Gaza's Al-Amal hospital ‘virtually out of service': WHO
GENEVA: The Al-Amal Hospital in Gaza, one of the few still operating in the Palestinian territory, is now 'virtually out of service' due to intense military activity, the head of the WHO said Monday.
'Access to the hospital is obstructed, preventing new patients from reaching care, and leading to more preventable deaths,' the World Health Organization's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X.
Tedros said two emergency medical teams — one local, the other international — 'are still doing their best to serve the remaining patients with the limited medical supplies left on the premises.'
'With the closure of Al-Amal, Nasser Medical Complex is now the only remaining hospital with an intensive care unit in Khan Younis,' he said.
The WHO said June 5 that Al-Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals were unable to fully treat the wounded that continue to pour in because of serious shortages of medicines and medical supplies after two months of total blockade.
Israeli authorities have recently allowed in some humanitarian aid, but way less than what is needed.
Nearly 20 months of relentless war, triggered by Hamas' October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, has created one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world, with civilians exhausted by bombardments, forced displacement and hunger.
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Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
What daily life is really like for women and girls surviving under Israeli siege in Gaza
DUBAI: Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, more than 28,000 women and girls have been killed — an average of one every hour — according to UN Women, making the besieged Palestinian enclave one of the most dangerous places in the world to be female. Thousands more have been injured and nearly a million displaced. As food, water and basic healthcare become increasingly scarce under Israeli blockade, survival has turned into a daily struggle — and women and girls are bearing the brunt. According to a group of independent UN human rights experts, nearly 13,000 women in Gaza are now the heads of their households, often caring for children without adequate shelter or essential supplies. On May 21, experts issued an urgent appeal to the UN Security Council, condemning what they described as Israel's 'unprecedented assault' on Gaza's civilian population — and warning of its particularly devastating impact on Palestinian women and girls. 'The devastation experienced by women, girls and entire communities is not incidental — it is the consequence of intentional policies and actions by Israel,' they said. 'The killings of thousands of women and girls may constitute the deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction, in whole or in part, of the Palestinian people.' Israeli forces launched military operations in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which 1,200 people — mostly civilians — were killed and about 250 others, many non-Israelis, were taken hostage. Since then, at least 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local health officials. Israel maintains that it does not deliberately target civilians and accuses Hamas of using Gaza's population as human shields. The crisis has been compounded by repeated Israeli blockades on humanitarian aid and commercial goods, pushing the territory into famine and prompting accusations that food is being weaponized. Despite ongoing international attempts to broker a ceasefire, the conflict has devastated the enclave, triggering one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. 'More than two-thirds of Gaza's population, about 1.7 million people, are now estimated to be crammed into an area of 69 sq. km — less than a fifth of the Strip,' Hadeel Qazzaz, Oxfam MENA's regional gender coordinator, told Arab News. In overcrowded tents and displacement camps, privacy is almost nonexistent. Care responsibilities have increased for women, and water shortages are taking a disproportionate toll. 'From queuing for hours in the heat for water to facing daily health risks due to lack of proper sanitation, the lack of clean and safe latrines is leading to serious health issues, including infections among women,' said Qazzaz. At displacement sites reached by Oxfam in May 2024, water points were reportedly located up to a kilometer away. Women and girls were spending up to three hours a day collecting water — compared to 1.7 hours for men and boys. But water is only part of the problem. Food insecurity presents another growing threat. Nine out of 10 displacement sites show visible signs of malnutrition among residents, with female-headed households among the most vulnerable. 'Women are skipping meals so their children can eat,' said Qazzaz. 'Many are putting their own health at risk to keep their families going. When food parcels arrive, women often eat last — or not at all.' An estimated 71,000 children and 17,000 women are expected to require urgent treatment for acute malnutrition in the coming weeks, highlighting the scale of the emergency and the desperate need for sustained aid access. 'Even when food is available, women often have to cook on open fires due to fuel shortages — exposing them to health risks and doubling the time needed to prepare a meal,' said Qazzaz. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are especially at risk, with many becoming dangerously undernourished. Since October 2023, Gaza has seen a 300 percent increase in miscarriages. Premature births and maternal deaths have surged, with many women forced to give birth without proper medical support. 