Latest news with #DrMarwanSultan
Irish Times
17 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Gaza death toll passes 57,000 with little clarity on potential ceasefire
The death toll in Gaza passed 57,000 on Wednesday, health authorities in the enclave reported, as reports of a potential new ceasefire agreement – announced by US president Donald Trump – remained unclear. The Gazan health ministry said 142 bodies had been received by hospitals in the previous 24 hours, with the total death toll since October 7th, 2023 now at 57,012. Some 487 more people were injured, bringing the total number of injuries to 134,592. Those killed on Wednesday included Dr Marwan Sultan, the director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, who the Gaza health authorities said died 'along with a number of his family members ... after the occupation targeted his home in Gaza City'. Other reports said Sultan's wife and children were killed too. A spokesperson for the Israeli military said it 'struck a key terrorist' and the 'claim ... uninvolved civilians were harmed is being reviewed'. On Tuesday evening, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform saying Israel had 'agreed to the necessary conditions' to finalise a 60-day ceasefire, 'during which time we will work with all parties to end the War'. READ MORE 'The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better – IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.' Hamas said it was examining new ceasefire offers received from mediators Egypt and Qatar, but repeated that it wants an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops . A previous ceasefire, which came into force in January, was broken by Israel in March after it attempted to change the terms of the agreement. Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu – who is due to meet the US president in Washington, DC next Monday – spoke publicly during a visit to the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company for the first time since Mr Trump's pronouncement. 'We will eliminate Hamas down to its very foundations,' he said. 'We will free all of our hostages.' The Israeli government press office says 20 of 50 hostages remaining in Gaza are confirmed to be alive. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, called a ceasefire deal 'paramount', saying 'it's so desperately needed and long overdue.' He also said that 'principled, dignified and at scale humanitarian assistance needs to resume' under the UN. More than 200 NGOs have called for an end to the US-backed Israeli-controlled aid distribution scheme, which has led to hundreds of deaths. The latest developments came as the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade held hearings on the Occupied Territories Bill on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bill would prohibit the importation of goods from Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land, which are considered illegal under international law. Campaigners are pushing for services to be added to the Bill as well, saying Ireland has an obligation to do so following an International Court of Justice advisory opinion last year. Meanwhile, a senior United States politician accused the Republic of going down a 'hateful, anti-Semitic path'. US Senate foreign relations committee chairman Senator Jim Risch said the Occupied Territories Bill 'will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering' for the State.
BBC News
18 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Gaza hospital director killed in Israeli strike, Hamas-run health ministry says
The director of Gaza's Indonesian Hospital has been killed in an Israeli air strike on his home in Gaza City along with several family members, the Hamas-run health ministry has ministry said Dr Marwan Sultan had a long career in medicine, and condemned "this heinous crime against our medical cadres".The Israeli military said it had struck a "key terrorist" from Hamas in the Gaza City area and that claims "uninvolved civilians" were harmed as a result of the strike were being at least five people were killed and others injured, including children, in a strike on the al-Mawasi "safe zone", one of several other attacks reported by news agencies. The health ministry said Dr Sultan's career was one of compassion "during which he was a symbol of dedication, steadfastness and sincerity, during the most difficult circumstances and most trying moments experienced by our people under continuous aggression".Dr Sultan was the director at the Indonesian Hospital, declared out of service by the health ministry after what the UN later described as "repeated Israeli attacks and sustained structural damage". The Israeli military had said it was fighting "terrorist infrastructure sites" in the are now no functioning hospitals in the north Gaza governate, according to the health ministry accused the Israeli military of targeting medical and humanitarian its statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it "regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals" and "operates to mitigate harm to them as much as possible".The IDF said Hamas "systematically violates international law while using civilian infrastructure for terrorist activity and the civilian population as human shields".Across Gaza, at least 139 people were killed by Israeli military operations in the 24 hours before midday on Wednesday, the health ministry the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, at least five people were killed and others, including children, wounded in a strike that hit a tent housing displaced people, news agencies members of those killed said it hit at 00:40 local time (22:40 BST) while they were