Latest news with #MohammedAbuSelmia
Observer
11-07-2025
- Health
- Observer
Israeli strike kills children near Gaza clinic
JERUSALEM/CAIRO: An Israeli air strike hit Palestinians near a medical centre in Gaza on Thursday, killing 10 children and six adults, local health authorities said, as ceasefire talks dragged on with no immediate deal expected. Verified video footage from the strike in Deir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip showed the bodies of women and children lying in pools of blood amidst dust and screaming. One clip showed several motionless children lying on a donkey cart. "She didn't do anything, she was innocent, I swear. Her dream was for the war to end and that they announce it today, to go back to school", said Samah al Nouri, sitting by the body of her daughter who was killed in the blast. "She was only getting treatment in a medical facility. Why did they kill them?" she said, with other bodies laid out around her at a nearby hospital. Israel's military said it had struck a militant who took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. It said it was aware of reports regarding a number of injured bystanders and that the incident was under review. The Deir Al Balah missile strike came as Israeli and Hamas negotiators hold talks with mediators in Qatar over a proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal aimed at building agreement on a lasting truce. Palestinians react near casualties following an Israeli strike near a medical centre in Deir Al Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Thursday. — Reuters Repeated attacks by Israeli forces in recent weeks have killed hundreds of Gazans, many of them civilians and injured thousands, according to local health authorities, putting an enormous strain on the enclave's few remaining hospitals. Dwindling fuel supplies risk further disruption in the semi-functioning hospitals, including to incubators at the neonatal unit of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, doctors there said. "We are forced to place four, five or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator", said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital director, adding that premature babies were now in a critical condition. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was "hopeful" about the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza, telling reporters on Thursday that negotiations were "closer" than they had been in some time. Israel and Hamas began their latest round of talks on Sunday, with representatives seated in separate rooms within the same building. "We're hopeful... It appears that generally the terms have been agreed to, but obviously now you need to have talks about how you implement those terms", Rubio said on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian countries in Malaysia. "I think perhaps we're closer than we've been in quite a while and we're hopeful, but we also recognise there are still some challenges in the way". He acknowledged that previous rounds of talks had fallen apart at similar stages. "One of the fundamental challenges is Hamas' unwillingness to disarm, which would end this conflict immediately", Rubio said. — Agencies
Observer
10-07-2025
- Health
- Observer
Gaza doctors cram babies into incubators as fuel shortage threatens hospitals
GAZA: At Gaza's largest hospital, doctors say crippling fuel shortages have led them to put several premature babies in a single incubator as they struggle to keep the newborns alive while Israel presses on with its military campaign. Overwhelmed medics say the dwindling fuel supplies threaten to plunge them into darkness and paralyse hospitals and clinics in the Palestinian territory, where health services have been pummelled during 21 months of war. Patients at Al Shifa medical centre in Gaza City faced imminent danger, doctors there said. "We are forced to place four, five, or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator", said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, Al Shifa's director. "Premature babies are now in a very critical condition". The threat comes from "neither an air strike nor a missile — but a siege choking the entry of fuel", Dr Muneer Alboursh, director general of the Gaza Ministry of Health, said. The shortage is "depriving these vulnerable people of their basic right to medical care, turning the hospital into a silent graveyard", he said. Gaza, a tiny strip of land with a population of more than 2 million, was under a long, Israeli-led blockade before the war between Israel and Hamas erupted. Palestinians and medical workers have accused the Israeli military of attacking hospitals, allegations it rejects. There have been more than 600 attacks on health facilities since the conflict began, the WHO says, without attributing blame. It has described the health sector in Gaza as being "on its knees", with shortages of fuel, medical supplies and frequent arrivals of mass casualties. Just half of Gaza's 36 general hospitals are partially functioning, according to the UN agency. Abu Selmia warned of a humanitarian catastrophe and accused Israel of "trickle-feeding" fuel to Gaza's hospitals. COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about fuel shortages at Gaza's medical facilities and the risk to patients. Abu Selmia said Al Shifa's dialysis department had been shut down to protect the intensive care unit and operating rooms, which can't be without electricity for even a few minutes. There are around 100 premature babies in Gaza City hospitals whose lives are at serious risk, he said. Before the war, there were 110 incubators in northern Gaza compared to about 40 now, said Abu Selmia. "Oxygen stations will stop working. A hospital without oxygen is no longer a hospital. The lab and blood banks will shut down and the blood units in the refrigerators will spoil", Abu Selmia said, adding that the hospital could become "a graveyard for those inside". Officials at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis are also wondering how they will cope with the fuel crisis. The hospital needs 4,500 litres of fuel per day and it now has only 3,000 litres, said hospital spokesperson Mohammed Sakr. — Reuters
The Advertiser
10-07-2025
- Health
- The Advertiser
Israeli strike hits near Gaza clinic as talks drag on