'Maternal care is nearly nonexistent,' said Qazzaz. 'Women are giving birth in tents, without skilled help, clean supplies or even pain relief.' These accounts are echoed by medical workers on the ground. 'The situation in Gaza is precarious for everyone, but especially for pregnant women,' Denise Potvin, a Canadian nursing activity manager with Medecins Sans Frontieres at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, told Arab News. 'Over the past weeks, we've seen malnutrition steadily increase. It's very visible — there's a huge vulnerability for pregnant and lactating women. The small amount of food entering Gaza through aid crossings is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of this population.' Maternity departments are seeing more women arriving late — after giving birth at home — or showing up in emergency rooms because they couldn't reach a hospital in time. 'Colleagues, including midwives and health professionals, are being woken up in the middle of the night to assist in home deliveries because women simply cannot reach hospitals,' said Potvin. 'Constant displacement, insecurity and lack of transport make it incredibly difficult for pregnant women to access care.' Routine antenatal check-ups have become nearly impossible to access. With clinics shutting down, the ability to detect or treat complications has all but vanished. 'The space that organizations operate in is decreasing by the day,' said Potvin. 'More people are displaced, and it's harder to meet the growing needs of the population.' She called on the international community to recognize the extreme vulnerability of pregnant women under siege. 'Imagine being a pregnant woman in this situation — living in a tent, unable to access prenatal care, giving birth without medical help, while also trying to feed your family, find clean water and maintain basic hygiene,' she said. 'Daily survival is already a huge challenge, and pregnancy only adds to it.' Reports from UN Women, the UN Population Fund and independent rights monitors paint an increasingly bleak picture. Women and girls with disabilities face even greater risks, including neglect, violence and denial of basic services. From bombardment to birth complications, period poverty to famine, every aspect of life has been made much harder. With 90 percent of households facing extreme water shortages, women and girls struggle to manage menstruation without access to clean water, soap, sanitary pads or private spaces. • 28k Women and girls killed since October 2023. • 1m Women and girls displaced by the conflict. • 13k Women who are now single heads of households. • 17k Pregnant and breastfeeding women deemed acutely malnourished. Source: UN Around 700,000 women and girls of menstruating age — many experiencing their first periods — are facing these challenges in shelters and displacement camps. A rapid gender analysis by Oxfam found that 690,000 menstruating women and girls lack access to clean facilities and sufficient water for basic hygiene. Each person is allocated just 6.6 liters of water a day — less than half the global emergency minimum. Toilets are unsanitary, overcrowded and often unsafe for women and girls, with up to 1,000 people sharing a single facility. The Oxfam report warned: 'Girls are vulnerable to harassment and abuse and resort to using old clothes or only their underwear when sanitary pads are unavailable' — a situation that has led to infections, maternal complications and even infant deaths. Despite the immense logistical challenges, the UN Population Fund continues to address urgent sexual and reproductive health needs. Since October 2023, it has distributed two-month supplies of disposable menstrual pads to more than 300,000 women and girls. More than 12,000 new mothers have received postpartum kits for recovery in conditions where professional care is almost impossible. To help women regain a sense of dignity and autonomy, the agency has also provided cash and voucher assistance to more than 150,000 women and girls, enabling them to buy essential hygiene items like soap, towels, pads, and underwear amid severe shortages. These relentless hardships — from caregiving and hunger to hygiene struggles in unsafe conditions — are taking a psychological toll. Mental health issues are on the rise, with mounting reports of stress, anxiety and depression among women and girls. With Gaza's education system in collapse, many girls have become full-time caregivers for their younger siblings. 'Girls are being more deeply affected,' said Qazzaz. 'The war has pushed many out of school and into caregiving roles. Some are being forced into early marriages as families try to reduce economic burdens.' As household tensions rise, so too does gender-based violence. Experts say only a ceasefire would offer immediate relief to the women and girls of Gaza. 'Even a temporary end to the violence would offer critical psychological relief for women carrying enormous emotional and caregiving burdens,' said Qazzaz. 'It would give families a chance to breathe, regroup, and begin to heal.' A truce would also help restore access to hospitals, allow medical teams to resume work, and ensure that essential aid — from food and medicine to hygiene supplies — reaches those in need. Meanwhile, the independent UN experts have issued a stark warning about the wider implications of the conflict. 'In Gaza, the rules of engagement and fundamental protections owed to civilians have been intentionally, persistently and flagrantly violated,' they said. 'If the Security Council fails to confront this profound breakdown in compliance and accountability, and what it means for humanity and multilateralism, the very foundations of international law risk becoming meaningless."
