Latest news with #Manasra
AsiaOne
13 hours ago
- Health
- AsiaOne
Gazans' daily struggle for water after deadly strike, Asia News
GAZA CITY — The al-Manasra family rarely get enough water for both drinking and washing after their daily trudge to a Gaza distribution point like the one where eight people were killed on Sunday (July 13) in a strike that Israel's military said had missed its target. Living in a tent camp by the ruins of a smashed concrete building in Gaza City, the family say their children are already suffering from diarrhoea and skin maladies and from the lack of clean water, and they fear worse to come. "There's no water, our children have been infected with scabies, there are no hospitals to go to and no medications," said Akram Manasra, 51. He had set off on Monday for a local water tap with three of his daughters, each of them carrying two heavy plastic containers in Gaza's blazing summer heat, but they only managed to fill two — barely enough for the family of 10. Gaza's lack of clean water after 21 months of war and four months of Israeli blockade is already having "devastating impacts on public health" the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said in a report this month. For people queueing at a water distribution point on Sunday it was fatal. A missile that Israel said had targeted militants but malfunctioned hit a queue of people waiting to collect water at the Nuseirat refugee camp. Israel's blockade of fuel along with the difficulty in accessing wells and desalination plants in zones controlled by the Israeli military is severely constraining water, sanitation and hygiene services according to OCHA. Fuel shortages have also hit waste and sewage services, risking more contamination of the tiny, crowded territory's dwindling water supply, and diseases causing diarrhoea and jaundice are spreading among people crammed into shelters and weakened by hunger. "If electricity was allowed to desalination plants the problem of a lethal lack of water, which is what's becoming the situation now in Gaza, would be changed within 24 hours," said James Elder, the spokesperson for the UN's children's agency Unicef. "What possible reason can there be for denying of a legitimate amount of water that a family needs?" he added. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, an Israeli military official said that Israel was allowing sufficient fuel into Gaza but that its distribution around the enclave was not under Israel's purview. Thirsty and dirty For the Manasra family, like others in Gaza, the daily toil of finding water is exhausting and often fruitless. Inside their tent the family tries to maintain hygiene by sweeping. But there is no water for proper cleaning and sometimes they are unable to wash dishes from their meagre meals for several days at a time. Manasra sat in the tent and showed how one of his young daughters had angry red marks across her back from what he said a doctor had told them was a skin infection caused by the lack of clean water. They maintain a strict regimen of water use by priority. After pouring their two containers of water from the distribution point into a broken plastic water butt by their tent, they use it to clean themselves from the tap, using their hands to spoon it over their heads and bodies. Water that runs off into the basin underneath is then used for dishes and after that — now grey and dirty — for clothes. "How is this going to be enough for 10 people? For the showering, washing, dish washing, and the washing of the covers. It's been three months we haven't washed the covers, and the weather is hot," Manasra said. His wife, Umm Khaled, sat washing clothes in a tiny puddle of water at the bottom of a bucket — all that was left after the more urgent requirements of drinking and cooking. "My daughter was very sick from the heat rash and the scabies. I went to several doctors for her and they prescribed many medications. Two of my children yesterday, one had diarrhoea and vomiting and the other had fever and infections from the dirty water," she said. [[nid:720147]]
AsiaOne
a day ago
- Health
- AsiaOne
Gazans' daily struggle for water after deadly strike, World News
GAZA CITY — The al-Manasra family rarely get enough water for both drinking and washing after their daily trudge to a Gaza distribution point like the one where eight people were killed on Sunday (July 13) in a strike that Israel's military said had missed its target. Living in a tent camp by the ruins of a smashed concrete building in Gaza City, the family say their children are already suffering from diarrhoea and skin maladies and from the lack of clean water, and they fear worse to come. "There's no water, our children have been infected with scabies, there are no hospitals to go to and no medications," said Akram Manasra, 51. He had set off on Monday for a local water tap with three of his daughters, each of them carrying two heavy plastic containers in Gaza's blazing summer heat, but they only managed to fill two — barely enough for the family of 10. Gaza's lack of clean water after 21 months of war and four months of Israeli blockade is already having "devastating impacts on public health" the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said in a report this month. For people queueing at a water distribution point on Sunday it was fatal. A missile that Israel said had targeted militants but malfunctioned hit a queue of people waiting to collect water at the Nuseirat refugee camp. Israel's blockade of fuel along with the difficulty in accessing wells and desalination plants in zones controlled by the Israeli military is severely constraining water, sanitation and hygiene services according to OCHA. Fuel shortages have also hit waste and sewage services, risking more contamination of the tiny, crowded territory's dwindling water supply, and diseases causing diarrhoea and jaundice are spreading among people crammed into shelters and weakened by hunger. "If electricity was allowed to desalination plants the problem of a lethal lack of water, which is what's becoming the situation now in Gaza, would be changed within 24 hours," said James Elder, the spokesperson for the UN's children's agency Unicef. "What possible reason can there be for denying of a legitimate amount of water that a family needs?" he added. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, an Israeli military official said that Israel was allowing sufficient fuel into Gaza but that its distribution around the enclave was not under Israel's purview. Thirsty and dirty For the Manasra family, like others in Gaza, the daily toil of finding water is exhausting and often fruitless. Inside their tent the family tries to maintain hygiene by sweeping. But there is no water for proper cleaning and sometimes they are unable to wash dishes from their meagre meals for several days at a time. Manasra sat in the tent and showed how one of his young daughters had angry red marks across her back from what he said a doctor had told them was a skin infection caused by the lack of clean water. They maintain a strict regimen of water use by priority. After pouring their two containers of water from the distribution point into a broken plastic water butt by their tent, they use it to clean themselves from the tap, using their hands to spoon it over their heads and bodies. Water that runs off into the basin underneath is then used for dishes and after that — now grey and dirty — for clothes. "How is this going to be enough for 10 people? For the showering, washing, dish washing, and the washing of the covers. It's been three months we haven't washed the covers, and the weather is hot," Manasra said. His wife, Umm Khaled, sat washing clothes in a tiny puddle of water at the bottom of a bucket — all that was left after the more urgent requirements of drinking and cooking. "My daughter was very sick from the heat rash and the scabies. I went to several doctors for her and they prescribed many medications. Two of my children yesterday, one had diarrhoea and vomiting and the other had fever and infections from the dirty water," she said. [[nid:720147]]
Straits Times
a day ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Gazans' daily struggle for water after deadly strike
GAZA CITY - The al-Manasra family rarely get enough water for both drinking and washing after their daily trudge to a Gaza distribution point like the one where eight people were killed on Sunday in a strike that Israel's military said had missed its target. Living in a tent camp by the ruins of a smashed concrete building in Gaza City, the family say their children are already suffering from diarrhoea and skin maladies and from the lack of clean water, and they fear worse to come. "There's no water, our children have been infected with scabies, there are no hospitals to go to and no medications," said Akram Manasra, 51. He had set off on Monday for a local water tap with three of his daughters, each of them carrying two heavy plastic containers in Gaza's blazing summer heat, but they only managed to fill two - barely enough for the family of 10. Gaza's lack of clean water after 21 months of war and four months of Israeli blockade is already having "devastating impacts on public health" the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said in a report this month. For people queuing at a water distribution point on Sunday it was fatal. A missile that Israel said had targeted militants but malfunctioned hit a queue of people waiting to collect water at the Nuseirat refugee camp. Israel's blockade of fuel along with the difficulty in accessing wells and desalination plants in zones controlled by the Israeli military is severely constraining water, sanitation and hygiene services according to OCHA. Fuel shortages have also hit waste and sewage services, risking more contamination of the tiny, crowded territory's dwindling water supply, and diseases causing diarrhoea and jaundice are spreading among people crammed into shelters and weakened by hunger. "If electricity was allowed to desalination plants the problem of a lethal lack of water, which is what's becoming the situation now in Gaza, would be changed within 24 hours," said James Elder, the spokesperson for the U.N.'s children's agency UNICEF. "What possible reason can there be for denying of a legitimate amount of water that a family needs?" he added. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, an Israeli military official said that Israel was allowing sufficient fuel into Gaza but that its distribution around the enclave was not under Israel's purview. THIRSTY AND DIRTY For the Manasra family, like others in Gaza, the daily toil of finding water is exhausting and often fruitless. Inside their tent the family tries to maintain hygiene by sweeping. But there is no water for proper cleaning and sometimes they are unable to wash dishes from their meagre meals for several days at a time. Manasra sat in the tent and showed how one of his young daughters had angry red marks across her back from what he said a doctor had told them was a skin infection caused by the lack of clean water. They maintain a strict regimen of water use by priority. After pouring their two containers of water from the distribution point into a broken plastic water butt by their tent, they use it to clean themselves from the tap, using their hands to spoon it over their heads and bodies. Water that runs off into the basin underneath is then used for dishes and after that - now grey and dirty - for clothes. "How is this going to be enough for 10 people? For the showering, washing, dish washing, and the washing of the covers. It's been three months we haven't washed the covers, and the weather is hot," Manasra said. His wife, Umm Khaled, sat washing clothes in a tiny puddle of water at the bottom of a bucket - all that was left after the more urgent requirements of drinking and cooking. "My daughter was very sick from the heat rash and the scabies. I went to several doctors for her and they prescribed many medications. Two of my children yesterday, one had diarrhoea and vomiting and the other had fever and infections from the dirty water," she said. REUTERS
Egypt Independent
15-04-2025
- Egypt Independent
Israel releases Palestinian prisoner controversially arrested aged 13
CNN — Israel has released a Palestinian man who was controversially arrested at the age of 13, after he spent nearly a decade in jail. Ahmad Manasra has been reunited with his family, his lawyer Khaled Zabarqa told CNN. 'Ahmad has completed his 10-year sentence and he is a free person now,' Zabarqa said. 'The Israeli authorities have imposed restriction on the family as far as holding a welcome ceremony for Ahmad or talking to the media. ' Ahmad Manasra was arrested and imprisoned in 2015 after being caught with his cousin Hassan who stabbed two Israelis in East Jerusalem. Hassan was shot dead at the scene while Manasra was run over by a car. Manasra's case gained international attention after a video emerged of crowds shouting abuse at him after the incident while he lies motionless, seriously injured and crying out. Other footage allegedly shows Israeli officials interrogating Manasra under duress as he is visibly shaken and vulnerable, according to the Palestinian Prisoner's Society. He was sentenced to 12 years for attempted murder in 2016, despite Israeli courts' recognizing he had not been involved in the stabbings, the Palestinian Prisoner's Society added. His sentence was revised down to nine and a half years following an appeal in 2017 International groups have repeatedly called on Israeli authorities for his release over the years over concerns of his treatment and extended stays in solitary confinement, coupled with mental health issues and a schizophrenia diagnosis. 'His physical and medical condition is very difficult as he suffers from head injuries and physiological mental health as he was in solitary confinement and was subjected to harsh interrogation when he was a child,' his lawyer said. Israel's prison authorities confirmed Manasra was being released on Thursday, adding 'Israel is a state of law, we don't torture people here.'
Khaleej Times
12-04-2025
- Khaleej Times
Watch: Palestinian jailed as teen for stabbing Israelis freed after 9 years
A Palestinian sentenced as a teen for taking part in a knife attack against two Israelis was freed Thursday after spending more than nine years in jail, a lawyer said. Ahmad Manasra, now 23, was just 13 when he carried out the attack in October 2015 in Israeli-occupied and annexed east Jerusalem. "He was released today," said Nareman Shehadeh Zoabi, an attorney for rights group Adalah and part of a legal team representing him. "His family met him and now the family is taking the time with him and to be able to stay quiet for some time alone with Ahmed," she told AFP. Manasra was originally sentenced in 2016 to 12 years in prison, but his term was later reduced to nine and a half years by Israel's supreme court. AFPTV footage on Thursday showed Manasra, wearing a surgical mask and with his hair closely cropped, at an Israeli security facility in Jerusalem alongside his father. Watch the video below: He was found guilty of the attempted murder of a 20-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy in the Jewish settlement neighbourhood of Pisgat Zeev in east Jerusalem, his lawyer said at the time. He carried out the attack with his cousin Hassan, who was shot dead by security forces on the spot. Between Manasra's conviction and sentencing, Israeli law was amended to allow civilian courts to convict children as young as 12 for "terrorist offences". Manasra, an east Jerusalem resident, was the youngest Palestinian to be convicted by an Israeli civilian court at the time. Zoabi, the lawyer at Adalah legal centre, said her team had worked to secure Manasra's early release in 2022 but failed to secure it. Among other things, his health had declined drastically after he spent nearly two years in solitary confinement. Rights group Amnesty International had also raised concerns at the time, warning of his deteriorating psychological condition. "Ahmad Manasra's release today is a huge relief for him and for his family, but nothing can undo the years of injustice, abuse, trauma and ill-treatment he endured behind bars," Amnesty regional director Heba Morayef said in a statement on Thursday. Manasra initially pleaded not guilty, saying he had intended to frighten the Israelis, not kill them. The stabbing incident came at the beginning of a months-long wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks.
