| http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/sonic-shock-birth-trauma/2006/07/05/1151779013619.html# Sonic boom attacks spread trauma across Gaza Ed O'Loughlin July 6, 2006 DOCTORS in Gaza say a combination of Israeli bombardment, sonic boom attacks and economic warfare is leading to a serious deterioration in public health, with children and pregnant women most vulnerable. At Gaza City's Shifa Hospital, obstetricians say there has been a rise in miscarriages, premature births and stillbirths since the capture of Corporal Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants on June 25 led to an escalation in conflict. They believe the main cause is Israel's reintroduction of sonic boom attacks in recent days in a campaign to terrify Gaza's 1.4 million people and prevent them from sleeping. At various hours of the day and night the Israeli Air Force has sent its supersonic aircraft over Gaza to break the sound barrier. The sound is akin to that of a large bomb, and it can produce panic attacks, shock and nosebleeds. "The sonic booms, combined with all the other stress, have a bad effect on the health of pregnant women," said Dr Adnan Radi, a senior obstetrician. "The explosions can lead to premature contraction of the uterus and premature delivery of the baby. Whenever there is this booming, the next day we see a rise in the number of premature deliveries and miscarriages." At Shifa doctors say the number of women miscarrying or beginning premature labour has risen from two to four a day to as many as 10. In the past 10 days there have been three stillbirths, compared with one every six months, the doctors said. Israel began to use sonic booms against the people of Gaza last year, and security officials sought to portray the booms as a "non-lethal" and humane weapon designed to persuade the civilians of Gaza to force militants to stop firing missiles at neighbouring Israel and, more recently, to free Corporal Shalit. There was outrage last November when the air force inadvertently set off sonic booms over Israel itself, leading to widespread civilian panic. One Gaza resident, Areesh Bahja, said the booms were distressing for her three children. "They are very tired and very upset and they get sick and vomit very easily," she said. "They have lost a lot of their appetite. When they are watching TV ... and there is a sonic boom they jump up like they are on springs and they grab hold of me." Her five-year-old daughter, Layan, said: "When the sound isn't big, I'm not afraid. But when it's a big one, it scares me and gives me a pain in my head." As she spoke, an Israeli 155-millimetre shell dropped a kilometre or so away, close enough to make the walls of the house ring. "That's the sound of a shell," Layan said disdainfully. "I'm not scared of that." Humanitarian aid has been reduced and hospital staff wages unpaid because of the West's decision to join Israel in boycotting the Hamas government in the Palestinian Authority. Last week Israeli aircraft knocked out Gaza's only power plant, disrupting supplies to most of the Strip. "We've had to halt all elective and non-emergency surgery," said the hospital's director of public relations, Dr Jumaa al-Saqqa. "There is also a noticeable increase in gastroenteritis-type symptoms because of poor food and because the power cuts mean that people can't refrigerate their food properly anymore." Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald. Rebecca Gaiewski [EMAIL PROTECTED] |
