Hamas Blames Death Of 7 In Tunnel On Delay Of Waaambulance

The trouble that resulted from the delay of the waaambulance resulted in the need for more waaambulances, trapping an ever-widening circle of participants in a self-generated disaster.

Jabalia, Gaza Strip, January 27 – Gaza Ministry of Health officials said today that initial reports indicated that the reason as many as 11 Hamas operatives were killed in the collapse of an infiltration tunnel into Israel yesterday was that the waaambulance that had been summoned to treat the injured failed to arrive in a timely fashion.

The Hamas-run ministry barred journalists from photographing or reporting on the tunnel collapse on Tuesday, but several officials with knowledge of the event speaking on condition of anonymity told PreOccupied Territory that because the casualties had literally brought the collapse on themselves, the only appropriate response could come from a waaambulance. However, the organization’s own concerns over the details of the incident reaching the public led to moves that delayed the arrival of the waaambulance for more than two hours. By that time, say the sources, there was little hope that most of the trapped or crushed victims could be rescued.

In addition, the trouble that resulted from the delay of the waaambulance resulted in the need for more waaambulances, trapping an ever-widening circle of participants in a self-generated disaster. Further catastrophe was averted only by the loud insistence that Israel was somehow to blame for the deaths and injuries, and the renewed annual reports that Israel was flooding the Gaza Strip by opening dams that do not exist. The prevention by such means, however, is likely only to delay, not eliminate, the need for waaambulances.

Waaambulances are in constant demand among Gaza’s 1.8 million inhabitants, who elected Hamas to be their leaders in 2006 and continue to publicly support them. Four Hamas-led wars against Israel have brought nothing but destruction to the territory, and done more harm than good to the cause of Palestinian independence. The Israeli blockade aimed at preventing Hamas rearming for another war attracts media attention to Hamas representatives and sympathizers who complain of a “siege,” referring to Israeli restrictions that allow into Gaza whatever food, medicine, and consumer goods the people seek to import, with the exception of materials and items that can be used to produce weapons.

Those restrictions have been associated with previous waaambulance-related incidents in Gaza. An official complained in November that Israel was not allowing waaambulances into the territory, requiring that a waaambulance be summoned for him. However, nearly the entire fleet had already been dispatched to address whining over Egypt’s flooding of tunnels under the border at Rafah to prevent trafficking of arms between Hamas and ISIS in the Sinai.

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