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Health in space: crucial for Saudi Arabia's journey beyond Earth
We are now closer to the vastness of space than ever before. More nations are expressing interest and participating in space activities. Additionally, more astronauts are venturing into space, with exploration no longer limited to select countries but opening up to many nations and even individuals. Public-private partnerships are transforming the space sector, with companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic offering opportunities for private citizens to travel to space. Increasing international collaboration is also playing a key role. Saudi Arabia's first mission took the first Muslim and Arab astronaut, Prince Sultan bin Salman, into space aboard NASA's Discovery Shuttle. More recently, Ali Al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi — the first female Arab in space — participated in the Axiom-2 mission. Saudi Arabia is also a signatory to the Artemis Accords, along with more than 50 other nations, paving the way for deep space and lunar missions and research. International cooperation is expanding opportunities for other countries as well; Pakistan was recently announced as the first foreign nation to have a citizen conduct research on China's space station. Being an international space medicine and health educator, mentor, and researcher, I would like to highlight that a critical prerequisite at the core of all future human missions is the health and well-being of the humans in space. This is especially important as Saudi Arabia advances its space sector, furthering research and its astronaut program in support of Vision 2030. In my recent publication in one of the world's distinguished scientific journals, I focused on keeping astronauts healthy in space. It highlights the human physiological, health, and psychological challenges inherent in space. The publication also explores the specific complexities of deep space environments, where scientific understanding of human health, sustained radiation exposure, and other unprecedented difficulties remains notably limited. Key challenges in deep space missions include studies showing significantly higher daily radiation exposure on the lunar and Martian surfaces compared to Earth. We must also develop innovative approaches for healthcare delivery in space. Traditionally reliant on telemedicine and Earth-based support, such systems face major limitations due to communication delays — with signals between Mars and Earth taking up to 20 minutes one way — making Earth-dependent care inefficient in medical emergencies. One solution is to incorporate advanced artificial intelligence for autonomous medical assistance, a domain in which Saudi Arabia is actively investing through initiatives like its National Strategy for Data and AI. Another key area of concern is the mood and mental health challenges. Human missions to Mars will face many stressors, including the long duration away from loved ones, with the trip itself taking around 7–10 months in a confined space. I have heard some find it tiring to drive from Jeddah to Riyadh in a car for almost 10 hours — so how would you feel being stuck in that limited space non-stop for 10 months? Reflecting on confined space, I am reminded of Prince Sultan's quote about his mission: 'You miss space most in space.' My deep interest and experience in space medicine and health originate from a foundational conviction — reinforced by being a medical doctor, academic, and space medicine educator and researcher — that the optimal health of astronauts will always take precedence in any human space mission, regardless of how advanced our engineering, policies, or propulsion systems are. If an astronaut's health is compromised, even the most technologically advanced mission will be put on hold. No crewed space mission would receive approval until we ensure astronauts' health and well-being can be maintained throughout the mission. Consequently, space medicine, life sciences, and health are not merely significant; they are absolutely indispensable for Saudi Arabia's future in space. For these reasons, I strongly recommend that Saudi Arabia prioritize developing its own robust capabilities in this field. Establishing national capacity in this critical domain is crucial for future endeavors, and I am ready to bring my expertise to help develop and drive this vision forward. — Dr. Farhan M. Asrar is a Canadian physician, academic, and space medicine researcher. He is associate dean at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Medicine and holds senior faculty/leadership roles at the University of Toronto and International Space University.
Asharq Al-Awsat
16 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Inside the Tunnel Where Muhammad Sinwar Was Killed
By Patrick Kingsley* Two feet wide and less than six feet tall, the tunnel led deep beneath a major hospital in southern Gaza. The underground air bore the stench of what smelled like human remains. After walking some 40 yards along the tunnel, we found the likely cause. In a tiny room that the tunnel led to, the floor was stained with blood. It was here, according to the Israeli military, that Muhammad Sinwar - one of Hamas's top commanders and the younger brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar - was killed last month after a nearby barrage of Israeli strikes. What we saw in that dark and narrow tunnel is one of the war's biggest Rorschach tests (psychological assessment tool that uses inkblots to evaluate a person's personality), the embodiment of a broader narrative battle between Israelis and Palestinians over how the conflict should be portrayed. The military escorted a reporter from The New York Times to the tunnel on Sunday afternoon, as part of a brief and controlled visit for international journalists that the Israelis hoped would prove that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure as a shield for military activity. To Palestinians, Israel's attack on, and subsequent capture of, the hospital compound highlighted its own disregard for civilian activity. Body of Muhammad Sinwar Last month, the military ordered the hospital's staff and patients to leave the compound, along with the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods. Then, officials said, they bored a huge hole, some 10 yards deep, in a courtyard within the hospital grounds. Soldiers used that hole to gain access to the tunnel and retrieve Sinwar's body, and they later escorted journalists there so we could see what they called his final hiding place. There are no known entrances to the tunnel within the hospital itself, so we lowered ourselves into the Israeli-made cavity using a rope. To join this controlled tour, The Times agreed not to photograph most soldiers' faces or publish geographic details that would put them in immediate physical danger. To the Israelis who brought us there, this hiding place - directly underneath the emergency department of the European Gaza Hospital - is emblematic of how Hamas has consistently endangered civilians, and broken international law, by directing its military operations from the cover of hospitals and schools. Hamas has also dug tunnels underneath Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City and a UN complex elsewhere in that city. 