Abu Rizq told AFP the strike "shook the place like an earthquake", and she "went outside and found the tent on fire".The al-Mawasi area was declared a "safe zone" by the Israeli military, as the UN says 80% of Gaza is either an Israeli military zone or under an evacuation order."They came here thinking it was a safe area and they were killed... What did they do?" Maha Abu Rizq the scene, surrounded by destruction and a jumble of personal items, one man held up a pack of nappies and asked: "Is this a weapon?" Children were also wounded in the strike. Footage recorded by AFP shows men alighting from a car in front of nearby Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and rushing inside carrying blood-covered children in their arms. Inside the hospital, young children cry as doctors treat their wounds. Women weep over the bodies of their relatives in funerals at the hospital in other AFP footage."Anyone of any religion must take action and say: Enough! Stop this war!" Ekram al-Akhras, who lost several cousins in one of the strikes, Gaza City, another four people from the same family were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house, news agencies reported. The four people killed were Ahmed Ayyad Zeno, his wife Ayat Zeno, and their daughters, Zahra Zeno and Obaida Zeno, according to Palestinian news outlet BBC has contacted the IDF for comment about the two incidents. Rachel Cummings, who is working in Gaza with Save the Children, told reporters that during "wishing circles" at the charity's child-friendly spaces, children have recently been "wishing to die" in order to be with their mother or father who has been killed, or to have food and a heatwave spread across the UK and Europe this week, temperatures also topped 30C in people living in tents said they were struggling to stay cool without electricity and fans, and with little access to Abu Hadayed told the Associated Press the heat is "indescribable" and her children cannot sleep. "They cry all day until sunset, when the temperature drops a little, then they go to sleep," she said. "When morning comes, they start crying again due to the heat."Israel has continued to bomb Gaza and control the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid as mediators meet to negotiate a potential ceasefire attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages. Since then, Israel's military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 people, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Sky News
16-05-2025
- Health
- Sky News
At least 70 killed in northern Gaza after Israeli strikes
Israeli strikes have killed at least 70 people in northern Gaza, according to local medics. "The death toll in the north has risen to more than 70 since dawn," Dr Marwan Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital told NBC, Sky News' US partner. "There is a strong possibility that the death toll could rise even higher due to the severity of the injuries," he added. Military strikes on Friday morning sent people fleeing from Beit Lahia as well as the nearby Jabalia refugee camp. The Associated Press (AP) reported that at least 48 bodies were brought to the Indonesian Hospital, citing information from officials from the same hospital. The news agency also said another 16 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza where airstrikes overnight into Friday morning hit the city of Khan Younis - and further north on the outskirts of Deir al Balah. It follows attacks by Israeli forces in recent days, in northern and southern Gaza. The total number killed has reached at least 250 across Gaza in the past 36 hours, according to Dr Sultan. This week, Israel says it bombed the European Hospital because it was home to an underground Hamas base, but expert analysis casts doubt on its evidence. Meanwhile, Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, briefed the Security Council earlier this week, warning they must "act now" to "prevent genocide" - a claim Israel vehemently denies. Donald Trump spoke about the situation in the region and the prospect of resolving the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza as he wrapped up his trip to the Middle East. In Abu Dhabi, the US president said: "We're looking at Gaza, and we got to get that taken care of. "A lot of people are starving, a lot of people. There's a lot of bad things going on." While most of his four-day visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates focused on trade deals, he also chose to recognise the new government in Syria and urged Iran to engage in nuclear talks. There had been widespread hope that Mr Trump's regional visit could bring about a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. 3:39 An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month. Israel says the blockade aims to pressure Hamas to release the hostages it still holds and that it will not allow aid back in until a system is in place that gives it control over distribution. Earlier this week, a new humanitarian organisation said it expects to begin operations before the end of the month after what it describes as key agreements from Israeli officials. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - which has US backing - identified several US military veterans, former humanitarian coordinators and security contractors that it said would lead the delivery effort. Many in the humanitarian community, including the UN, said the system does not align with humanitarian principles and will not be able to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza. The war began when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel. Israel has killed nearly 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
