Region

President Joe Biden delivered unequivocal US backing for Israel in person yesterday, supporting his ally’s stance that Palestinian fighters were behind a deadly rocket strike on a Gaza hospital that has inflamed anger across the Middle East and beyond.Arab countries blamed Israel, which has rained bombs on Gaza since the bloody October 7 attack by Hamas fighters, with protests in Muslim countries from Egypt to Pakistan after Lebanon’s Hezbollah vowed a “day of rage”.But Biden, on a solidarity visit to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, voiced support for Israel’s position that a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket caused the carnage at Gaza’s Ahli Arab Hospital.But he gave Israel a warning, despite saying he understood the urge to hit back at those responsible for the worst attack in Israel’s history on October 7, when some 1,400 people died.“I caution this while you feel that rage: don’t be consumed by it. After 9/11, we were enraged in the US. While we sought justice we also made mistakes,” he said.NOD FOR AID VIA EGYPTIsrael said afterwards it had agreed to Biden’s request to allow aid into the besieged Gaza Strip via Egypt after mounting concern about dwindling supplies and warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe.But it said it was limited to “food, water and medicine” and conditional on it not being used by Hamas, Netanyahu’s office added.Biden also announced plans for “unprecedented” aid for Israel and the Palestinians, as part of a wider $100bn package that includes support for Ukraine.Moments after Biden took off in Air Force One, rocket alerts were activated in central Israel, east of Tel Aviv. Police said rockets fell near the Lebanese border, causing damage but no casualties.SUMMIT CANCELLEDThe horror of the hospital deaths overshadowed Biden’s high-stakes regional visit, with Jordan cancelling a summit between King Abdullah II, Biden, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.Israel’s military campaign to destroy Hamas, which is holding 199 hostages in the besieged territory, has now claimed the lives of 3,478 people, according to health officials.Arab countries have almost universally blamed Israel for the hospital strike, either directly or through state media — including Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.OIC SLAMS ‘IMPUNITY’The Organisation of Islamic Co-operation — a 57-member bloc of Muslim-majority countries — denounced Israel’s backers for granting the country “impunity” in its war with Gaza.In the besieged enclave, the hospital blast brought new horrors after 12 days of sustained bombardment that Israel says targets Hamas and which has destroyed entire city blocks.More than a million people have been displaced ahead of an anticipated Israeli ground offensive, according to the UN.Overnight, after the explosion, AFP reporters saw scores of bodies cloaked in blood-stained sheets and white plastic lined the floors at the nearby the Al-Shifa hospital, where bereaved relatives tried to identify loved ones.“As I entered the hospital, I heard the explosion. I saw a massive fire,” said Gaza resident Adnan al-Naqa. “The entire square was on fire. There were bodies everywhere, children, women and elderly people.”“Hospitals are not a target,” said Ghassan Abu Sittah of the charity Doctors Without Borders, who was inside the building when the compound was hit.“This bloodshed must stop. Enough is enough.”The Palestine Red Crescent Society said hundreds died including “internally displaced people seeking safe shelter”.Hamas replied that Israel’s “outrageous lies do not deceive anyone”.The group also slammed the US yesterday, accusing Israel’s long-time ally of being complicit in the ongoing strikes on Gaza.“The continued endorsement of the Zionist narrative by the US administration makes it complicit in the occupation’s massacres and the Baptist hospital massacre in Gaza,” it said.‘OUT OF CONTROL’Entire Gaza neighbourhoods have been razed and survivors are left with dwindling supplies of food, water and fuel, unable to flee the 40-kilometre long strip blockaded by Israel and Egypt since 2007.“The situation in Gaza is spiralling out of control,” World Health OrganiSation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X, formerly Twitter.“We need violence on all sides to stop.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” and warned Israel against “the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.Biden said he was encouraging Netanyahu to ensure “life-saving capacity to help the Palestinians who are innocent and caught in the middle of this”.Inside Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians who hold US or other foreign passports have desperately hoped to escape through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the only way in or out of Gaza not controlled by Israel.The Rafah crossing has remained closed during the war as Israel has struck the Palestinian side, preventing the delivery of aid piled up in long convoys of trucks waiting in Egypt.SISI WARNS AGAINST FORCED DISPLACEMENTSisi, in a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, denied Egypt was keeping the border closed and warned against any potential Israeli plan to permanently drive Palestinians out of Gaza. Such a “forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza into Egypt” would set a precedent for also pushing West Bank Palestinians into Jordan, Sisi said. The effect, the Egyptian president warned, would be “eradicating the Palestinian cause” and making a future Palestinian state “impossible”.

