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Sinar Daily
17-06-2025
- Business
- Sinar Daily
Trump's US$4 trillion Middle East tour casts shadow over Gaza genocide
AS bombs fell across Gaza and hospitals crumbled under fire, United States (US) President Donald Trump toured Gulf capitals celebrating trillion-dollar deals. In just 48 hours, while over 150 Palestinians were killed, including five journalists and the last hospital in Khan Younis was reduced to rubble, Trump declared that his Middle East tour had generated up to US$4 trillion in trade and military agreements. For many, the contrast was as stark as it was disturbing: a genocide unfolding in real-time, while global powers signed contracts and posed for cameras. Trump's recent short tour of key Gulf states has triggered renewed criticism from international observers, who said that the multi-trillion-dollar trip has effectively sidelined the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. In an official statement, Trump declared that his two-day tour through the Middle East could generate between US$3.5 trillion and US$4 trillion in deals, largely through high-profile agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While economic headlines dominated international coverage, human rights groups and political analysts in Malaysia argue that the visit has deepened the moral crisis surrounding the Gaza genocide, which has claimed thousands of lives and left over a million Palestinians displaced amid unrelenting Israeli airstrikes. This visit has essentially redefined the global priority, arms and business first, human lives second. The fact that these deals were celebrated while Gaza's hospitals were collapsing shows the extent to which Palestinian suffering has been normalised. Among the deals finalised, Trump secured a US$142 billion arms agreement with Saudi Arabia, a US$600 billion investment pledge from Saudi Arabia in the US and a massive US$1.2 trillion trade agreement with Qatar. Additionally, business deals valued at more than US$240 billion were signed, along with a US$1.4 trillion investment from the UAE over 10 years in the US. These agreements were signed even as images from Gaza showed families burying their loved ones and children being pulled from the rubble. A Palestinian boy rides his bicycle over debris in the courtyard of an UNRWA school hosting which received a direct hit during Israeli airstrikes on the central Gaza Strip refugee camp of Nuseirat on May 19, 2025. - (Photo by EYAD BABA / AFP) Following Trump's visit, intense and widespread bombing engulfed every corner of the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of over 150 Palestinians in a single day. Among the casualties were five journalists and the last remaining hospital in Khan Younis, the Gaza European Hospital was partially destroyed. A US$4 trillion trip during a genocide is not only ethically tone-deaf, but also a calculated silence. It signals that Gaza can burn, so long as the pipelines and profit margins remain untouched. A notable development during Trump's visit was the revival of the so-called 'regional solution' strategy, which encourages Arab states to normalise ties with Israel while sidelining the core Palestinian issue. Reports from Israeli media revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent envoys to Doha for indirect talks with Hamas, facilitated by Trump's special envoy, Stephen Witkoff. Adding to the controversy, senior Hamas official Basem Naim said Witkoff had promised the lifting of the Gaza blockade and an immediate ceasefire in exchange for the release of American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander. While Hamas fulfilled its part of the deal, Naim alleged that the US administration broke its promise and failed to respond to follow-up communications. This is not the first time we've seen power diplomacy exploit Palestinian concessions. Gaza becomes a bargaining chip, not a humanitarian priority. Palestinians move with their belogings through Jabalia as they flee the northern Gaza Strip towards Gaza City on May 19, 2025, amid Israeli evacuation orders and ongoing strikes. - (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP) Beyond Gaza, Trump's visit bolstered regional power figures, most notably Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Observers note that this visit mirrors Trump's earlier support for bin Salman's rise to power following the 2017 Riyadh Summit, a strategy that critics say continues to whitewash Saudi Arabia's role in regional conflicts and internal repression. Gaza, however, remained absent from Trump's public remarks. Instead, his speeches focused on countering Iran, rebuilding ties with the Assad regime in Syria and promoting the Middle East economic corridor, a major trade route from the Gulf to Europe via Turkiye. Analysts believe these initiatives signal an American pivot to economic diplomacy over conflict resolution. Trump's silence on Gaza isn't diplomatic oversight; it's political calculation. To avoid mentioning Gaza while promoting deals worth trillions is to effectively endorse Israel's impunity. Meanwhile, tensions between Trump and Netanyahu surfaced during the tour. According to leaked Israeli briefings, Trump expressed frustration over Netanyahu's refusal to de-escalate in Gaza, warning Israeli hostage families that 'military pressure may endanger their loved ones.' Nonetheless, Netanyahu reportedly intensified attacks on Gaza to maintain the support of his right-wing coalition. As a result, Netanyahu agreed to dispatch a negotiating team to Qatar to explore a 45-day ceasefire, conditional upon Hamas releasing ten living hostages. Analysts interpret this as a tactical move to balance American pressure with internal political survival. Trump's broader strategy, many argue, aims to resurrect the Abraham Accords, with ambitions to extend normalisation to Syria and Lebanon, leveraging the weakened positions of Hezbollah and Iran. For Palestinians in Gaza, however, the visit underscores a grim reality: global power is trading away their future. This tour may have delivered economic headlines, but it left behind a deeper moral bankruptcy in international laws toward Palestine. Dr Mohammed H. Alaqad is the Senior Research Fellow at Hashim Sani Centre for Palestine Studies, Universiti Malaya who has been closely monitoring the discourse around the Gaza genocide. The views expressed in this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily.
