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Jordan News
19-05-2025
- Health
- Jordan News
UNRWA: 92% of Homes in Gaza Damaged or Destroyed - Jordan News
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) announced on Monday that assessments confirm 92% of homes in the Gaza Strip have been either damaged or completely destroyed, displacing countless residents. اضافة اعلان According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Israeli war on Gaza has resulted in the damage or destruction of approximately 436,000 homes, amounting to about 92% of the total housing stock in the enclave. Health and Environmental Disaster Looming OCHA warned on its official website that the delay in removing an estimated 50 million tons of rubble and recovering the bodies trapped beneath poses not only severe psychological trauma for bereaved families but also imminent health and environmental disasters in Gaza—one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Waste and Debris Removal Halted Recent Israeli strikes have also targeted heavy machinery across Gaza, halting critical services, including solid waste management and debris removal, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.
Express Tribune
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Man-made famine
Listen to article On May 11, just hours before Israeli American hostage Edan Alexander was released by Hamas, the nation of Gaza was celebrating news of a nearing ceasefire. Soon after Edan was received by his family, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that his country is "on the eve of a forceful entry to Gaza". While international politicians negotiate and Palestinian civilians are deceived over and over again, Gaza slowly sinks into a man-made famine caused by an almost 3-month-long blockade of food and medical aid. A recent UN report suggests that 93% of the population of Gaza is currently living through high levels of acute food insecurity, with 1 in 5 people at risk of death due to starvation. A situation of unimaginable horrors in Gaza is once again at the mercy of a temperamental fascist. Exactly a year ago, the people of Gaza were reportedly boiling weeds and eating animal feed to stave off their hunger. Now, the situation has worsened even further. Warehouses of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that store aid stand empty, along with most supermarkets and local shops. If food miraculously exists, it sits as a mere symbol of unattainability for most of the population. This is because food prices have soared for basic goods such as wheat flour — which has experienced a three thousand per cent price spike since February. As Israel purposefully starves almost 2 million people by refusing to let any food or medical supplies enter the region, it blames Hamas for causing hunger by allegedly stealing aid. But the extended blockade along with threats of escalated violence paint only one picture: Israel is wilfully using starvation as a weapon of war. It is loudly and publicly engaging in a war crime and an open human rights violation — all while international communities and leaders stand by and watch.
Jordan News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Jordan News
Hamas on Nakba Anniversary: No New Displacement, Our People Remain Committed to Return - Jordan News
Hamas on Nakba Anniversary: No New Displacement, Our People Remain Committed to Return On Thursday, Hamas affirmed that the Palestinian people "will not be displaced again" as they were during the Nakba of 1948, reiterating their commitment to "resistance and the right of return" amid what the movement described as ongoing genocide in Gaza perpetrated by Israel with U.S. support for the past 19 months. اضافة اعلان In a statement marking the 77th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, the movement emphasized: 'There will be no new Nakba or displacement of our people. The unity of our people with the resistance has thwarted the enemy's (Israel's) plans. This unity is the path to defeating the occupation and achieving liberation and return.' The term Nakba (catastrophe) refers to the events of May 15, 1948, when Israel was established on the majority of historic Palestinian land. During that time, approximately 15,000 Palestinians were killed, more than 950,000 were displaced, and 531 villages were destroyed. Hamas added that the continued occupation and acts of genocide in Gaza expose the deep bias of the United States and Western powers, branding it a stain of shame on all who remain silent or fail to act to stop it. 'There is no legitimacy or sovereignty for the occupation on any part of our occupied land,' the statement continued. 'Our people will continue to defend their rights through comprehensive resistance until the liberation of all of Palestine and the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.' Hamas called for unified national Palestinian efforts to confront Israeli crimes, stressing that 'Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque are at the heart of the conflict, and the occupation holds no legitimacy over any part of them.' The movement held Israel directly responsible for the ongoing suffering of millions of Palestinian refugees in camps both within Palestine and in the diaspora, affirming that 'their legitimate right of return cannot be waived or compromised.' Hamas also condemned Israel's targeting and marginalization of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), urging the United Nations and its institutions to 'fulfill their legal and humanitarian responsibilities in supporting refugee rights and ensuring their dignity until their return is realized.' According to a recent report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel has killed 154,000 Palestinians and Arabs in Palestine since 1948. Additionally, around one million arrests have been recorded since the 1967 war, during which Israel occupied Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. This year's Nakba anniversary comes amid the continued genocide committed by Israel since October 7, 2023, with full U.S. backing, which has resulted in approximately 173,000 Palestinians killed or wounded — the majority of whom are women and children — and more than 11,000 reported missing. — (Anadolu Agency)
