Gaza paramedics use 'sight and sound' to find casualties after phones and internet cut off

The injured, the sick and women giving birth cannot call for help as the 101 hotline no longer works

A girl is rescued from the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip. AP Photo

An Apache helicopter fires flares, seen from Sderot in southern Israel, close to the border with Gaza. Reuters

Palestinians plug their phones into portable charging stations on a street in Khan Younis, Gaza. Bloomberg

Residents search survivors among the rubble following Israeli strikes on Jabalia, northern Gaza. EPA

Palestinians search for survivors and bodies following Israeli airstrikes at the Jabalia, the largest refugee camp in Gaza. AP

Palestinians look for survivors among the rubble of destroyed buildings following Israeli strikes on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. AP

Palestinians look for survivors among the rubble of destroyed buildings following Israeli strikes on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. AP

A fire burns in western Gaza after an Israeli air strike. Reuters

Missiles are fired from Israel towards the Gaza Strip. Getty Images

Smoke rises from an explosion in Gaza. Getty Images

A group of men survey the destruction following air strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city, as Israeli forces entered the northern area of the Gaza Strip. AFP

A man drives a damaged car following air strikes on Gaza city. AFP

A man pushes a bicycle past the remains of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP

A woman and children walk past a house destroyed in Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP

People dig through the rubble of a destroyed building following Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP

A man drives a damaged car past a building destroyed in Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP

People gather amid the destruction following Israeli strikes on Al Shatee camp in Gaza city. AFP

People gather amid the destruction following Israeli strikes on Al-Shatee camp in Gaza City on October 28, 2023. Israeli air strikes destroyed hundreds of buildings in the Gaza Strip overnight, the civil defence service in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory said on October 28. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)

Smoke rises from the northern Gaza Strip as Israeli air and ground forces amplified their military activities against Hamas. EPA

An Israeli Apache attack helicopter flies close to the border with the Gaza Strip, near Israel's southern city of Ashkelon. AFP

Israeli soldiers in an armoured personnel carrier on patrol near Israel's border with Gaza. EPA

The crew of an Israeli tank prepare for ground operations near the border with Gaza. EPA

Israeli soldiers prepare for ground manoeuvres at an undisclosed location in Israel near the border with Gaza. EPA

The ruins of northern Gaza seen from Sderot in southern Israel. EPA

Smoke and explosions caused by Israeli bombardment over northern Gaza. AP Photo

An explosion on the Israel-Gaza border. Reuters

A video grab shows fireballs and smoke rising above Gaza city following an Israeli attack. AFP

An explosion in Gaza seen from Sderot in southern Israel. Reuters

A video grab shows rockets fired from Gaza city. AFP

Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip. AP Photo

A video grab shows a salvo of rockets fired from Gaza city. AFP

A flare trail fired by the Israeli army east of Khan Younis on the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

Smoke from the bombing of the Gaza Strip over the Israeli border city of Ashkelon. AFP

Flares over Gaza as seen from Sderot in southern Israel. Reuters

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Gaza no longer has a functioning emergency service after phone and internet services were cut off on Friday evening, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

With the 101 hotline for paramedics and 102 for civil defence no longer working, paramedics and rescuers are following the sound of falling ordnance and the cries of the injured to locate victims and survivors after Israeli attacks.

“They are having to resort to primitive ways to save people – using sight and sound. Nobody can call the hotline, nobody can call for help, not even the sick or women giving birth,” the Palestinian Red Crescent’s Mohammad Al Fityani told The National from Jerusalem. He said he last spoke to his team in Gaza on Friday evening.

“Without a network, ambulances cannot even call each other or know where to go exactly. They have to simply inspect every site where there has been shelling to find out whether there are any people there who need help.

“They cannot come up with plans and reports, and they cannot arrange for additional supplies. The entire system is down.”

The death toll from Israel's bombardment of Gaza has climbed past 7,703, including 3,500 children, since the war on Gaza began three weeks ago, according to officials in the blockaded Palestinian territory.

A representative of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Israel-occupied West Bank said there were barely any details emerging from Gaza after communications cut out during intense Israeli strikes on Friday night.

“It’s not even about some damaged roads that hinder paramedics from reaching their destination. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic. Of course there isn’t an emergency service,” Anas Al Deek told The National.

At least one third of hospitals and almost two thirds of primary healthcare clinics have gone out of service due to damage from Israeli air strikes or a lack of resources, the health ministry said in a report on Saturday.

“We have lost contact with our teams in Gaza. The silence is deafening,” the World Food Programme's executive director Cindy McCain said.

“We are at a tipping point. Humanity must prevail.”