India Today
22-05-2025
- Health
- India Today
In numbers: How Israeli strikes brought Gaza's healthcare to the brink
'We've seen this too many times — it must not be allowed to happen again.' This anguished call came from the World Health Organisation chief on May 20 in a statement about the collapsing medical infrastructure in in Gaza have nowhere to go, not even to hospitals, which have been systemically attacked by Israel. These strikes have weakened Gaza's already fragile health system, pushing it to the verge of total Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the WHO, said on May 15 that the Gaza European Hospital, the last hospital providing 'vital services including neurosurgery, cardiac care, and cancer treatment — all unavailable elsewhere in Gaza', was no longer functional after a May 13 #Gaza Hospital is no longer functional after an attack on 13 May left it severely damaged and being there yesterday. @WHO reached the hospital again today to relocate one international Emergency Medical Team—who continued working through the Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 15, 2025HEALTH CRISIS Attacks were launched on the Al-Ahli Hospital on April 13, the Nasser Hospital on May 13 and 19, the European Gaza Hospital on May 13, and the Al-Awda Hospital on May to the WHO, between October 7, 2023 and May 7 this year, Israel launched a total of 686 attacks in Gaza that affected 122 healthcare facilities and 33 hospitals. About 180 ambulances were also destroyed. Right now, in Rafah, there are no functioning primary and secondary healthcare services. Over this period, more than 1,400 doctors, nurses and other medical staff were also WHO reported that in northern Gaza, the Indonesian, Kamal Adwan, and Al Awda hospitals, along with three primary care centres and four medical points, were within the evacuation zone announced on May 20. Another two hospitals, four primary care centres, and six medical points lie within 1,000 metres of NUMBERSThe WHO's Health Resources and Services Availability Monitoring System evaluated 99 health service delivery units (HSDUs) in the Gaza Strip. These include hospitals, primary health centres, mobile clinics, and field two HSDUs are fully functional, while 47 are partially functional, 32 are non-functional, and 18 have been fully destroyedOnly 26 medical buildings remain intact, 54 have been partially damaged, and 18 have been fully destroyedOnly 22 HSDUs have fully intact equipment, 44 have partially damaged equipment, and 33 have been destroyed completelyBASIC AMENITIES LACKINGOut of the 49 HSDUs that are fully or partially functioning, only six per cent have fully available intensive care unit beds; in 18 per cent, they are partially available. It's the same with maternity beds: only eight per cent have fully available maternity beds, while 16 per cent have partial availability. Only 16 per cent of them have emergency room supply in hospitals and medical units is essential. But only 29 per cent of health units have a fully available power connection, while 65 per cent have a partially available power connection. Cold chains are also crucial as they ensure the proper storage of vaccines. Only 35 per cent of medical units in Gaza have a properly available cold chain, 33 per cent have partially available cold chains, while 32 per cent have is zero availability of magnetic resonance imaging or MRI in any government hospital, field hospital, or medical unit in Gaza. Only five per cent have burn treatment services, 32 per cent have basic x-ray facilities, 25 per cent have computed tomography or CT scan services, and only 15 per cent have an available blood Israeli blockade of aid has also led to depletion of essential medical supplies, lack of food and water, and rationing of supplementary food for stand on this strikeIsrael has justified its actions by saying that Hamas uses hospitals for military activities such as weapon storage. Israeli officials said the May 13 attack on the Gaza European Hospital targeted Hamas leaders, who they suspected were hiding in underground Watch
Barnama
16-05-2025
- Health
- Barnama
Israeli Strike Puts Gaza's Last Cancer Hospital Out of Service
LONDON, May 16 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The Gaza European Hospital, the last facility providing cancer treatment in the Gaza Strip, is now out of service after an Israeli strike, international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. In a statement, MSF said the hospital, located in Khan Younis, ceased operations after being struck by Israeli forces on 13 May. 'This was one of the last remaining lifelines in Gaza's shattered healthcare system,' MSF wrote on social media platform X, noting that the MSF-supported Nasser Hospital is now the only functioning public hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
NDTV
16-05-2025
- Health
- NDTV
80 People Killed In Gaza As Israel Intensifies Bombardment
