Latest news with #AlAwdaHospital
Sky News
2 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Last hospital in northern Gaza out of service after evacuation
The last working hospital in northern Gaza is no longer functional according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) - a day after staff reported Israeli troops had surrounded the site. The WHO said Al-Awda Hospital went out of service on Thursday, and patients and health workers evacuated the same evening for fear of their safety. It said that the hospital's closure is "severing a critical lifeline for the people" in northern Gaza, and pleaded "for the hospital's protection and staff and patients' safety". Israeli authorities issued evacuation orders last week for large parts of northern Gaza ahead of offensives against Hamas, although the army did not order the hospital itself to evacuate. Dr Rami al Ashrafi told the Associated Press on Thursday that Al-Awda Hospital had been encircled by Israeli troops and had come under fire in recent days. 0:21 Gaza situation 'worst since war began' - UN It comes as the United Nations said on Friday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is the worst since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023 - despite a resumption in aid deliveries. Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York that while "any aid that gets into the hands of people who need it is good," the deliveries have so far had "very, very little impact". He added: "The catastrophic situation in Gaza is the worst since the war began." The UN and other international aid groups have refused to work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) - supported by Israel and the US - as they claim it is not neutral and forces the displacement of Palestinians by its distribution of aid. 0:32 As of Friday, GHF said that it has managed to distribute more than 2.1 million meals. Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon said this week it would allow aid deliveries from both GHF and the UN's operations. Meanwhile, Hamas said it was still reviewing a US-proposed ceasefire a day after the White House said Israel accepted the offer. US President Donald Trump said in Washington that both sides were "very close to an agreement on Gaza, and we'll let you know about it during the day or maybe tomorrow". The proposal reportedly calls for a 60-day pause in fighting, and the release of nine living hostages and half of the known hostages who have died, over the course of a week. Israel and Hamas would then continue talks to bring the remaining hostages home, but Israel would retain the right to resume military action in Gaza if talks were to break down. According to Reuters, some 28 Israeli hostages - alive and dead - would be returned in the first week of the ceasefire, in exchange for 125 Palestinian prisoners sentenced for life and the remains of 180 dead.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Live: Israel forces new displacement in north Gaza as strikes intensify
Israel has issued forced displacement orders for five more areas in north Gaza, as it continues to squeeze the Strip's population into smaller areas of the is currently reviewing a new ceasefire proposal the United States says has been signed off on by Israel, but that in its current form will only result in more killings in Health Ministry says Israel's ordering al-Awda Hospital to close is a 'crime', as Palestinians struggle to find care in a health system decimated by Israeli war on Gaza has killed at least 54,249 Palestinians and wounded 123,492, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated its death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive. Update: Date: 1m ago (06:07 GMT) Title: At least 6 killed in Israeli attack on Jabalia Content: Al Jazeera's correspondent reports that six Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack that targeted a house in Jabalia's an-Nazla area, northern Gaza. The areas surrounding an-Nazla are currently under forced evacuation orders from the Israeli military. Update: Date: 3m ago (06:05 GMT) Title: Israel continues to clear out north Gaza with new evacuation orders Content: The army's Arabic language spokesperson has said on X that Palestinians in the 'Atatra, Jabalia Al-Balad, Shujaiya, Daraj and Zeitoun' areas must immediately leave and move west. Israel has been systematically clearing out parts of the Gaza Strip with orders such as these, pushing the Palestinian population into smaller and smaller areas of the enclave. The stated goal of its new offensive, Gideon's Chariot, is to expand its control of the Gaza Strip's territory, concentrating the people there into tiny sections of the enclave. Update: Date: 5m ago (06:03 GMT) Title: A recap of recent developments Content: Here's what you need to know: Update: Date: 8m ago (06:00 GMT) Title: Welcome to our live coverage Content: Hello, and thank you for joining our live coverage of Israel's war on Gaza, as well as its attacks on the occupied West Bank and the wider region. Follow this page for round-the-clock updates and analyses of the latest developments. You can read about key events from Thursday, May 29, here.
Al Jazeera
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israeli strike rocks Jabalia even as aid to Gaza resumes
NewsFeed Israeli strike rocks Jabalia even as aid to Gaza resumes Palestinians searched for bodies after an Israeli airstrike leveled a building in Jabalia, as Israel ramped up its Gaza offensive. At least 16 were killed Friday as aid trickled in for the first time in two months. Al-Awda hospital was hit and aid trucks were looted.
