Paramedics help a female health officer who was injured as Israeli forces intervene to disperse Palestinian protestors on the 23rd Friday near Gaza-Israel border in Rafah, Gaza on August 31, 2018. ( Abed Rahim Khatib - Anadolu Agency )
KHUZAA, Gaza Strip: Treating the wounded has become dangerous for Gaza's emergency workers. In the past five months, three medics were killed by Israeli army fire, while dozens more, including Asmaa Qudih, were hurt by live fire or tear gas canisters.
Qudih, 35, says the weekly routine is terrifying, but that national pride, religious devotion and professional ambition drive her and other medics to risk their lives.
"As long as you go to work in the field, you expect at any time to get injured or killed," she said on a recent Friday as she prepared to head to the frontier.
The plight of Gaza's medics lies at the heart of a debate over Israel's use of force in the protests. European and U.N. officials, along with international rights groups, accuse Israel of using excessive force.