'We were dragged by Hamas to this point,' Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the chief Israeli military spokesman, said at the hospital on Sunday afternoon. 'If they weren't building their infrastructure under the hospitals, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't attack this hospital.' Defrin said that Israel had tried to minimize damage to the hospital by striking the area around its buildings, without a direct hit on the medical facilities themselves. 'The aim was not to damage the hospital and, as much as we could, to avoid collateral damage,' he said. Prioritize Destruction of Hamas To the Palestinians who were forced from here, the Israeli attack on Sinwar embodied Israel's willingness to prioritize the destruction of Hamas over the protection of civilian life and infrastructure, particularly the health system. According to the World Health Organization, Israel has conducted at least 686 attacks on health facilities in Gaza since the start of the war, damaging at least 33 of Gaza's 36 hospitals. Many, like the European Gaza Hospital, are now out of service, fueling accusations from rights groups and foreign governments — strongly denied by the Israelis— that Israel is engaged in genocide, in part by wrecking the Palestinian health system. 'It's morally and legally unacceptable, but Israel thinks it is above the law,' Dr. Salah al-Hams, the hospital spokesman, said in a phone interview from another part of southern Gaza. Though Israel targeted the periphery of the hospital site, leaving the hospital buildings standing, al-Hams said the strikes had wounded 10 people within the compound, damaged its water and sewage systems and dislodged part of its roof. It killed 23 people in buildings beyond its perimeter, he said, 17 more than were reported the day of the attack. The tremors caused by the strikes were like an 'earthquake,' al-Hams said. Al-Hams said he had been unaware of any tunnels beneath the hospital. Even if they were there, he said: 'This does not justify the attack. Israel should have found other ways to eliminate any wanted commander. There were a thousand other ways to do it.' Piles of Rubble Our journey to the hospital revealed much about the current dynamics of the war in Gaza. In a roughly 20-minute ride from the Israeli border, we saw no Palestinians — the result of Israel's decision to order the residents of southern Gaza to abandon their homes and head west to the sea. Many buildings were simply piles of rubble, destroyed either by Israeli strikes and demolitions or Hamas' booby-traps. Here and there, some buildings survived, more or less intact; on one balcony, someone had left a tidy line of potted cactuses. We drove in open-top jeeps, a sign that across this swath of southeastern Gaza, the Israeli military no longer fears being ambushed by Hamas fighters. Until at least the Salah al-Din highway, the territory's main north-south artery, the Israeli military seemed to be in complete command after the expansion of its ground campaign in March. The European Gaza Hospital and the tunnel beneath it are among the places that now appear to be exclusively under Israeli control. Under the laws of war, a medical facility is considered a protected site that can be attacked only in very rare cases. If one side uses the site for military purposes, that may make it a legitimate target, but only if the risk to civilians is proportional to the military advantage created by the attack. The Israeli military said it had tried to limit harm to civilians by striking only around the edges of the hospital compound. But international legal experts said that any assessment of the strike's legality needed also to take into account its effect on the wider health system in southern Gaza. In a territory where many hospitals are already not operational, experts said, it is harder to find legal justification for strikes that put the remaining hospitals out of service, even if militants hide beneath them. Sinwar and 4 Fellow Militants When we entered the tunnel on Sunday, we found it almost entirely intact. The crammed room where Sinwar and four fellow militants were said to have died was stained with blood, but its walls appeared undamaged. The mattresses, clothes and bedsheets did not appear to have been dislodged by the explosions, and an Israeli rifle — stolen earlier in the war, the soldiers said — dangled from a hook in the corner. It was not immediately clear how Sinwar was killed, and Defrin said he could not provide a definitive answer. He suggested that Sinwar and his allies may have suffocated in the aftermath of the strikes or been knocked over by a shock wave unleashed by explosions. If Sinwar was intentionally poisoned by gases released by such explosions, it would raise legal questions, experts on international law said. 'It would be an unlawful use of a conventional bomb — a generally lawful weapon — if the intent is to kill with the asphyxiating gases released by that bomb,' said Sarah Harrison, a former lawyer at the US Defense Department and an analyst at the International Crisis Group. Defrin denied any such intent. 'This is something that I have to emphasize here, as a Jew first and then as a human being: We don't use gas as weapons,' he said. In other tunnels discovered by the Israeli military, soldiers have used Palestinians as human shields, sending them on ahead to scour for traps. The general denied the practice. The tunnel was excavated by Israelis, he said. The New York Times