Gaza, reeling under Israeli attack, needs huge amounts of humanitarian aid, around 100 trucks per day, UN sources said Wednesday."We need to start with a serious number of trucks going in and we need to build up to 100 trucks a day," the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told CNN Europe."That used to be the case of the aid program going into Gaza," he added, even before the past two weeks of heightened unrest."We've been in incredibly detailed negotiations with the parties to make an understanding and an agreement on exactly what an aid program would look like going into southern Gaza," said Griffiths."So number one, we need to be able to have the assurance that we can go in at scale every day, deliberately, repetitively and reliably," said Griffiths, speaking hours after US President Joe Biden said he had received Israeli assurances that aid would come in through the Rafah border crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border at the southern end of the Gaza Strip."Secondly, we have to be able to do so to reach people safely. International humanitarian law is there for a reason. It requires people to make their own choices about where to be safely, and it requires us and indeed, all of us to ensure that safety, and the humanitarian community to provide aid to people in the places they choose to be safe."He said he hoped that within the next couple of days the "essential program of aid" could start, said Griffiths, noting the UN, including its Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) development agency, has some 14,000 staff in the strip to aid with distribution.Taking also into account colleagues from the Red Crescent aid organisation, Griffiths, in Cairo negotiating with Egyptian authorities, said, "We have the resources to do this."Tons of aid remain for the time being blocked in the Sinai desert with the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side closed following four bombardments this week.The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said Israel would not prevent humanitarian aid coming in via Egypt in the form of food, water and medicine.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday denounced Israel's backers for granting the country "impunity" in its war in Gaza, as US President Joe Biden conducted a solidarity visit.The 57-member bloc of Muslim-majority countries "deplores the international positions that back the brutal aggression against the Palestinian people, and grant Israel impunity, taking advantage of the double standards that provide cover for the occupying power", said an OIC statement published after an emergency meeting of foreign ministers.The same statement blamed Israel for a rocket strike on Gaza's Christian-run Ahli Arab Hospital that killed 471 people according to Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry.Arab countries have also individually blamed Israel for the incident that has inflamed anger across the Middle East.The OIC, based in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, called on the international community "to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for these heinous war crimes against the Palestinian people".It also condemned the United Nations Security Council for failing to stop the violence."Everyone who gave Israel carte blanche to wage this deadly war, provided it with weapons, and even sent military reinforcements to support it in committing this heinous crime, colluded with this crime," Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki said in his remarks.Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Israel was acting "with the full support of the United States and some Western countries".Earlier, he told reporters in Jeddah that Islamic countries with diplomatic ties with Israel should expel its ambassadors and "stop exporting oil to this regime", though the OIC statement did not mention such steps.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Wednesday that Egyptians in their millions would reject the forced displacement of Palestinians into Sinai, adding that any such move would turn the Egyptian peninsula into a base for attacks against Israel.The Gaza Strip is effectively under Israeli control and Palestinians could instead be moved to Israel's Negev desert "till the militants are dealt with", Sisi told a joint press conference in Cairo with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.The border between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip is the site of the only crossing from the Palestinian territory that is not controlled by Israel.Israel's unprecedented bombardment and siege of Gaza has raised fears that its 2.3mn residents could be forced southwards into Sinai."What is happening now in Gaza is an attempt to force civilian residents to take refugee and migrate to Egypt, which should not be accepted," said Sisi."Egypt rejects any attempt to resolve the Palestinian issue by military means or through the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land, which would come at the expense of the countries of the region," he said.Sisi said the Egyptian people would "go out and protest in their millions... if called upon to do so" against any displacement of Gaza's residents to Sinai.

