized here in Sheba has a unique story. Most have a story of bravery, a story of how they protected their families with their own hands, how they prevented terrorists from entering their home by holding the door open for hours and then being shot in the hands because of their hands were the first obstacle to the weapon. We see many, especially husbands, protecting their families with their bodies. But I won’t tell a single story just because there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, that need to be told. And when the time comes, they will be told again and again.
Given the escalation of the conflict, do you expect to receive Palestinians in the hospital?
There are no problems with that. There are now more than 120 Palestinians in Sheba, 61 patients admitted before and after the conflict, and 63 of their families. Routinely and in times of war, Sheba serves the Palestinians daily. It treats everyone who comes to the hospital, so Palestinians, both from the West Bank and Gaza, have been treated here for a long time and we continue to treat them every day.
Do you think there will be any changes to the protocols currently in place in Israel due to the recent attacks?
Unfortunately, we are dealing with mass deaths and injuries. The current combination of civilians and soldiers makes the situation a unique one, but I can’t see any changes in medical preparation or equipment today. My two oldest sons are in the army. They were summoned on Sunday morning. Almost every family in Israel has a son or daughter who has been called. And almost every family in Israel knows someone or has a family member who was shot, killed or captured. There are still dozens, perhaps 100 or more, captured Israeli civilians and soldiers. They are being taken to Gaza. Children, elderly people and soldiers have been kidnapped and are being held hostage. We must do everything we can to bring them back safely to Israel.
Aside from military service, are there other ways in which ordinary citizens have participated in these efforts?
Surely. In times of war, Israel becomes one. If anyone walked through hospitals in recent days, they would see three Israelis volunteering from early morning until midnight to deliver food to the families of soldiers and civilians waiting outside emergency and intensive care units. They bring material for personal use, blankets. People are hosting others in their homes. Most of the settlements around Gaza were burned and destroyed. These people have nowhere to go. We open our houses. Hotels accommodate them free of charge. People volunteer to guard other people’s belongings and to perform the most sacred work of war: identifying bodies and transporting them for burial. Therefore, at the moment I can say that the entire society, from religious to secular people, is united and everyone is doing their best to ensure that these terrible days pass as quickly as possible.