An Israeli strike has hit Palestinians near a medical centre in Gaza, killing 16 including children and wounding more people, local health authorities say, as ceasefire talks drag on with no result expected soon. The strike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip came as Israeli and Hamas negotiators hold talks with mediators in Qatar over a proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal aimed at building agreement on a lasting truce. However, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday that an agreement was not likely to be secured for another one or two weeks. Khalil al-Deqran, spokesperson for the health ministry in Gaza's Hamas-run government, said Israel had targeted a medical centre and that six of the dead were children. Many of those injured had suffered severe wounds to the head and chest, he said. Israel's military said it had struck a militant who took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. It said it was aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals and the incident was under review. Videos on Thursday verified by Reuters showed a scene of carnage, with the bodies of dead and injured, mainly women and children, lying in blood amid a cloud of dust as people screamed all around, and of motionless children lying in blood on a donkey cart. Israeli attacks on Palestinian hospitals and health facilities, detentions of medics, and restrictions on the entry of medical supplies have drawn condemnation from the United Nations. The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said in May that the UN had documented at least 686 attacks affecting health care in Gaza since the war began. Dwindling fuel supplies risk further disruption in the remaining, semi-functioning hospitals, including to incubators at the neonatal unit of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, doctors there said. "We are forced to place four, five or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator," said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital director, adding that premature babies were now in a critical condition. US President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week to discuss Gaza amid reports Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas were nearing agreement on a US-brokered ceasefire proposal after 21 months of war. The Israeli official who was in Washington with Netanyahu said that if the two sides agreed to the ceasefire proposal, Israel would use that time to offer a permanent truce requiring Hamas to disarm. If Hamas refused, "we'll proceed" with military operations in Gaza, the official said on condition of anonymity. A Palestinian official said the talks in Qatar were in crisis and that issues under dispute, including whether Israel would continue to occupy parts of Gaza after a ceasefire, had yet to be resolved. The two sides previously agreed to a ceasefire in January but it did not lead to a deal on a permanent truce and Israel resumed its military assault in March, stopping all aid supplies into Gaza and telling civilians to leave the north of the tiny territory. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. It has destroyed swathes of the territory and driven most Gazans from their homes. The Hamas attack on Israeli border communities that triggered the war killed about 1200 people and the militant group seized about 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. An Israeli strike has hit Palestinians near a medical centre in Gaza, killing 16 including children and wounding more people, local health authorities say, as ceasefire talks drag on with no result expected soon. The strike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip came as Israeli and Hamas negotiators hold talks with mediators in Qatar over a proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal aimed at building agreement on a lasting truce. However, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday that an agreement was not likely to be secured for another one or two weeks. Khalil al-Deqran, spokesperson for the health ministry in Gaza's Hamas-run government, said Israel had targeted a medical centre and that six of the dead were children. Many of those injured had suffered severe wounds to the head and chest, he said. Israel's military said it had struck a militant who took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. It said it was aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals and the incident was under review. Videos on Thursday verified by Reuters showed a scene of carnage, with the bodies of dead and injured, mainly women and children, lying in blood amid a cloud of dust as people screamed all around, and of motionless children lying in blood on a donkey cart. Israeli attacks on Palestinian hospitals and health facilities, detentions of medics, and restrictions on the entry of medical supplies have drawn condemnation from the United Nations. The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said in May that the UN had documented at least 686 attacks affecting health care in Gaza since the war began. Dwindling fuel supplies risk further disruption in the remaining, semi-functioning hospitals, including to incubators at the neonatal unit of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, doctors there said. "We are forced to place four, five or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator," said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital director, adding that premature babies were now in a critical condition. US President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week to discuss Gaza amid reports Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas were nearing agreement on a US-brokered ceasefire proposal after 21 months of war. The Israeli official who was in Washington with Netanyahu said that if the two sides agreed to the ceasefire proposal, Israel would use that time to offer a permanent truce requiring Hamas to disarm. If Hamas refused, "we'll proceed" with military operations in Gaza, the official said on condition of anonymity. A Palestinian official said the talks in Qatar were in crisis and that issues under dispute, including whether Israel would continue to occupy parts of Gaza after a ceasefire, had yet to be resolved. The two sides previously agreed to a ceasefire in January but it did not lead to a deal on a permanent truce and Israel resumed its military assault in March, stopping all aid supplies into Gaza and telling civilians to leave the north of the tiny territory. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. It has destroyed swathes of the territory and driven most Gazans from their homes. The Hamas attack on Israeli border communities that triggered the war killed about 1200 people and the militant group seized about 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. An Israeli strike has hit Palestinians near a medical centre in Gaza, killing 16 including children and wounding more people, local health authorities say, as ceasefire talks drag on with no result expected soon. The strike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip came as Israeli and Hamas negotiators hold talks with mediators in Qatar over a proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal aimed at building agreement on a lasting truce. However, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday that an agreement was not likely to be secured for another one or two weeks. Khalil al-Deqran, spokesperson for the health ministry in Gaza's Hamas-run government, said Israel had targeted a medical centre and that six of the dead were children. Many of those injured had suffered severe wounds to the head and chest, he said. Israel's military said it had struck a militant who took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. It said it was aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals and the incident was under review. Videos on Thursday verified by Reuters showed a scene of carnage, with the bodies of dead and injured, mainly women and children, lying in blood amid a cloud of dust as people screamed all around, and of motionless children lying in blood on a donkey cart. Israeli attacks on Palestinian hospitals and health facilities, detentions of medics, and restrictions on the entry of medical supplies have drawn condemnation from the United Nations. The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said in May that the UN had documented at least 686 attacks affecting health care in Gaza since the war began. Dwindling fuel supplies risk further disruption in the remaining, semi-functioning hospitals, including to incubators at the neonatal unit of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, doctors there said. "We are forced to place four, five or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator," said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital director, adding that premature babies were now in a critical condition. US President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week to discuss Gaza amid reports Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas were nearing agreement on a US-brokered ceasefire proposal after 21 months of war. The Israeli official who was in Washington with Netanyahu said that if the two sides agreed to the ceasefire proposal, Israel would use that time to offer a permanent truce requiring Hamas to disarm. If Hamas refused, "we'll proceed" with military operations in Gaza, the official said on condition of anonymity. A Palestinian official said the talks in Qatar were in crisis and that issues under dispute, including whether Israel would continue to occupy parts of Gaza after a ceasefire, had yet to be resolved. The two sides previously agreed to a ceasefire in January but it did not lead to a deal on a permanent truce and Israel resumed its military assault in March, stopping all aid supplies into Gaza and telling civilians to leave the north of the tiny territory. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. It has destroyed swathes of the territory and driven most Gazans from their homes. The Hamas attack on Israeli border communities that triggered the war killed about 1200 people and the militant group seized about 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. An Israeli strike has hit Palestinians near a medical centre in Gaza, killing 16 including children and wounding more people, local health authorities say, as ceasefire talks drag on with no result expected soon. The strike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip came as Israeli and Hamas negotiators hold talks with mediators in Qatar over a proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal aimed at building agreement on a lasting truce. However, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday that an agreement was not likely to be secured for another one or two weeks. Khalil al-Deqran, spokesperson for the health ministry in Gaza's Hamas-run government, said Israel had targeted a medical centre and that six of the dead were children. Many of those injured had suffered severe wounds to the head and chest, he said. Israel's military said it had struck a militant who took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. It said it was aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals and the incident was under review. Videos on Thursday verified by Reuters showed a scene of carnage, with the bodies of dead and injured, mainly women and children, lying in blood amid a cloud of dust as people screamed all around, and of motionless children lying in blood on a donkey cart. Israeli attacks on Palestinian hospitals and health facilities, detentions of medics, and restrictions on the entry of medical supplies have drawn condemnation from the United Nations. The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said in May that the UN had documented at least 686 attacks affecting health care in Gaza since the war began. Dwindling fuel supplies risk further disruption in the remaining, semi-functioning hospitals, including to incubators at the neonatal unit of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, doctors there said. "We are forced to place four, five or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator," said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital director, adding that premature babies were now in a critical condition. US President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week to discuss Gaza amid reports Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas were nearing agreement on a US-brokered ceasefire proposal after 21 months of war. The Israeli official who was in Washington with Netanyahu said that if the two sides agreed to the ceasefire proposal, Israel would use that time to offer a permanent truce requiring Hamas to disarm. If Hamas refused, "we'll proceed" with military operations in Gaza, the official said on condition of anonymity. A Palestinian official said the talks in Qatar were in crisis and that issues under dispute, including whether Israel would continue to occupy parts of Gaza after a ceasefire, had yet to be resolved. The two sides previously agreed to a ceasefire in January but it did not lead to a deal on a permanent truce and Israel resumed its military assault in March, stopping all aid supplies into Gaza and telling civilians to leave the north of the tiny territory. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. It has destroyed swathes of the territory and driven most Gazans from their homes. The Hamas attack on Israeli border communities that triggered the war killed about 1200 people and the militant group seized about 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies.