Several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside The Hague headquarters of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday to urge it and the international community to take action against what they call genocide against Palestinians.Fighting began on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel as part of its goal to end Israeli occupation. Israel has since retaliated by bombing Gaza, and an estimated 1,400 Israelis and 3,500 Palestinians have been killed so far.The ICC is investigating potential atrocity crimes that Hamas militants in Israel and Israelis in the Gaza Strip have committed since 2014, which also covers the current conflict."We are against killings of any (parties), however when it comes to Gaza the world is always (turning) a blind eye. We came here to say enough is enough," Rafat Alkayyali, 50, said, adding that he came to the ICC to protest because he believes in international law.Protesters carried signs that said: "Justice for Palestine - Stop the Genocide" and "How many children will die until Israel is prosecuted".Last week ICC prosecutor Karim Khan told Reuters that the court has jurisdiction over potential atrocity crimes carried out by Hamas militants in Israel and Israelis in the Gaza Strip, even though Israel is not a member state.

The death toll resulting from the ongoing barbaric Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip running for 12 days has now risen to 3,500 dead, including 700 children and more than 500 women, with the number of injured reaching about 13,500, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health statistics.In a press conference on Wednesday, Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al Kailah said that the Gaza Strip's health sector is suffering from a severe shortage of medicines, major difficulty reaching hospitals, water outages, and a deterioration in the sewage system, explaining that these issues increase the risk of communicable disease outbreaks in the besieged sector.Al Kailah added that citizens have major difficulty accessing the healthcare system and hospitals as a result of constant Israeli occupation forces' bombardments that do not exclude hospitals and primary healthcare centers, indicating that the situation is exacerbated by a disruption in medicine supply chains.Regarding communicable diseases and epidemic cases, the minister pointed out that the water outage, the lack of hygiene tools and personal care supplies, the lack of harmonization of the sanitation system and the deterioration of large parts of it as a result of the Israeli aggression, in addition to overcrowding in shelter centers, increases the risk of the spread of communicable and infectious diseases in a way that threatens of a real health care disaster.She said that the Israeli occupation is violating the international humanitarian law regarding the protection of medical personnel, and is instead targeting medical personnel.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday slammed the United Nations Security Council which was unable to pass a resolution for a humanitarian pause in the conflict between Palestinian and Israeli forces to allow aid to reach civilians in Gaza.Erdogan has long criticised the UN Security Council's structure, saying the five permanent members of the council, which includes the United States who vetoed Wednesday's resolution, are not reflective of the international community and unable to take swift decisions.In a post on social media platform X, Erdogan said Turkish efforts to establish calm in the region had been hindered by the "collective punishment" of Palestinians through air strikes and the deployment of US aircraft carriers to the region."The United Nations Security Council, which has become even more ineffective, has once again not fulfilled its responsibility," Erdogan said."Western countries, which leave no stone unturned when it comes to human rights and freedoms, have taken no steps other than adding fuel to the fire," he said, while criticising the "biased and two-faced" media coverage of the conflict.On Tuesday, Erdogan said a blast at a hospital in Gaza was an example of "Israel's attacks devoid of the most basic human values".Erdogan said on Wednesday this amounted to "genocide", the first time he used that term since the conflict began."The heinous attack against the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital yesterday has brought the massacre in Gaza to another level," he said. "I condemn the perpetrators of this attack, which amounts to a crime against humanity and genocide against the people of Gaza," he added.

