Latest news with #Mhanna
Days of Palestine
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
Red Cross: Humanitarian Situation in Gaza Nearing Total Collapse
DaysofPal – Hisham Mhanna, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is on the brink of total collapse. This comes amid a relentless blockade, the resumption of large-scale Israeli attacks, and escalating evacuation orders that continue to exacerbate civilian suffering and place lives at severe risk. In recent press remarks, Mhanna noted that the ICRC had warned weeks ago of reaching this critical stage. He described the current conditions as 'almost impossible' for an effective humanitarian response, citing a sustained blockade on aid entry that has persisted for over two months. 'We are closely monitoring the mechanisms for delivering humanitarian aid following the Israeli authorities' announcement of a partial reopening of the crossings,' Mhanna stated. 'However, the volume of aid entering Gaza remains grossly insufficient in light of the surging humanitarian needs.' He added that the prolonged lack of aid has significantly worsened the crisis, particularly as food shortages deepen and prices soar. Mhanna reaffirmed that, under international law, Israel—as the occupying power—bears full legal responsibility for ensuring that the basic needs of Gaza's civilian population are met. He also condemned the politicization of humanitarian aid, stressing that such assistance must be delivered according to the fundamental humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence. Despite the deteriorating conditions, Mhanna affirmed that the ICRC continues to operate transparently and independently. 'We receive distress calls daily from civilians trapped or in urgent need, and we respond to them immediately,' he said. Since the renewal of Israeli military operations on 18 March, thousands of civilians have been killed or wounded, he added. Repeated evacuation orders have only intensified fear and anxiety, particularly given the absence of safe shelter. In closing, Mhanna urged the international community to 'flood Gaza with humanitarian aid and immediately halt the bloodshed.' He called for full, unimpeded humanitarian access and reaffirmed the ICRC's ongoing dialogue with all parties, including the Israeli authorities, to alleviate suffering and protect civilians. Shortlink for this post:
The National
01-05-2025
- Health
- The National
Gaza doctors 'arrested for practising medicine' and held by Israel as health system collapses
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Dr Ahmad Mhanna, 51, director of Al Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, is one of at least 360 Palestinian medical professionals detained by Israeli forces since October 7, 2023. His family and colleagues say he is now among dozens of forcibly disappeared healthcare workers whose fates remain unknown – punished, it appears, for choosing to save lives under the Israeli bombardment. 'Ahmad has not left Al Awda Hospital since the start of the war,' his wife, Alaa Mhanna, 41, said. She told The National: 'He stayed to provide medical care, even when warned the hospital would be bombed.' In November, the Israeli military issued a direct threat to vacate Al Awda Hospital or face an air strike. Dr Mhanna continued his work in increasingly dire conditions, refusing to abandon his patients and staff. Soon afterwards, the hospital was besieged, food and water were cut off and 10 days later, Israeli forces stormed the facility. On December 16, Dr Mhanna was ordered to leave the hospital. Soldiers forced him to remove his medical uniform and subjected him to a search. He was then taken to an interrogation centre in Jabalia, where he spent the night. The next day, he was told to return to the hospital to change his clothes, only to be informed that he and several colleagues were now under arrest. He has not been seen since. According to testimonies from released detainees, Dr Mhanna was subjected to harsh interrogations and mistreatment. He was later transferred to Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert, where, according to multiple sources, he voluntarily provides medical care to fellow detainees who are reported to have suffered torture and abuse. 'There is still no formal charge against him,' said his wife. 'It appears his only 'crime' was refusing to abandon his hospital and continuing to practise medicine.' The father of three had been one of the few remaining doctors in northern Gaza after the Indonesian Hospital and Kamal Adwan Hospital were put out of operation. His decision to stay at the hospital despite direct threats from the Israeli military cost him his freedom. 'He was one of the first to reject evacuation orders,' said Alaa. 'His office was bombed while he was in it. Several staff members were killed. Yet he stayed.' Dr Mhanna is not alone. Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, was arrested by Israeli forces on December 27 after refusing repeated orders to leave. His son, Idris, said: 'My father was taken from the hospital gate. If he were really affiliated with Hamas, as the army claims, why was he spared during earlier raids?' On March 26, an Israeli military court upheld Dr Abu Safiya's detention order. Like Dr Mhanna, he remains in Israeli custody without charge. His family say he has been denied proper food, subjected to humiliation and abuse by prison guards, and cut off from legal representation. 'The international community must act immediately,' Idris told The National. 'My father is a doctor. He was doing his job. His continued detention is unjustifiable under any legal or humanitarian standard.' Experts warn that the targeted detention of medical workers is part of a wider campaign against Gaza's healthcare system. 'We have documented a significant number of arrests and forced disappearances among Gaza's medical staff,' Ghazi Al Majdalawi, a researcher at the Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared, told The National 'The evidence indicates a deliberate strategy by the Israeli military to dismantle Gaza's medical infrastructure.' 'Doctors are being tortured, humiliated, denied legal counsel and cut off from their families,' he added. 'These acts constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law.' According to Mr Al Majdalawi, Israel is criminalising medical work itself. 'We've seen cases where the only accusation against the detainee was that they were a doctor or nurse. Being part of the health system has become a reason for arrest.' The enforced disappearance and mistreatment of Gaza's medical workers comes as the territory's hospitals struggle under relentless bombardment, supply shortages and mass displacement. The absence of senior medics such as Dr Mhanna and Dr Abu Safiya has deeply undermined an already collapsing health system. 'Doctors and healthcare workers are protected under the Geneva Conventions and all international laws,' Mr Al Majdalawi said. 'The targeting of medical staff during conflict is a war crime. The world must intervene now, before more doctors vanish for doing their duty.'
The National
13-03-2025
- Health
- The National
Risk of flooding increases in Gaza as water plant shut down by Israel
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Pulling the plug on the Gaza Strip's main desalination and water treatment plant has increased the risk of sewage water flooding into civilian areas, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned. Israel on Sunday cut off electricity that powers the South Gaza Desalination Plant that had been able to supply up to 18,000 cubic metres of water of drinking quality a day since it was reconnected in November last year – 13 months after it was first cut off. 'Without electricity, the plant can only provide about 2,500 cubic metres of water per day and the amount of drinking water available in southern Gaza will be substantially reduced, affecting approximately 600,000 people in Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis,' the UN said in its latest situation report. ICRC spokesman in Gaza Hisham Mhanna said the decision, compounded by Israel's total blockade on aid, could threaten public health. 'The trucks carrying everything essential on them don't come in any more and now there is no longer water treatment for desalination, there is less fresh water and less wastewater treated which can't be pushed or flushed into the Mediterranean Sea, even if untreated,' he told The National. 'This means that there's a risk of flooding, if it rains or there's an overproduction of untreated wastewater, this is a major public health risk that's inevitable if it continues to be dysfunctional.' With no equipment coming in to Gaza to rehabilitate pumping stations or fix the infrastructure network that has been largely destroyed over the past 16 months of Israel's blockade, bombardment and invasion of Gaza, fewer families have access to any clean drinking water. While the entry of aid did significantly rise during the first phase of a ceasefire which began on January 19 and expired on the first day of Ramadan, March 1, coinciding with a total blockade on aid, Mr Mhanna has said the current situation is gradually getting back to what it was during the active armed hostilities. The ICRC, and the UN have both told The National that needs during the ceasefire were so high that aid and urgent supplies could not be stockpiled and were disseminated as soon as they entered the Gaza Strip. 'Now, you witness a scarcity in fresh food items like fruits and vegetables, and many bakeries have had to close, especially those who are running on cooking gas which is lacking,' he said. Five out of eight bakeries in Khan Younis have had to shut down because of the cooking gas crisis, he said. So far, there is some wheat flour available, crucial in general and particularly during the month of fasting. But with supplies running low, high demand and no wheat, fuel or gas entering the strip, a bread crisis is on the horizon, Mr Mhanna said. 'As long as the crossings are closed, the ramifications will be revealed day by day.'
