GAZA (Reuters) – Twelve-year old-Palestinian Zakaria Sarsak walks determinedly through a sea of people at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza. But he’s not there for treatment, he’s working as a volunteer, helping the medics by filling syringes and moving stretchers.
He decided he wanted to help those wounded in the Israeli bombardment that displaced him and his family from their home, and now spends much of his time at the hospital.
“I help bring injured people to Al-Aqsa Hospital. We also bring martyrs to the morgue, I go with the ambulance to bring casualties,” Sarsak said.
He makes his way through the corridors, wearing a blue fleece and a pair of protective gloves, and takes on tasks such as moving patients and helping with taking blood pressure readings.
“When we go to get injured people after attacks, I feel sad for children. We bring all injured people to Al-Aqsa Hospital,” he said.
The hospital is one of the few still tending to patients who have survived the Israeli airstrikes, six months after Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages.
Israel’s offensive in retaliation to the attack by Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has killed over 32,000 Palestinians and wounded over 75,000 people.
(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Alison Williams)
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