Protesters rally across Middle East against Gaza explosionCriticise Western powers for backing IsraelProtesters on Wednesday staged anti-Israeli demonstrations around the Middle East, some of them turning violent, to voice rage at an explosion that killed hundreds of Palestinians in the deadliest incident in Gaza of the Israel-Hamas war. Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian teenagers near Ramallah in the West Bank during widespread protests against Tuesday's blast at a Gaza hospital, Palestinian officials said.In Lebanon, security forces fired tear gas and water canon at protesters who were throwing projectiles as a protest near the US embassy north of Beirut turned violent, footage by Lebanese broadcaster al-Jadeed showed."America is the devil, the real devil, because it supported Israel, and then all the world is blind. You don't see what happened yesterday?" said Lebanese demonstrator Mohammed Taher.Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli air strike for Tuesday's explosion in the besieged territory. The bloodshed has enraged a region in crisis since Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, carried out a cross-border rampage against communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,400 people were killed and hostages were taken. More than 3,000 Palestinians have been killed in retaliatory bombing, Gaza health authorities say.State-sponsored marches were held across Iran, backer of Hamas and Israel's sworn foe, with demonstrators carrying banners that read "Death to America" and "Death to Israel"."Every drop of blood of Palestinians killed in this war, brings the Zionist regime (Israel) closer to its downfall," Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in a televised speech.In Amman, riot police pushed back thousands of Jordanian protesters planning to march on the heavily fortified Israeli embassy. Several police were injured in clashes with protesters who torched property near the Israeli embassy, police said."No Zionist embassy on Arab land," demonstrators chanted in the Jordanian capital after noon prayers.In Tunis, protesters burned Israeli and American flags and demanded the expulsion of the U.S. and French ambassadors for what they termed their unconditional support for Israel."They (Palestinians) have no food or water, and they are getting bombed. This is genocide, not war. This is a crime. We must find a solution," said Ines Laswed, a demonstrator.'REVENGE, REVENGE' The protesters shouted slogans backing Hamas, including "Revenge ... revenge ... Oh Hamas, bomb Tel Aviv."In Yemen, thousands marched in the capital Sanaa. Mohammed Ali Al-Rammah of the ruling Houthi movement denounced what he called Israeli lies and hatred."We will fight you," he said.Egyptian state TV aired footage of protesters carrying Palestinian flags and shouting anti-Israel slogans in front of the journalists' syndicate building in Cairo. In Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, thousands of people gathered for a protest, waving Hezbollah, Palestinian and Lebanese flags and chanting "Death to America".Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine told the rally the group was "thousands of times stronger" than before and the US, Israel and "malicious Europeans" should be careful. Saudi Arabia urged its nationals to leave Lebanon citing "current events" in the south of Lebanon, where Hezbollah has been exchanging fire at the border with Israeli forces. The French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it was advising its citizens against any travel to Lebanon given the security situation, especially at south Lebanon's border with Israel.

The United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Wednesday that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants to allow humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip.The vote on the Brazilian-drafted text was twice delayed in the past couple of days as the United States tries to broker aid access to Gaza. Twelve members voted in favor of the draft text on Wednesday, while Russia and Britain abstained.Washington traditionally shields its ally Israel from any Security Council action.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to allow for the release of hostages and humanitarian aid access to Gaza.The draft resolution also urged Israel - without naming it - to rescind its order for civilians and UN staff in Gaza to move to the south of the Palestinian enclave.Israel last week ordered some 1.1 million people in Gaza - almost half the population - to move south as it prepares for a ground offensive in retaliation for the worst Hamas attack in Israel's 75-year-old history.Israel has put Gaza under a total siege and subjected it to intense bombardment.Palestinian officials say more than 3,000 Palestinians have been killed.The draft UN resolution condemned all violence and hostilities against civilians and all acts of terrorism and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

