Director of Field Hospital in Southern Gaza Says Israeli Strike Killed a Guard
An Israeli strike killed a security guard and wounded 10 patients at a field hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday, according to the director of the medical facility.
The deadly attack on the grounds of the Kuwait Specialty Field Hospital came two days after Israel attacked the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, one of the last functioning medical centers in Gaza. Israel has said the strike on the Al Ahli hospital was targeting a Hamas command center, without providing evidence.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it was looking into the reports about the strike on the Kuwait Specialty Field Hospital.
Dr. Suhaib al-Hamss, the field hospital's director, said that the guard was killed protecting the entrance to the facility. Four of the wounded suffered serious injuries, he added.
'It was a powerful strike,' Dr. al-Hamss, 37, said in a phone interview. 'Everything fell over.'
The Israeli military offensive in Gaza has caused immense damage to hospitals and the health care system in the enclave. The World Health Organization reported last month that 33 of Gaza's 36 hospitals had been damaged during the war, and that only 21 remained partly functional. The W.H.O. also warned on Saturday that hospitals in Gaza face a looming medicine shortage because Israel has blocked aid deliveries for six weeks.
Israel has accused Hamas of exploiting health facilities by using them for military purposes — allegations that the militant group has denied.
Dr. al-Hamss said that the hospital's location was known to the Israeli authorities as it had been shared through intermediaries before the attack. He added that staff were vetted and that Hamas government offices were not hosted at the medical facility.
'We're not doing anything other than medicine,' he said.
The Kuwait Specialty Field Hospital was treating a minimum of 3,500 patients every day, according to Dr. al-Hamss.
'The hospital,' he said, 'is providing a solution to the people in light of the collapse of the heath sector in Gaza.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says 5 members killed in Hamas attack
A US- and Israeli-backed charity operating in Gaza accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of attacking aid workers en route to a distribution centre on Wednesday, saying at least five people were killed. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said a bus carrying its staff to a distribution site near Khan Yunis in the south was "brutally attacked by Hamas" around 10:00 pm (1900 GMT). "We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage," GHF said in a statement. In an email to AFP, the group added that all five of the people killed were Palestinian aid workers for GHF. "These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others," the group said in its statement condemning the attack. The distribution of food and basic supplies in the besieged Gaza Strip has become increasingly fraught and perilous, exacerbating the territory's deep hunger crisis. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defence. It said Israeli forces killed 31 people waiting for aid on Wednesday. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment about the incident. - 'Died while waiting' - The GHF, an officially private effort with opaque funding, began operating on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, sparking international outcry and warnings of imminent famine. During its first week of operations, the GHF said it distributed more than seven million meals' worth of food, but its operations were heavily criticised even before the string of deadly incidents near its sites. The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. The amount of aid being allowed back into the territory meanwhile has been described as only a trickle. Gaza's medics have said hospitals were being inundated with people attacked while trying to obtain food. Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat Camp said early Thursday that four people were killed and 100 wounded in an overnight Israeli drone attack on a gathering at an aid distribution site close to a key checkpoint along the road to northern Gaza. At Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, the emergency room said it had started receiving dozens of victims who had been waiting for aid, including 200 in a single day. "Many Gazans went to the Nabulsi and Netzarim areas to receive aid and were shot at and shelled with tanks," said Mutaz Harara, head of Al-Shifa's emergency department. But with few medical supplies and no operating rooms, "many patients died while waiting for their turn", he said. - Convoys through Egypt? - To combat the widespread shortages, two activist convoys are attempting to transport supplies to the Gaza border themselves. The Soumoud convoy -- meaning steadfastness in Arabic -- left Tunis in buses and cars on Monday, hoping to pass through divided Libya and Egypt. The Global March to Gaza, which is coordinating with Soumoud, said it is organising a separate mobilisation starting in Cairo on Friday. The plan entails participants marching through the heavily securitised Sinai Peninsula on foot, and camping on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing. Israel's defence minister objected to the mobilisation, and said he expects Egyptian authorities "to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border". Such actions "would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed," Defence Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday. Egypt said that while it backs efforts to put "pressure on Israel" to lift its blockade on Gaza, any foreign delegations seeking to visit the border area must receive prior approval. With international and domestic pressure on the Israeli government mounting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu survived the latest challenge to his right-wing coalition early Thursday. A bill to dissolve parliament -- which could have led to snap polls -- was narrowly defeated, with 61 members of the Knesset voting against it, and 53 in favour. The opposition had hoped to leverage dissatisfaction with Netanyahu over proposals to enlist ultra-Orthodox men typically exempt from the military draft. But ultimately, the ultra-Orthodox parties did not back the effort. The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulting in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli military offensive has killed at least 55,104 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable. Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. bur-lb/tym
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Drugs alone not the answer', says top GP as he talks about weight loss jabs