Gaza City: At least 80 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, said Palestinian medical sources. The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis reported that 54 people, including women and children, were killed in strikes on the southern city, according to a press statement on Thursday. According to Gaza-based health authorities, the Gaza European Hospital, the only hospital providing medical follow-up care to cancer patients in the enclave, was out of service due to recent Israeli attacks, Xinhua news agency reported. The Israeli attacks "caused significant damage to infrastructure, such as sewage lines, damage to internal departments, and destruction of roads leading to the hospital," the authorities said in a press statement. Meanwhile, medical sources told Xinhua news agency that 26 others were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City and other areas in northern Gaza. The airstrikes came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Tuesday that the Israeli military would enter Gaza "with full force" in the coming days to press forward with efforts to defeat Hamas. Israel resumed large-scale military operations in Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire. Since then, 2,876 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,800 injured, according to health officials in Gaza. The total Palestinian death count since the war erupted on October 7, 2023, has reached 53,010, the officials said on Thursday. Israel is using a policy of "reducing space and emptying populated areas to pressure citizens," Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defence in Gaza, told Xinhua on Thursday. He also claimed that thousands of people spent the night in the streets amid threats of strikes on schools and shelters housing the displaced, adding that Israeli forces were obstructing emergency teams from reaching victims and systematically destroying Civil Defence infrastructure. Since October 2023, the Israeli Army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children. A US-backed humanitarian organisation will start work in Gaza by the end of May under an aid distribution plan, but has asked Israel to let the United Nations and others resume deliveries to Palestinians now until it is set up. No humanitarian assistance has been delivered to Gaza since March 2, and a global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation in Gaza.
Mada
14-05-2025
- Health
- Mada
Patients evacuated from Gaza's European Hospital after Israeli firebelt tears through grounds, killing 28
Israel launched a series of airstrikes targeting the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis on Wednesday evening, extensively damaging the facility, killing 28 people and forcing authorities to evacuate patients, medics and eyewitnesses told Mada Masr. Amr Tabash was in the courtyard of the hospital after 6 pm, when the bombs began to drop in the perimeter. The force of the intense bombardment threw him and several others meters into the air, he told Mada Masr, describing hearing multiple explosions in quick succession around the hospital. Another eyewitness to the firebelt, Salem al-Amour, said that the attack encircled almost the entire perimeter of the hospital. Images published by Gaza's Health Ministry showed wide craters extending deep into the grounds and extensive damage to the interior of the wards. The force of the explosions was severe and shrapnel flew everywhere, ripping through some of the hospital's departments, Tabash said. The impact caused severe injuries to already sick and wounded patients. Amour said that the hospital was crowded with civilians at the time of the attack, many of whom were injured and killed. 'Bodies were everywhere,' he said. 'Limbs were torn apart here and there inside the hospital, while shrapnel flew overhead, and many civilians outside the hospital were injured.' Soldiers in Israeli helicopters also fired heavily at anyone trying to enter the hospital to rescue the wounded in the wake of the attack, said Amour, an account echoed by Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza, who told Mada Masr that members of the agency were injured by Israeli fire at the hospital after arriving at the scene. The civil defense crews were able to retrieve 28 bodies from inside the hospital and from the surrounding homes that were also hit by the strikes, Basal said. Both Amour and Basal described severe damage to people's homes near the hospital. 'The home of the Afghany family, who live near the hospital, was crowded with people and they were massacred as a result of the firebelt,' said Basal. The Israeli military claimed it had targeted underground facilities belonging to Hamas using 'precise' munitions. Media outlets cited security sources saying that Mohamed Sinwar, military commander of the Qassam Brigades, was the target of the attack. Marwan al-Homs, the director of field hospitals in Gaza, told Mada Masr that the Gaza European Hospital declared a maximum emergency and ceased operations after the attack. The injured were transferred to the Nasser Medical Complex, also in Khan Younis. The Gaza European Hospital was targeted just hours after Israel targeted the burns unit at the Nasser Medical Complex, killing journalist Hassan Eslaih and another patient receiving treatment and causing extensive damage to the ward. 'These attacks are a complete crime,' said Homs.