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘Desperate, traumatised people': Gaza faces wave of looting, theft and violence
Gaza has been hit by a wave of looting and theft as increasingly desperate Palestinians struggle to get food while criminal gangs exploit a breakdown in law and order. Aid officials and witnesses in the devastated territory describe armed men attacking humanitarian warehouses, firefights over remaining food stores and a spate of stealing of supplies vital for survival, such as solar chargers, batteries, phones and cooking pots. Gaza is on the brink of catastrophe after two months of a total blockade by Israel, aid workers say, with many families down to one meal a day. Spoiled flour is being sold for 30 or 40 times its usual price and no fuel is available other than wood or discarded plastic. Medical officials report rising cases of acute malnutrition, and community kitchens that served 1m meals a day are shutting down for lack of basic essentials. Aid agencies say they have distributed all remaining stocks of food. Dozens of bakeries that supplied vital free bread closed last month. Related: 'There is no life here': Palestinians say Israel is imposing its Gaza endgame 'By the time a famine is declared, it will be too late. The crime wave is because you have 2 million or more desperate, traumatised people packed together with virtually no policing,' said one humanitarian official in Gaza. Gaza City has been worst hit by the crime wave, though some incidents have been reported elsewhere in the territory. One group of armed men broke into two or three bakeries in Gaza City last week, hoping to find flour, then targeted a soup kitchen when they found nothing. In another incident, thieves took a community kitchen's last stocks as well as all its pots and pans. In a third theft, staff at a distribution site run by an NGO were held at knifepoint as it was looted, while the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) said it had to evacuate staff on Wednesday after thousands of Palestinians breached its Gaza City field office and took medications. Louise Wateridge, a senior emergency officer at Unrwa, called the looting 'the direct result of unbearable and prolonged deprivation'. Witnesses described clashes between armed thieves and security guards in recent days. Anas Raafat, a 25-year-old lawyer in Gaza City, said he and his family had been woken when armed gangs attacked a warehouse of a humanitarian aid organisation nearby. 'By a miracle, none of my family members were injured. We lay flat on the ground for over two hours during the gunfire,' he said. Ghadir Rajab, 27, said she saw another NGO's warehouse under attack by thieves. 'When we heard the sound of gunfire, I looked out the window and saw people rushing from all directions to storm the place, searching for food and water. Others were fleeing in fear of being hurt. 'There was a woman looking for her son, only to find out that he had been shot in the shoulder. She was running in the street … screaming 'my son, my son!' She was begging for help, but no one paid attention, people were focused on stealing. Hunger had blinded them.' There have been widespread reports of violent arguments between neighbours and an increase in domestic violence. Petty theft has soared. 'There is no safety. We do not sleep at night at all. We take turns sleeping, leaving one person awake to guard against the rampant theft and looting,' said Mari Al Radea, 46, who recently fled the northern town of Beit Lahiya for Gaza City, where she and her nine children live in a tent. 'Most of the tents in our area have been robbed. We didn't even attempt to find out who the thief was because there is no police or security presence.' Al Radea described frequent clashes between hungry people or between shop security and looters. 'Many confrontations also break out when there are attacks on food storage centres. Bullets often fall near us while we live in a nylon tent that offers no protection from gunfire,' she said. During the ceasefire from mid-January to mid-March, the militant group Hamas deployed police to the streets of Gaza, but these have been withdrawn after being targeted by Israeli airstrikes. Gaza's interior ministry, which is run by Hamas, said on Saturday its security forces had executed six suspects and punished 13 others with gunshots to the legs in the past two days over looting activities. The ministry also enforced a curfew starting on Friday in some of Gaza City's main streets. Looting in Gaza hit a peak late last year when convoys of aid were systematically stripped as they moved into the territory after crossing entry points from Israel. In one incident, more than 100 trucks were taken and looted. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing and reselling aid to finance its military operations. The militant Islamist organisation denies the charge, and aid officials say little humanitarian assistance went astray during the short-lived ceasefire that came into effect in January. On Monday, Israeli officials said they would lift the blockade in order to implement a scheme to deliver aid as part of an 'intensified' offensive in coming weeks. The plan involves a series of distribution hubs in the south of Gaza, which would be run by private contractors and guarded by the Israeli military. UN and other humanitarian officials have dismissed the scheme as unworkable, dangerous and potentially illegal under international law.
