Australian peacebuilders want to take injured Gazans to Israel 

Project Rozana has proposed the Australian Government fund a triage hospital in Gaza.

A joint Israeli-Palestinian healthcare organisation founded in Australia wants the Australian government to help rebuild critical healthcare in Gaza Strip.

Project Rozana has put forward a proposal to the Australian government for it to fund what the charity believes it can do to help: build a triage hospital in partnership with the Red Crescent (Red Cross) hospital in Gaza and upgrade its 20 ambulances. Only four of the hospital’s ambulances are equipped to carry wounded people.

The hope is the triage hospital can determine whether a patient can get the care they need in Gaza’s hospitals, or if the level of care they need requires them to be taken to a hospital in East Jerusalem or Israel.

It also wants to expand its bus fleet, to help get critically ill Gazan residents to hospitals in East Jerusalem.

Project Rozana already supports  joint Israeli-Palestinian healthcare initiatives including joint training for Israeli and Palestinian nurses and Wheels of Hope, a program which transports Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank for advanced medical treatment in Israel.

“The initiative is to put in place something measurable, practical, and impactful,” says founder Ron Finkel. “And also, something that makes Australians feel that they’re making a contribution and making a difference.”

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced $10 million in initial humanitarian funding to assist Palestinians in Gaza, with $3m to be committed to the Red Cross and $7m to the United Nations.

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The Australian charity seeking to rebuild critical healthcare in Gaza (Guardian)

Photo: Medical staff train on a dummy (Project Rozana International)

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Top photo: Palestinian medical staff train on a dummy in Israel (Project Rozanna)