Perth Now
10-07-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Israeli strike hits near Gaza clinic as talks drag on
An Israeli strike has hit Palestinians near a medical centre in Gaza, killing 16 including children and wounding more people, local health authorities say, as ceasefire talks drag on with no result expected soon. The strike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip came as Israeli and Hamas negotiators hold talks with mediators in Qatar over a proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal aimed at building agreement on a lasting truce. However, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday that an agreement was not likely to be secured for another one or two weeks. Khalil al-Deqran, spokesperson for the health ministry in Gaza's Hamas-run government, said Israel had targeted a medical centre and that six of the dead were children. Many of those injured had suffered severe wounds to the head and chest, he said. Israel's military said it had struck a militant who took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. It said it was aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals and the incident was under review. Videos on Thursday verified by Reuters showed a scene of carnage, with the bodies of dead and injured, mainly women and children, lying in blood amid a cloud of dust as people screamed all around, and of motionless children lying in blood on a donkey cart. Israeli attacks on Palestinian hospitals and health facilities, detentions of medics, and restrictions on the entry of medical supplies have drawn condemnation from the United Nations. The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said in May that the UN had documented at least 686 attacks affecting health care in Gaza since the war began. Dwindling fuel supplies risk further disruption in the remaining, semi-functioning hospitals, including to incubators at the neonatal unit of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, doctors there said. "We are forced to place four, five or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator," said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital director, adding that premature babies were now in a critical condition. US President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week to discuss Gaza amid reports Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas were nearing agreement on a US-brokered ceasefire proposal after 21 months of war. The Israeli official who was in Washington with Netanyahu said that if the two sides agreed to the ceasefire proposal, Israel would use that time to offer a permanent truce requiring Hamas to disarm. If Hamas refused, "we'll proceed" with military operations in Gaza, the official said on condition of anonymity. A Palestinian official said the talks in Qatar were in crisis and that issues under dispute, including whether Israel would continue to occupy parts of Gaza after a ceasefire, had yet to be resolved. The two sides previously agreed to a ceasefire in January but it did not lead to a deal on a permanent truce and Israel resumed its military assault in March, stopping all aid supplies into Gaza and telling civilians to leave the north of the tiny territory. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. It has destroyed swathes of the territory and driven most Gazans from their homes. The Hamas attack on Israeli border communities that triggered the war killed about 1200 people and the militant group seized about 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies.
Al-Ahram Weekly
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Israeli strikes kill 38 in Gaza amid push for ceasefire deal - War on Gaza
At least 38 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza, hospital officials said on Saturday, as Israel's military reported hitting more than 100 targets across the territory over the past 24 hours. Two houses were struck in Gaza City, killing 20 people and wounding 25 others, said Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Shifa Hospital. In southern Gaza, 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Muwasi, a coastal area where thousands of displaced Palestinians live in tents, officials at Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis told the Associated Press. The dead included members of two families, they said. Those killed in the latest attacks included 29 civilians who were waiting for humanitarian aid, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. 'My brother, his wife, his four children, my cousin's son and his daughter... eight people are gone,' said Saqer Abu Al-Kheir, as mourners gathered on the sand for prayers and burials. Israel's military did not comment on the individual strikes but said it had struck 130 targets in Gaza in the past day. The strikes came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to travel to Washington for talks at the White House aimed at advancing ceasefire efforts. U.S. President Donald Trump, who is due to meet Netanyahu on Monday, has proposed a 60-day ceasefire that would include the partial release of captives held by Hamas in exchange for increased humanitarian aid to Gaza. The proposal, which Israel says it has agreed to, also envisions further negotiations to end the 21-month-old war on the Gaza Strip. However, ahead of indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar, Netanyahu's office said the group was seeking 'unacceptable' changes to the U.S. plan. Hamas, which gave a 'positive' response to the plan on Friday, is demanding guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza — demands Israel has rejected. Israel's relentless bombardment and complete blockade have created dire humanitarian conditions for more than two million people in Gaza. Karima al-Ras, from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said, 'We hope that a truce will be announced' to allow more aid in. 'People are dying for flour,' she said. A U.S. and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, took control of food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel allowed a limited flow of aid deliveries through the organization. However, UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation, citing concerns that it serves Israeli military objectives. UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said on Friday that more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution points. Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 57,418 people in the territory, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry. *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