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
UNICEF Delivers For Children As Situation Deteriorates In Gaza
Intensified military operations in Gaza are magnifying the danger for children already suffering from multiple displacements and deprivation. UNICEF remains on the ground, doing what it can to protect and care for children and their families. In an urgent update, Jean Gough, UNICEF Representative to the State of Palestine, shares the latest. On May 22, 2025, Fares Nassar, 8 months old, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat camp after an airstrike targeted the Al-Hasayneh School, housing displaced Palestinians. After 19 months of war and an 11-week blockade on the delivery of all food, medicines and other urgently needed supplies, the situation for children in Gaza is growing more dire every day. Late on May 21, UNICEF and other UN agencies retrieved about 90 truckloads of nutrition supplies, medicines and wheat flour that had been cleared for entry at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza. Every aid truck counts, but this is nowhere near enough: more than 500 trucks are required daily to meet families' most basic needs. UNICEF continues to call for the lifting of the blockade, unimpeded humanitarian access and the delivery of essential supplies and services at scale. 'Intensified military operations have forced thousands of families to flee for safety, particularly in the north. Many have lost their homes, family members and access to basic services.' Meanwhile, hundreds have been killed in attacks in recent weeks. As bombardment increases, there is nowhere safe for children to go. In the past two months, more than 950 children have reportedly been killed in strikes across the Gaza Strip. Jean Gough, UNICEF Representative to the State of Palestine, sounded the alarm in an update to colleagues on May 19. "I wanted to share with you an urgent update since we have witnessed the situation in Gaza rapidly deteriorate in the past 48 hours," Gough wrote. "Intensified military operations have forced thousands of families to flee for safety, particularly from the north. Many have lost their homes, family members and access to basic services." On the evening of May 21, 2025, 508 pallets with lifesaving nutrition supplies reached the UNICEF warehouse in Central Gaza. These supplies of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and lipid-based nutritional supplements (LNS) are now being prepared for onward distribution to thousands of children in need. UNICEF has the equivalent of more than 1,000 truckloads of supplies standing ready to deliver once they are cleared for entry. With vital support from donor partners, UNICEF remains operational on the ground in Gaza delivering services, despite very low stock levels and extremely challenging conditions. Almost 120 international and national UNICEF staff are active in Gaza, risking their lives to care for children who did not start this war, but are paying the highest price. Many health and nutrition centers have been damaged or evacuated; those that remain open are overwhelmed. Of the 234 nutrition centers across Gaza, 144 are still operational, but stocks of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for children and ready-to-use complementary food (RUCF) for babies are almost gone. "Currently we have enough RUTF for less than two months with the existing caseload of children, but the caseload is increasing daily," Gough wrote. Approximately one month of RUCF stock remains, with prioritization for the most vulnerable caseload. Services provided include malnutrition screening, therapeutic feeding, micronutrient supplementation and caregiver counseling. Mobile outreach teams are also being used to reach displaced populations in accessible areas. Related: What Is Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food? More than 9,000 children have been treated for malnutrition in the Gaza Strip so far this year. Food security experts including UNICEF warned in a recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report that nearly 71,000 children under age 5 are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in the months ahead: 14,000 of these children are likely to suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), which can be fatal if left untreated. 'Children are already dying from malnutrition and there are more babies in Gaza now who will be in mortal danger if they don't get fast access to the nutrition supplies needed to save their lives,' UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram told the Guardian on May 22. Related: Children in Gaza at Critical Risk of Famine On May 12, 2025, more than two months after the start of a total blockade preventing the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza, UNICEF teams visit key markets in southern Khan Younis to evaluate essential commodity supply, which is very limited. In recent days, Gough reports, UNICEF's emergency response in Gaza has included support across all sectors: Immunization: 29 social mobilizers and 3 supervisors were deployed to support the continuation of routine immunization where feasible. Vaccines were delivered to Gaza City last week to sustain services in functioning facilities. Neonatal care: UNICEF supported the upgrade of Al-Sahaba and Al-Rantisi hospitals in the north to NICU Level 2 Plus, expanding their ability to manage critical neonatal cases. UNICEF is reprinting 100 updated NICU manuals and preparing training in CPAP management and infection control in collaboration with hospital management. Water, sanitation and hygiene: Despite widespread access restrictions, fuel shortages and security risks, UNICEF continues to support emergency WASH services across