Irish Examiner
12-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
We cannot stand back and watch the deaths of humanitarian aid workers who only try to bring relief
Years ago, like many doctors and nurses before me, I joined a humanitarian mission with an international medical charity. I was curious as to why some colleagues felt pulled towards volunteering in difficult and sometimes dangerous places. Within hours of arriving on my first trip to Ethiopia, I understood why thousands of Irish-trained healthcare professionals embark on this work. It is a labour of compassion. The sole motivation is to be with your fellow humans who are suffering, to try and relieve pain, and show them that the world has not abandoned them. My family were reassured that I was travelling with an organised mission and would therefore be protected. In winter 2010, I went to Syria. The mission was cut short, and we were evacuated, as conflict originally contained in some rebel areas began to spread to the cities. While our safety was prioritised, many other agencies remained and continued working. Last month, the world observed a humanitarian aid convoy attacked in Gaza, its aid workers shot and buried under rubble. Since the brutal violence and killings escalated in Gaza, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), at least 408 aid workers have died. The strange dual morality that meant aid workers could enter a conflict zone and not be attacked – a law of bandits as it were – has been eviscerated. Recent video footage of aid trucks emblazoned with flashing red lights and international symbols of humanitarian aid, which are under attack by the Israeli military, shreds any belief that healthcare staff are protected in war. Since April 2023, hundreds of attacks have been carried out on healthcare staff and health facilities in Sudan, depriving children of vaccines and mothers of antenatal care. These violations of protection of hospitals and community health centres have continued now for two years, with disastrous effects on basic healthcare for millions of people. Since the war broke out in Sudan, according to the UN, at least 84 humanitarian workers have been killed. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an appeal in January 2024 that 18.2 million Yemeni people would require urgent humanitarian assistance. Aid Worker Security, an NGO working in Yemen, recorded 12 'major attacks' on aid workers in Yemen in 2024, and six in 2023. Six aid workers were killed in Yemen across the two years. The displacement of people, food insecurity and disruption of healthcare has affected primarily women and children, spiralling an urgent need for more aid and healthcare intervention. In an April meeting with the United Nations Security Council, Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General with the UN aid co-ordination office, said that 2024 was "the deadliest ever" for aid workers. Humanitarian workers are being killed in unprecedented numbers with 377 fatalities across 20 countries. This was nearly one hundred more than in 2023, which already saw a 137% increase in 2022. Many more aid workers were injured, intimidated, kidnapped, attacked and arbitrarily detained. Increasingly, humanitarian workers appear to be considered as targets, perhaps because they represent an international presence on the ground, and perhaps because of the comfort and hope that they provide. This is completely counter to the philosophy of humanitarian assistance that emerged out of the ashes of the Second World War, where politics and diplomacy were used as tools to disarm, with a stream of aid continuing regardless of negotiations. Ireland has contributed much to international aid missions, responding to war and natural disasters; with healthcare and logistics staff volunteering as part of organisations such as Médecins sans Frontieres and the International Red Cross. Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine has been steadfast in their support for people suffering in Gaza. In recent years there have been small Irish-led missions into Haiti, Ethiopia, Vietnam and Ukraine, focusing on providing healthcare, humanitarian aid, and peacekeeping. In our six medical schools, generations of students have fundraised and worked in countries in need of basic medical aid. They leave a legacy of medical training and return home with a new understanding of the meaning of healthcare which they carry forward. As we sit in the safety and familiarity of our homes and workplaces, watching with horror as the news unfolds, the lives of millions of people hang suspended waiting for the world to make up its mind. There is a danger of compassion fatigue as we bear witness, seemingly powerless. No matter your stance, it is unconscionable to stand by while humanitarian workers are targeted. The day has arrived for people to show solidarity for aid workers in every region: we cannot stand back and watch the deaths of people who only try to bring relief. Dr Suzanne Crowe is President of the Medical Council Read More UN reports hundreds more dead after two-day RSF assault on Sudan refugee camps
