I am about to undergo knee replacement surgery and have been advised by Tweed Hospital that as this is a very painful procedure I should call early for pain relief.
This made me think of Gaza where pain relief is not available for everyone. Children and pregnant women needing C-sections often have to endure extreme pain without anaesthesia. Save the Children claim that each day ten children have lost one or both legs and, according to UNICEF, more than 1,000 children in Gaza have had one or both legs amputated since October 7, 2023. Read the story of Ghazal who had a leg amputated without painkillers [https://www.unicef.org/sop/stories/facing-life-gaza-strip-new-disability]. Israel’s current conduct, which to me is clearly barbarity, in killing and maiming thousands, 70 per cent of whom are women and children, and then blocking medical supplies, should have us all screaming from our rooftops to get Australia to urgently join South Africa and others in a petition to the ICJ to order Israel to stop its vivisection!
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