A strike on a Gaza hospital compound which health officials there said killed at least 471 people, has provoked outrage and condemnation from around the world, with protests on the streets of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.The Palestinian group Hamas, which runs the territory, accused Israel of being behind the explosion.Here are some of the major reactions:United NationsUN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza".Guterres "strongly condemned" the strike but without attributing responsibility.African UnionThe African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat accused Israel of a "war crime" following the deadly strike."There are no words to fully express our condemnation of Israel's bombing of a #Gaza hospital today, killing hundreds of people," Faki said on X, formerly Twitter.Arab LeagueArab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said "the West must stop this tragedy immediately"."Our Arab mechanisms document war crimes, and their perpetrators will not be able to escape justice," he warned. The organisation's flags have been lowered for three days.BrazilBrazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called the strike an "unjustifiable tragedy" without attributing blame.Lula, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, reiterated his appeal for urgent international action to protect children and civilians in the Israel-Gaza war, in a message posted on X.ChinaChina's foreign ministry said it is "shocked by and strongly condemns" the strike, calling for an "immediate ceasefire".EgyptPresident Abdel Fattah al-Sisi condemned in the strongest terms "the Israeli bombing" of the Ahli hospital, which led to "the deaths of hundreds of innocent victims" among the Palestinians in Gaza.He called the "deliberate bombing" a "clear violation of international law".European UnionEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers "there is no excuse for hitting a hospital full of civilians" and that "facts need to be established" and "all those responsible must be held accountable".FranceFrench President Emmanuel Macron said "nothing can justify targeting civilians" and that "humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip must be opened without delay".GermanyGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was "horrified" by the strike and wrote on X that "a thorough investigation of the incident is imperative".HezbollahLebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, an ally of Hamas, called for a "day of rage" to condemn the strike, blaming Israel for what it called a "massacre".The International Committee of the Red CrossThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) condemned the strike, saying "hospitals should be sanctuaries to preserve human life, not scenes of death and destruction".IndonesiaIndonesia said the strike "clearly violates international humanitarian law"."Indonesia also urges the international community, especially the UN Security Council, to immediately take concrete steps to stop attacks and acts of violence in Gaza," the foreign ministry said.IranIranian President Ebrahim Raisi declared a day of "public mourning" on Wednesday and said the strike at the hospital would turn against Israel and its US ally."The flames of the US-Israeli bombs, dropped this evening on the Palestinian victims injured at the... hospital in Gaza, will soon consume the Zionists," Raisi said, according to the IRNA agency.IraqIraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani called in a statement for an "immediate and urgent resolution" from the UN Security Council to put an end to the "aggression".The government has declared three days of mourning for the victims.JordanIsrael bears "responsibility for this grave incident," a Jordanian foreign ministry statement said, "strongly condemning" the strike.Amman subsequently announced the cancellation of a summit on brokering peace in the region due to the involvement of US President Joe Biden, who postponed his trip to Amman in response.Doctors Without Borders Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it was "horrified by the recent bombing of the Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City, which was treating patients and hosting displaced Gazans".RussiaPresident Vladimir Putin said the strike was a "tragedy" and showed the need to bring the conflict between Israel and Hamas to an end.Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia condemned the strike as "a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms", denouncing Israel's "continuous attacks against civilians".SpainSpain's foreign ministry condemned "the terrible massacre... All our solidarity with the innocent civilian victims."South AfricaSouth Africa said there were "no words to fully express" its condemnation of "Israel's bombing" of the hospital, describing it as a war crime and "the most blatant violation" of international humanitarian law.Accusing Israel of waging a "genocidal campaign against the Palestinians", the country's foreign ministry called for an immediate ceasefire.TurkiyeTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the strike as "the latest example of Israeli attacks devoid of the most basic human values"."I invite all humanity to take action to stop this unprecedented brutality in Gaza," Erdogan wrote on X.Dozens of people, including police officers, were injured during anti-Israel protests in Istanbul. Turkey will declare three days' mourning, an official said.United Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates, which established ties with Israel in the Abraham Accords of 2020, condemned the "Israeli" attack.United StatesPresident Biden said he was "outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion" and "the terrible loss of life that resulted".World Health OrganisationThe chief of the World Health Organisation warned that "The situation in #Gaza is spiralling out of control"."We need violence on all sides to stop," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. "Every second we wait to get medical aid in, we lose lives.""We call... at a minimum to stop any attacks on healthcare facilities," the head of the WHO's European branch, Hans Kluge, told AFP in an interview.nfrontations".

Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the United Nations (UN) Riyad Mansour stressed the need for the Security Council to take action to save the lives of civilians in the Gaza Strip and avoid the repercussions in the region, which constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security.This came in three identical letters sent by Mansour Wednesday to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, this month's Security Council President (Brazil), and President of the United Nations General Assembly Dennis Francis, regarding the martyrdom of hundreds of innocent civilians in the wake of the Security Councils failure to assume its responsibilities to stop the catastrophe that the Israeli entity is inflicting on the Palestinian people in the ongoing aggression in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.The Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine stressed the need for the Security Council to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, noting that it cannot remain idle while the occupying state commits war crimes and crimes against humanity in front of the entire world.He touched on the heinous massacre committed by the Israeli occupation forces by bombing Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, in which hundreds were killed. There is no safe place in Gaza as confirmed by UNRWA in the wake of the Israeli air strike on the Al-Maghazi camp that had 4,000 refugees. The attack on the camp led to the death of civilians and the injury of dozens, many of them in serious condition.The Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine appealed to the Security Council and the international community as a whole to demand respect for international law, including humanitarian law and human rights law and reaffirmed the calls for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the Israeli aggression and massacres against the Palestinian people, and the necessity of stopping the inhumane siege on Gaza to allow humanitarian aid and all other humanitarian needs to reach all those in need.He called for urgent action and the necessity of protecting the Palestinian people from the Israeli entity, the occupying power, and respecting international law in all circumstances. (QNA)

The Israeli occupation has launched several violent air raids on various parts of the West Bank since the early hours of Wednesday, claiming more lives in its ongoing brutal aggression against the Palestinian people for the 12th day.The occupation warplanes shelled a four-storey residential building near Al-Shefa Hospital in Gaza City, leaving several martyrs and injured, including children and women.The occupation army also targeted two houses for brothers east of Khan Younis, killing 12 Palestinians and injuring scores others.Since the beginning of its brutal military assault on Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation completely destroyed more than 4500 residential buildings include 12,000 housing units. Nealy 113,300 housing units were partially damaged, including 8,190 housing units that became uninhabitable.Gaza Strip also faces an increasing health and environmental threat due to the cessation of water desalination plants, the difficulty of pumping water by municipalities, and the limited sources available.In the health sector, 28 staff were martyred and dozens others were injured. Fifteen medical centers were damaged being in the continuous bombing, while Beit Hanoun Hospital, Al-Durrah Childrens Hospital, and most of the oncology departments in the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital stopped providing services. At least 23 ambulance were damaged and stopped working.According to the Palestinian Health Ministry's latest report, more than 3,000 Palestinians were martyred and over 12,500 were injured in Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Israeli occupation aggression on Oct. 7. In addition, 62 Palestinians were martyred and 1,250 were injured in the West Bank. (QNA)

The Regional Dialogue Forum on the Future of Education, Learning and Human Rights Education in the Arab Region kicked off in the capital Cairo on Wednesday with the participation of representatives of regional ministries and institutions, and experts from international and regional organizations.The two-day forum aims to discuss the future of education and ways to enhance the integration of human rights and citizenship into educational curricula. It serves as a platform for presenting and exchanging experiences and expertise among the participating entities in this field; and seeks to explore the most important trends and methodologies aimed at shaping a vision for the development of education in a changing world.The forum is being held as part of regional events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Arab Charter on Human Rights. It is organized in collaboration and partnership between the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions, the Arab Institute for Human Rights, the National Council for Human Rights in Egypt, the League of Arab States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (QNA)

A strike on the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip that killed hundreds was "unprecedented in scale," the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday, condemning the attack.The strike was the bloodiest single incident in Gaza since Israel launched a bombing campaign against the densely populated Gaza Strip in retaliation for a deadly cross-border Hamas assault on Israeli communities on Oct. 7."This attack is unprecedented in scale," said Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the West Bank and Gaza. "We have seen consistent attacks on healthcare in the occupied Palestinian territory."Peeperkorn said there so far have been 51 attacks against healthcare facilities in Gaza, with 15 health workers killed and 27 injured.Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said there were patients, healthcare workers and internally displaced people in the hospital when it was struck."The hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military," he said."The order for evacuation has been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for those displaced," he added.Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said it was "inhumane" to leave Gaza's health workers with the dilemma of caring for their patients or fleeing to save their own lives. He said doctors and nurses were choosing their patients over themselves.

