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WHO Says Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital A ‘Death Zone’, Urges Evacuation

Published

2 years ago

November 19, 2023

Gaza’s largest hospital has become a “death zone,” the World Health Organisation said Sunday, announcing plans to evacuate the last remaining patients as Israel’s army said it was expanding operations to destroy Hamas.

The assessment came after a visit by WHO and other UN officials to the hospital, which Israeli troops raided earlier this week in pursuit of Hamas militants.

Elsewhere, a Hamas health official said more than 80 people were killed Saturday in twin strikes on a northern Gaza refugee camp, including on a UN school sheltering displaced people.

Social media videos verified by AFP showed bodies covered in blood and dust on the floor of a building where mattresses had been wedged under school tables, in Jabalia, the Palestinian territory’s biggest refugee camp.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees UNRWA, described “horrifying images” from the incident, while Egypt called the bombing a “war crime” and “a deliberate insult to the United Nations”.

A separate strike Saturday on another building in Jabalia camp killed 32 people from the same family, 19 of them children, Hamas health authorities said.

Without mentioning the strikes, the Israeli army said “an incident in the Jabalia region” was under review.

Israel has vowed to destroy the Palestinian armed group Hamas in response to the October 7 attacks, which Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and saw about 240 people taken hostage.

The army’s relentless air and ground campaign has since killed 12,300 people, more than 5,000 of them children, according to the Hamas government, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.

The UN says some 1.6 million people have been displaced inside the Gaza Strip by six weeks of fighting, and Israel said Saturday its military was “expanding its operational activities in additional neighbourhoods… of the Gaza Strip”.

– ‘Extreme suffering’ –

Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, has been a key focus in recent days, with Israeli forces alleging Hamas uses it as a command centre — a claim denied by the group and medical staff.

On Sunday, the WHO described the hospital as a “death zone”, with a mass grave at the entrance and nearly 300 patients left inside with 25 health workers.

It said it was planning “the immediate evacuation of the remaining patients, staff and their families”, warning, however, that nearby facilities were already overstretched and urging an immediate ceasefire given the “extreme suffering of the people of Gaza”.

On Saturday, hundreds of people fled the hospital on foot on orders from the Israeli army, according to the facility’s director.

Columns of sick and injured — some of them amputees — were seen leaving with displaced people, doctors and nurses, as loud explosions were heard around the complex.

At least 15 bodies, some in advanced stages of decomposition, were strewn along the route, lined with heavily damaged shops and overturned vehicles, an AFP journalist there said.

Non-government group Doctors Without Borders said a convoy carrying its staff and family members came under attack Saturday while evacuating from near Al-Shifa, despite coordinating with both sides. One person was killed.

The WHO said 29 patients at the hospital with serious spinal injuries cannot move without medical assistance, and others have infected wounds due to lack of antibiotics.

There are also 32 babies in “extremely critical condition,” WHO said.

– ‘Not normal’ –

Israel’s siege on Gaza has left food, water, medicine and fuel in short supply, with just a trickle of aid allowed in from Egypt.

Under US pressure, Israel permitted a first consignment of fuel to enter late Friday, allowing telecommunications to resume after a two-day blackout.

The UN said Israel had agreed to allow in 60,000 litres (16,000 gallons) of fuel a day from Saturday, but warned it only around a third of what is needed.

Israel has told Palestinians to move south for their safety, but deadly strikes continued there too.

At least 26 people were killed in a residential building on Saturday, according to the director of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.

In a scene now tragically familiar in Gaza, mourning relatives wept at the hospital where the bodies of those killed were laid out on the ground in white, blood-stained shrouds, several children among them.

Diplomacy to secure the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants is continuing, with a US official saying more fuel deliveries and a “significant pause” in fighting would come “when hostages are released”.

The White House denied, however, a Washington Post report of a tentative agreement, with National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson saying “we continue to work hard to get to a deal”.

Relatives of those taken, who range from infants to octogenarians, piled pressure on Israel’s government Saturday after arriving outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem office on a march from Tel Aviv.

“It’s not normal to have children kidnapped for 43 days. We don’t know what the government is doing, we don’t have any information,” said marcher Ari Levi.

The bodies of two female hostages were recovered in Gaza this week, the Israeli military said, while four abductees have so far been released by Hamas and a fifth rescued by troops.

Gaza’s fate after the conflict remains unclear, and Biden argued in an opinion piece published Saturday that the coastal territory and the Israeli-occupied West Bank should come under a single “revitalised” administration.

“As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalised Palestinian Authority,” he wrote in the Washington Post.

Netanyahu has insisted the Palestinian Authority “in its current form is not capable of receiving responsibility for Gaza”.

Biden also threatened sanctions, including visa bans, against Israeli settlers who have ramped up attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank in recent weeks.

AFP

Related Topics:Gaza Hospital Hamas Israel

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Headline

Fire Guts Nigerian Pilgrims’ Hotel In Makkah

Published

11 hours ago

June 7, 2025

Editor

The Imaratus Sanan Hotel on Shari Mansur Street in Makkah, which accommodates about 484 Nigerian pilgrims, was today gutted by fire while the pilgrims and others from around the world were at Mina performing their Hajj rites.

Nigerian pilgrims, like others globally, had departed Makkah for Mina — also known as Tent City — on Wednesday for the five-day Hajj observance. At the time of the fire, the pilgrims were on the second day of the stoning ritual at Jamarat.

The fire guts hotel in Makkah incident, according to a statement made available to Sunday Tribune by the Assistant Director, Information and Publication, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Fatima Sanda Usara, occurred around 12 noon Saudi Arabian time (10 a.m. Nigerian time) on Saturday, June 7, 2025.