Gaza, helping local authorities to sustain critical WASH infrastructure and facilitating water trucking. Solid waste management operations in Khan Younis continue, although volumes collected are approximately half of normal capacity due to safety concerns affecting municipal workers. The central dumping site remains open and accessible, allowing trucks to offload waste. A Palestinian child looks at the rubble inside a classroom at a UNRWA school sheltering displaced people after it was directly hit during an airstrike on Nuseirat camp. Humanitarian cash transfers: Over the past week, UNICEF has provided multipurpose cash assistance in the amount of approximately $270 to more than 7,100 people, including 3,910 children. In the coming days, UNICEF aims to expand its response by reaching over 1,000 children with SAM, combining cash assistance with a dedicated nutrition cash top-up of approximately $143 to help families cover essential nutritional needs. This support will be delivered alongside planned assistance for thousands of families displaced in northern Gaza due to the ongoing escalation. Education: Until May 15, approximately 50,000 children from Kindergarten to Grade 12 were attending UNICEF-supported learning centers three days per week, but this is expected to be impacted in the coming days due to the worsening security situation. Centers had been operating across the Gaza Strip using semi-permanent structures and high-performance tents. Education supplies continue to be distributed or improvised and learning activities are ongoing where possible. Evacuation and safety protocols are in place at all learning centers. UNICEF is currently hiring Health, Safety and Security Officers and distributing First Aid Kits with WHO support for the various education partners. On May 22, 2025, Ayman Abu Hujair, 5, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat camp after an air strike targeted the Al-Hasayneh School housing displaced Palestinians. Child protection: UNICEF continues to deliver emergency child protection services directly and through partners. At this critical time for children in Gaza, UNICEF is focusing on preventing family separation, family tracing and reunification when children do get separated, case management for the most vulnerable children and mental health and psychosocial support, particularly for those impacted by violence in recent days. In addition, urgent cases are being referred for emergency cash assistance. Support is prioritized for unaccompanied and separated children, child survivors of violence including gender-based violence, and those injured or disabled by the conflict. Help UNICEF save more lives. Please donate now. Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
Arab News
23-05-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Israel lets food into Gaza even as its forces attack a hospital, Palestinians say
Israeli tanks and drones attacked a hospital in northern Gaza overnight, igniting fires and causing extensive damage, Palestinian hospital officials said on Thursday. Videos taken by a health official at Al-Awda Hospital show walls blown away and thick black smoke billowing wreckage. The Israeli military said its forces were operating 'adjacent' to Al-Awda Hospital and had allowed emergency workers to come try to put out a fire at the hospital, but said only that, 'The circumstances of the fire are still under review.' Pressure from close allies is mounting on Israel following a nearly three-month blockade of supplies into Gaza that led to famine warnings. Even the United States, a staunch ally, has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis. UN agencies say Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in Gaza make it difficult to retrieve and distribute the aid. As a result, little of it has so far reached those in need. The UN says aid has been collected from only about 90 trucks — out of a total of nearly 200 that have entered Gaza since Israel ended its nearly three-month blockade this week. 'The shipments from yesterday is limited in quantity and nowhere near sufficient to meet the scale and scope of of Gaza's 2.1 million people,' said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Gaza's Heath Ministry said Thursday morning that more than 100 people had been killed across the Gaza Strip and around 250 wounded over the past 24 hours. It was not immediately clear if there were fatalities at Al-Awda Hospital. Here's the latest: Israel says it has intercepted missile fired from Yemen Early Friday, sirens sounded in parts of Israel as its military said it detected a missile launch by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeting the country. The Israeli military said it intercepted the missile as booms could be heard in Jerusalem. The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack, but it can take hours or even days for the rebels to acknowledge their assaults. Lebanese prime minister condemns latest Israeli strikes The wave of airstrikes came two days before municipal elections are slated to take place in southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Israel's attacks 'will not deter the state from its commitment to the electoral process,' and called for more international pressure to make Israel stop bombing his country. Israel carries out widespread strikes in Lebanon Israel carried out strikes on multiple areas in southern Lebanon on Thursday, some far from the border, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. It described the strikes as 'the most violent in some areas' since a ceasefire deal ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November. Residents of northern Israel also reported hearing loud explosions from across the border. The Israeli army issued a warning ahead of one strike that destroyed a building in the town of Toul, which it described as 'facilities belonging to the terrorist Hezbollah.' Video of the strike's aftermath showed fire and a massive cloud of smoke rising over an area packed with multi-story apartment buildings. Strikes in other areas were carried out without warning. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Israel has struck Lebanon almost every day since the ceasefire. Lebanon says those strikes are in violation of the deal, while Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah to prevent it from re-arming. Netanyahu names a new head of security agency after pushing to oust the previous chief Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced Thursday his decision to appoint Major General David Zini as the next head of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service. Zini is a former army commando and has held a number of top positions in the Israeli military. Netanyahu's office said that in March 2023 Zini prepared a report warning about the dangers of a surprise attack on Israeli forces along the Gaza border. Earlier this year Netanyahu moved to fire the agency's current chief, Ronen Bar, blaming his agency for failures in the lead-up to Hamas' attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel's Supreme Court froze Bar's firing after multiple legal challenges against it, however Bar has since said he will resign in June. Trump and Netanyahu discuss embassy staffers' shooting and Iran nuclear deal President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone on Thursday about the shooting that killed two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Washington reception, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Leavitt said the two leaders also discussed 'a potential deal' with Iran to stem its rapidly advancing nuclear program. Trump is expected to dispatch special envoy Steve Witkoff to Italy for talks later this week with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi. Leavitt said Trump believes the talks are 'moving along in the right direction.' UN says Palestinians stole food from aid trucks in Gaza UN officials on Thursday said that a small number of trucks carrying flour on Wednesday were intercepted by residents and their contents were stolen. 'As far as I know, this was not a criminal act with armed men,' UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a briefing. He added that the episode 'only reflects the very high level of anxiety that people in Gaza are feeling, not knowing when the next humanitarian delivery will take place.' Over the last several months, Israel has accused Hamas of siphoning off aid and using it to fund its military activities, without providing evidence. The UN has said that there are mechanisms in place that prevent any significant diversion of aid. Israel says 'no food shortage in Gaza' even as UN says the trickle of aid is 'nowhere near sufficient' The Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to Gaza, COGAT, said Thursday that the United Nations is currently allowed to bring in 'nutrition products, some food ingredients and medical supplies.' 'According to our current assessment, there is no food shortage in Gaza at this time,' COGAT said in a statement on X. The UN says aid has been collected from only about 90 trucks — out of a total of nearly 200 that have entered Gaza since Israel ended its nearly three-month blockade this week. 'The shipments from yesterday is limited in quantity and nowhere near sufficient to meet the scale and scope of of Gaza's 2.1 million people,' said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. The UN has said that around 600 trucks entered during a recent ceasefire, which was the amount necessary to meet people's basic needs. Former Israeli leader says only pressure from Trump can end the war in Gaza Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that the only international leader with enough power to make Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stop the war in Gaza is US President Donald Trump. 'If at some point the president of the United States, President Trump, will take part and perhaps will summon the Israeli prime minister and say to him in no unclear terms that 'enough is enough' — that may be very useful,' said Olmert, an open critic of Israel's war in Gaza. 'I am against the expansion of the military operations in Gaza, I think that they bring us close to crimes because if there is no purpose and there is not a possible outcome that is worth the cost, then why should we continue?' he said during an interview in his Tel Aviv office. Olmert said he understands why the EU and countries like Britain, Canada and France sent strong warnings to Israel this week, including threatening sanctions, but believes that ultimately a dressing down from Trump would stop Netanyahu from continuing the war. Hospitals have special protection under the rules of war. Why are they in the crosshairs in Gaza? In the Israel-Hamas war, hospitals in the combat zone of hollowed-out northern Gaza have increasingly ended up in the crosshairs. They have also become flashpoints for warring narratives. Israel claims that Hamas locates military assets under hospitals and other sensitive sites like schools and mosques, and that its fighters use hospitals as shields. Palestinians and rights groups accuse Israel of mounting an all-out attack on Gaza's health infrastructure to punish the population and force a surrender. International humanitarian law lends hospitals special protections during war. But hospitals can lose their protections if combatants use them to hide fighters or store weapons, the International Committee of the Red Cross says.