A leading GP and TV medic has told fitness industry professionals gathered in Bolton that drugs alone are not the way to fight obesity. Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi, a regular guest on Channel 4's "Steph's Packed Lunch" and the lifestyle and physical activity lead for the Royal College of General Practitioners, shared this sentiment at a professional development event for the health, fitness, and wellbeing sector. He was addressing the professionals, at the Bolton Arena Community Sports Village, on the roll-out of GLP-1 drugs, sometimes referred to colloquially as fat jabs or fat pills. These medicines, which can be taken as tablets or injections, are used to treat type 2 diabetes and can aid weight loss by reducing a patient's appetite. Dr Al-Zubaidi said: "The roll-out of GLP-1s within primary care is very much the hot topic at the moment. "It is going to transform how we deliver primary care – and a lot of other things. "As we roll out GLP-1 therapies in primary care, we must resist the temptation to settle for the minimal scalable model of lifestyle support. "I was emphasising that people deserve better than that. "Our patients deserve a comprehensive, multi-component approach – nutrition, behavioural and psychological support, sleep and stress management, physical activity, and addiction care all working in harmony." His remarks come during an ongoing debate within the fitness sector about the role of GLP-1s in addressing obesity. The event was hosted by the LFX network in partnership with GM Active, a group made up of 12 leisure and community organisations – including Bolton Arena – that manage most publicly owned leisure and physical activity facilities on behalf of the 10 authorities across Greater Manchester. GM Active chair, Andy King, said: "It's not often a 'moment in time' occurs that you know will be considered a 'turning point' in the future, yet this event will be one of those, I am sure. "Thanks to the LFX network, GM Active is set fair to really understand how we can support those people who, through one way or another, have opted to utilise these tools to assist them to lose weight and help them to sustain their gains for the longer term through pragmatic and people-centred, wrap-around support." READ MORE: Bolton charity boss honoured with invite to Palace garden party Three Bolton businesses named for not paying minimum wage 'Top local chippy' nominated for award - cast your vote Dr Al-Zubaidi added: "The fitness professionals in that packed room have shown they're ready to play their part – now it's time for all of us to turn that eagerness into action." Neil Hutchinson, managing director of Bolton Arena Community Sports Village, said: "We've been working on a new health and wellbeing strategy for Bolton over the last six months, so I was keen to host this event and be at the front of this discussion. "We aim to be on the front foot with this in Bolton and ready to support local GPs and primary care in this revolutionary healthcare development."
Chicago Tribune
4 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza health officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Palestinian death toll from the 20-month Israel-Hamas war climbed past 55,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday, and local hospitals said at least 21 people were killed while on their way to aid distribution sites. The circumstances of the deaths reported near the sites were not immediately clear. The Israeli army said Wednesday it fired warning shots in central Gaza toward 'suspects' that posed a threat to troops. The Gaza Health Ministry doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants, but has said that women and children make up more than half the 55,000 dead. Israel says it only targets fighters and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing them of hiding among civilians, because they operate in populated areas. The ministry says 55,104 people have been killed since the start of the war and 127,394 wounded. Many more are believed to be buried under the rubble or in areas that are inaccessible to local medics. The figure did not include Wednesday's deaths. The Health Ministry is part of Gaza's Hamas-run government, but staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records. Its tolls from previous conflicts have largely aligned with those of independent experts, though Israel has questioned the ministry's figures. Also Wednesday, Israel said forces recovered the remains of two additional hostages held in Gaza. Fighters still hold 53 captives, less than half of them believed to be alive. Health officials in Gaza said 14 people were killed while on their way to collect aid near the southern city of Rafah. Their bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. In central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital said that seven additional people were killed while on their way to an aid distribution site. The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots before daylight toward people it identified as suspects 'who were advancing while posing a threat' in central Gaza. The military had no immediate comment on the reports of casualties in southern Gaza. Safaa Farmawi said her daughter, Ghazal Eyad, 16, was killed while on her way to collect food in Rafah. 'My daughter and I went to get aid, she came before me, I looked for my daughter but couldn't find her. People told me your daughter was martyred,' Farmawi told the AP. Near-daily shootings have erupted as crowds make their way to aid sites run by a newly created aid group rejected by the United Nations. Palestinian witnesses to previous shootings have said Israeli forces fired toward the crowds. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots toward people it says approached its forces in a suspicious manner. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates the aid distribution sites, says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points. It has warned people to stay on the designated routes and recently paused delivery to discuss safety measures with the military. The aid system rolled out last month has been marred by chaos and violence, while a longstanding U.N.-run system has struggled to deliver food because of Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of law and order, despite Israel loosening a total blockade it imposed from early March to mid-May. Experts and human rights workers say hunger is widespread and that the territory of some 2 million Palestinians is at risk of famine if Israel does not fully lift its blockade and halt its military campaign, which it renewed in March after ending a ceasefire with Hamas. Israel says the new aid distribution system is designed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid, but U.N. agencies and major aid groups say there is no evidence of systematic diversion. They say the new system violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who receives aid and by encouraging more mass displacement as Palestinians seek access to just three operational sites, two of them in the territory's southernmost city of Rafah, now a mostly uninhabited military zone. Israeli authorities identified one of the hostages recovered as Yair Yaakov who was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and whose body was taken into Gaza. His partner and two children were also taken captive and released in a ceasefire deal early in the war. The second hostage's identity was not disclosed. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the bodies were retrieved in a 'complex' operation without disclosing details. The Israeli military said they were recovered from Khan Younis. The war began when Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. More than half the captives have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered the remains of dozens more. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal. It has offered to hand over power to a politically independent Palestinian committee. but has not agreed to disarm. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying that Israel will only agree to temporary ceasefires to facilitate the return of hostages. He has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. Netanyahu says Israel will control Gaza indefinitely and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries. The Palestinians and most of the international community reject such plans, viewing them as forcible expulsion that could violate international law.
