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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

Four Places In The World Without Traffic Lights

Published

15 hours ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

In a world where traffic lights are an essential part of road management, a few countries and regions stand out for functioning without them. These places rely on alternative systems ranging from police officers and roundabouts to cultural driving habits to manage traffic. Here’s a closer look at the nations and areas where traffic lights are absent.

Bhutan

Bhutan is famously known as the only country in the world that operates entirely without traffic lights. Even in its capital city, Thimphu, which has witnessed growing traffic due to urbanisation, automated signals have never been adopted. Instead, traffic management is handled by police officers who stand at major intersections, directing vehicles with hand signals.

In 1995, when a set of traffic lights was briefly installed in Thimphu, public complaints led to their swift removal, as locals felt the system clashed with the country’s traditions and culture of cooperation. Bhutan’s reliance on human-directed traffic reflects both its small population and strong sense of civic responsibility.

Vatican City

Vatican City, the world’s smallest sovereign nation, also operates without any traffic lights. With an area of just 44 hectares and a population of around 800 people, the city-state does not require traffic signals to regulate movement. Roads inside the Vatican are short and few, and traffic is mostly managed by signage and the Vatican’s own police force. However, just outside the Vatican’s walls, in Rome, traffic lights are abundant, highlighting the contrast between the bustling Italian capital and the tranquil governance of the Holy See.

Niue

In the South Pacific, Niue, one of the world’s smallest island nations, also has no traffic lights. With a population of less than 2,000 people and very limited vehicle traffic, there is little need for automated signals. Roads are quiet, and driving is relaxed, with motorists often waving to one another as they pass.

The absence of traffic lights in Niue is less a necessity than a reflection of the island’s lifestyle, where community trust and minimal congestion make formal traffic control unnecessary.

Tekesi County, China

A unique example of urban planning without traffic lights can be found in Tekesi County, Xinjiang, China. The county town was designed based on the ancient Bagua (Eight Trigrams) symbol from Taoist philosophy. Its distinctive circular and radiating street layout relies on roundabouts to direct vehicles.

In 1996, authorities cancelled the installation of traffic lights in order to preserve the Bagua system, making Tekesi a rare modern settlement that manages traffic without signals. The design has since become both a cultural attraction and a point of pride for residents, who see it as a symbol of harmony and balance.

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Nigerian Student Wins ‘Top In World’ Cambridge IGCSE English Award

Published

15 hours ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

A Nigerian student, Kenechukwu Oluwanifemi Uba, has emerged the “Top in World” candidate in the November 2024 Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (Speaking Endorsement).

Uba, a pupil of Caleb International College, Magodo, Lagos, received the Outstanding Cambridge Learners Award for her performance, which was recognised by Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Spokesperson to the Proprietor and Founder, Caleb Group of Schools and University, Prof. Elvis Otobo, and made available to The PUNCH on Friday.

The certificate, signed by the Group Managing Director of International Education at Cambridge, Rod Smith, was presented during a ceremony organised by the British Council and Cambridge University Press & Assessment at the Civic Centre, Lagos.

Speaking on the achievement, the Proprietor/CEO of Caleb Group of Schools and University, Dr. Oladega Adebogun, said the recognition reflected the school’s values of integrity, perseverance and innovation.

“We are overjoyed by Kenechukwu’s outstanding performance.

“Her success embodies our core values of integrity, perseverance, and innovation. We invest heavily in cutting-edge teaching methods—from flipped classrooms to AI-driven language labs—so that every student can discover their potential and lead with confidence,” Adebogun said.

Uba expressed gratitude to her teachers, classmates and family, noting that preparing in the school’s language lab helped build her confidence.

“From the moment I joined Caleb, I felt inspired by teachers who challenged me to think deeply and by peers who encouraged me to persevere. Preparing for the speaking endorsement in our state-of-the-art lab sharpened my confidence. This recognition belongs to everyone—my mentors, my classmates, and my family,” she said.

Caleb International College described the award as proof of its commitment to raising globally competitive students through advanced learning facilities and strong character development programmes.

Headline

Iran Has Executed At Least 841 People This Year — UN

Published

16 hours ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

At least 841 people have been executed in Iran since the start of the year, the UN said Friday, decrying “a systematic pattern of using the death penalty as a tool of state intimidation”.

The United Nations’ human rights office said there had been a “major increase in executions” by Tehran during the first half of 2025.

“Iranian authorities have executed at least 841 people since the beginning of the year,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

“The real situation might be different,” she added. “It might be worse, given the lack of transparency.”

In July alone, she said, Iran had executed at least 110 individuals — twice the number of people executed in July 2024.

“The high number of executions indicates a systematic pattern of using the death penalty as a tool of state intimidation, with disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and migrants,” Shamdasani added.

She cited the executions of Afghan nationals, and of Baluch, Kurdish, and Arab citizens.

In the first six months of the year, at least 289 people were executed for drug-related offences.

Shamdasani said the pattern witnessed across multiple countries showed that when their governments perceive threats to their grip on public order, they become increasingly repressive and less tolerant of dissent.

– Hangings before children –

The spokeswoman in particular criticised the staging of public executions in Iran. The rights office documented seven such cases since the beginning of the year — some reportedly in front of children.

“Public executions add an extra layer of outrage upon human dignity… not only on the dignity of the people concerned — the people who are executed — but also on all those who have to bear witness,” she said.

“The psychological trauma of bearing witness to somebody being hanged in public, particularly for children, is unacceptable.”

The UN human rights office said there were serious concerns over due process in capital punishment cases.

“What we are particularly worried about is that a lot of these death sentences are imposed based on vague laws,” the spokeswoman said, such as charges of enmity against God.

Shamdasani said that 11 individuals were currently facing “imminent execution” in Iran, including six charged with “armed rebellion” due to alleged membership of the exiled opposition People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (MEK).

The other five had been sentenced to death over their participation in large-scale protests in 2022, she said. Iran’s supreme court last week confirmed the death sentence against workers’ rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, she added.

The UN rights office was urging Iran’s government “not to implement the death penalty against these and other individuals on death row”, Shamdasani said.

“The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity,” she added.

“It creates an unacceptable risk of executing innocent people. It should never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law.”

UN human rights chief Volker Turk is calling on Tehran to impose a moratorium on the application of capital punishment, as a step towards abolition.
AFP