'Most of the people were dead,' volunteer medic in Israel reports, upon arriving to help

Tel Aviv, Israel -

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains intense and graphic depictions of war that may not be suitable for all audiences. Reader discretion is advised.

 

The bodies of people killed in the Israel-Hamas war arrived at a medical station in Tel Aviv, Israel by the truckload this week as volunteers stood by to help.

Moshe Melayed, a volunteer medic with the 360 National Rescue Unit, is among those helping police forensic teams to identify victims of the war.

• In pictures: Aftermath of unprecedented attack by Hamas

He said he was there when the bodies of 50 people arrived at the station where volunteers had to unload them.

"The first body that I took out from the truck, she was, I think, five or six years old, (a) girl with long hair," Melayed told CTV National News' Adrian Ghobrial. "She didn't even weigh too much … the terrifying look that she had on her face tells the whole story."

It's been six days since Hamas, which the Canadian government has designated as a terrorist group, bombarded Israel in a surprise attack—the deadliest the country has seen in decades.

Thousands of people have been reported dead and missing since the war began, and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said escalated tensions are expected to get worse before they get better.

The day after the surprise incursion, Melayed was in southern Israel working to help the wounded.

"But actually, I didn't have a lot to do there, because it was a lot of bodies…most of the people were dead," he said.

Melayed said the violent attacks are like nothing he's seen before.

"I see (bodies of) children, elderly women, men, foreign workers from Thailand, people that have nothing to do with the war," he said. "They (Hamas) just butcher everyone…They kill them with shovels, with hammers…terrible."

Melayed said he has to compartmentalize, mentally and emotionally, from what he is doing. He said some of the bodies that he unloads are difficult to identify.

"Some people come in with parts of bodies, and bodies with no heads, and things like that, which is not easy to see," he said. "We're just doing our responsibility, and keep going."

Melayed said he sees his job as a way to give back to his community, but right now he is operating in "survival" mode.

"I can't think about anything…I'm a volunteer. I'm taking my private time giving to my people," he said. "I think it's a mission. (But) it's not a mission that everybody can do."  

 

 

With files from CTV National News' Adrian Ghobrial.