Usara disclosed that the affected pilgrims were from six Nigerian private tour operator companies and confirmed that no lives were lost in the fire.

“The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) regrets to inform the public of a fire incident that occurred earlier today, Saturday, 7th June 2025, around 12:00 noon (KSA time), at one of the hotels accommodating Nigerian pilgrims on Shari Mansur Street in Makkah,” she said.

“The affected hotel, Imaratus Sanan, was hosting about 484 pilgrims from six Nigerian private tour operator companies. Thankfully, no lives were lost, and all pilgrims are safely in Mina. Immediate emergency response by Saudi authorities and the hotel management helped to contain the fire swiftly and prevent it from spreading throughout the building,” she added.

NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, led a delegation to the site of the incident to assess the extent of the damage and ensure the welfare of the pilgrims.

“Following the incident, the Chairman/CEO of NAHCON, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, alongside Commissioner for Policy, Personnel Management and Finance, Alhaji Aliu Abdulrazak, and Deputy Makkah Coordinator, Director Alidu Shutti, promptly visited the location to evaluate the situation and ensure that the welfare of the affected pilgrims is prioritized,” the statement read.

During the visit, Professor Usman expressed concern and ordered the immediate relocation of the affected pilgrims to a new hotel. He assured them that the commission would provide every possible support to cushion the impact of the incident.

“He thanked Almighty Allah that no life was lost in this unfortunate incident and promised that NAHCON would collaborate with the affected tour operators to ensure the smooth resettlement of the pilgrims,” Usara stated.

The Chairman and his team have since inspected the new accommodation, and arrangements for the pilgrims’ resettlement have been finalized.

She further noted that both Professor Usman and Commissioner Abdulrazak commended the prompt response of Saudi emergency services and the cooperation of the hotel staff in controlling the situation.

Reports reaching Sunday Tribune indicate that the fire guts hotel in Makkah caused considerable structural damage, but NAHCON has secured alternative accommodation where the pilgrims will be housed upon their return to Makkah on Sunday.

Headline

Elon Musk Deletes Post Claiming Trump Was ‘In The Epstein Files’

Published

11 hours ago

June 7, 2025

Editor

Elon Musk has deleted a controversial tweet in which he claimed—without offering evidence—that US President Donald Trump appeared in documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder’s post, made on Thursday, alleged that Trump was named in the Epstein files. The accusation, unsubstantiated at the time, quickly ignited a political firestorm.

Responding to the claims in an interview with ABC News, Trump lashed out at the billionaire, saying Musk had “lost his mind.”

The clash marks a dramatic escalation in tensions between the two once-close allies.

It follows Musk’s suggestion of launching a new political faction in the United States, tentatively dubbed the “American Party.”

The idea was floated in a poll to his 220 million followers on X (formerly Twitter), where 80 per cent of respondents supported the proposal.

“This is fate,” Musk commented.

Musk’s shift comes as he fiercely criticised the president’s flagship economic proposal, which he labelled the “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

He warned the policy could explode the national debt by $2.4 trillion (£1.8 trillion), undermining his own reform work while leading the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Musk has even called for Trump’s impeachment, suggesting he be replaced by Vice President JD Vance—a bold move just days after stepping down from DOGE.

Trump dismissed the criticism, claiming Musk’s opposition stemmed from cuts to electric vehicle incentives included in the bill.

He added that a full review of Musk’s substantial federal contracts, including $22 billion (£16.2 billion) in agreements with SpaceX, may now be necessary.

In a symbolic jab, sources say the president is considering selling a Tesla vehicle he previously purchased.

The public feud has already had financial consequences.

Tesla shares tumbled 14.3 per cent on Thursday, wiping out approximately $150 billion (£111 billion) in market value.

The high-profile rift continues to develop amid rising tensions in US politics and speculation about third-party movements ahead of the next presidential election.

(THE STANDARD)

Headline

US: Over 100 Dogs Rescued From Suspected ‘Puppy Mill’ In North Carolina

Published

12 hours ago

June 7, 2025

Editor

Over 100 dogs have been rescued from what appears to be a puppy mill operating out of a home in North Carolina, according to the SPCA of Wake County.

The shelter said the dogs were kept in “egregious conditions,” and many are now receiving treatment for severe health issues.

“Many of the dogs are being treated for skin and dental issues,” the SPCA reported in a social media post on Friday. They also described dogs with “matted dirty fur” coming off in “heaps.”

“This is the biggest moment in these dogs’ lives, and we are feeling so grateful to be a part of their healing,” the shelter added.

The rescue operation took place on Thursday in coordination with Raleigh Animal Control.

“They were housed in egregious conditions, surrounded by their own waste, packed 5 or 6 to a cage and stacked floor to ceiling, or free roaming in cramped quarters and filth,” the SPCA stated.

Following their removal, the dogs were given immediate care and a much-needed break from the conditions they were trapped in.

“They’ve been getting the spa day of their lives — and their first taste of fresh air, possibly ever,” the organization said.

Among the rescued animals were numerous mother dogs nursing their puppies.

Nineteen of the dogs are not currently in the shelter’s direct care, but assessments and treatment are ongoing.

To support the massive rescue and rehabilitation effort, Care First Animal Hospital has pledged to match donations up to $150,000 in veterinary services.

Photos shared by the SPCA on Facebook show the rescued dogs and puppies beginning their journey toward recovery, marking a hopeful turn after enduring horrific neglect.

(ABC News)