Tourniquet practice, drone strikes and power cuts

Gaza has been under heavy bombing and extensive military operations since 7 October, when Hamas – the militant group which controls Gaza – massacred and kidnapped more than 1,200 Israelis.

More than 30,000 people in Gaza have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Since she arrived in January, Karyn says that military activity has been “constant”.

“The drones are almost 24/7. In fact, we notice when the drones aren’t here, that’s how constant they are. Almost always we can hear shelling, we hear the naval gunfire,” she says.

“The air strikes are the really scary ones. Even if they’re not close you can feel the windows shake. If they’re very close then they’re very loud and you can feel the shockwaves.”

Karyn said the attack on WCK staff “really shook us, because it was so targeted”.

“You just think, my God, what? How did they not see that they were WCK staff, not carrying weapons? All of those things start to go through your head. It could be anyone next.

“We don’t feel safe. I don’t think any of us have from the minute we came in. Definitely the national staff, the Palestinians, don’t feel safe, they are absolutely terrified most of the time because they’re thinking; is there going to be an incursion into Rafah? If so, where do they go?”

Israel has admitted that the strike on WCK staff was a “grave mistake” and should “not have happened”, adding that it stemmed from the incorrect assumption that a Hamas gunman had been present in the convoy.

It has offered sincere condolences, sacked two officers and reprimanded two others, and vowed to “learn the lessons of the incident”, maintaining it is doing its upmost to preserve civilian life.

But Karyn says this hasn’t reassured her. She feels the statement raises more questions than it answers, such as whether “it’s okay to kill that many staff to get one Hamas gunman”, or why checks weren’t carried out during the airstrikes to ensure they had the correct target.

“Their rules of engagement are completely unknown,” she says. “It actually makes me feel more nervous.”

But Karyn says that the attack on WCK hasn’t put off foreign aid staff from going to Gaza. In fact, staff were asking not to be sent home in order to finish their work.

“We make it clear that staff can leave whenever they want to. But there’ve been 14,000 children killed in this conflict. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, and that’s a big driver to do whatever we can to help.”