The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha condemned in the strongest terms the horrific massacre committed by the Israeli occupation by bombing the Al Ahi Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, which left hundreds of Palestinian martyrs and wounded, including women and children, slamming it as a war crime, a crime against humanity, and organized state terrorism that deserves accountability and comeuppance.Taha held the Israeli occupation accountable for the consequences of its crimes, practices and brutal attacks against the Palestinian people, which contradict all human values and constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.He renewed his call to the international community, especially the UN Security Council, for the need to intervene urgently in order to stop the war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip and providing international protection for the Palestinian people.

Israeli air strikes on a hospital compound in the Gaza Strip killed at least 200 people, officials in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said yesterday, on the eve of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East. Biden’s visit, potentially the riskiest of his presidency, is expected to see him reaffirm US backing for Israel and try to stop the escalating war against Hamas spiralling into wider conflict. Thousands of people have been killed since the fighters’ October 7 attack, with most of the dead on both sides civilians. The health ministry yesterday said between 200 and 300 people displaced by 10 days of heavy bombardment were killed in “occupation (Israeli) strikes” at the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza. “Hundreds of victims are still under the rubble,” a statement said, calling it a “war crime”. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari told a televised press briefing: “We will look into it... the strike happened just a short while ago.” Separately, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees said six people were killed when one of its schools sheltering displaced families was hit, during Israeli air strikes. UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini called the bombing at Al-Maghazi refugee camp, also in central Gaza, “outrageous” and warned the death toll would likely rise. “It again shows a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians. No place is safe in Gaza anymore, not even UNRWA facilities,” he added. HOSTAGES Biden’s trip will come 12 days after the Palestinian fighters of Hamas burst through Israel’s heavily fortified Gaza border, shooting more than 1,400 people. Israel has responded with withering air strikes against targets in Gaza, leaving about 3,000 Gazans dead, according to a toll from the health ministry in Gaza before the Ahli Arab strike. Israel has also imposed a crippling siege on the territory and deployed tens of thousands of troops in preparation for a full-scale ground offensive. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas while also seeking to rescue the at least 199 hostages taken into Gaza by Hamas, which has released a video of one of the captives, French-Israeli woman Mia Shem. Her mother, Keren Shem, made an emotional plea for her safe return, at a Tel Aviv press conference. Diplomatic bids to free the hostages have gathered pace. Turkiye said it was in talks with Hamas to secure their release. But there were mixed views about how effective Biden could be, with some Palestinians blaming the US for backing Israel, and even Israelis sceptical. “We don’t believe anymore in politicians,” said Omer Nevo, 23. “I don’t trust anyone anymore after what has happened here.” Army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said yesterday that Israeli forces “will commence the enhanced military activities when the timing suits the goal”. The army later announced the killing of a senior Hamas commander, Ayman Nofal. Hamas also confirmed his death. In southern Israel, dozens of mourners gathered for the funeral of five members of the same family killed when fighters attacked their kibbutz at Kfar Aza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, back in Israel after a whistlestop regional tour, said Biden’s visit would be a statement of “solidarity with Israel” and an “ironclad commitment to its security”. Support also came from Germany, whose Chancellor Olaf Scholz was in Tel Aviv. Washington has already sent two aircraft carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean “to deter hostile actions against Israel”. The Pentagon has put 2,000 troops on deployment alert to be able “to respond quickly to the evolving security environment in the Middle East”. US media said the troops would cover support roles such as medical assistance and handling explosives. Iran has repeatedly warned against a Gaza invasion and Monday raised the spectre of a possible “pre-emptive action” against Israel “by the resistance axis.” IRAN WARNINGIran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday that “no one can stop” forces opposed to Israel if it keeps up its bombardment of Gaza. Deadly flare-ups have rocked Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Israel’s army said yesterday it had killed four fighters attempting to infiltrate from Lebanon. Hezbollah later said five of its fighters were killed, taking the number of its fighters killed in the intensifying border skirmishes to 10. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was asked on CNN whether US authorities had so far noticed Iran engaging in the conflict in new ways. “Outside of the rhetoric..., no we haven’t,” he replied. Biden will also try to quietly steer Israeli’s military response, as international alarm has grown about the devastating impact of the war on Palestinian civilians. Entire neighbourhoods have been razed and survivors are left with dwindling supplies of food, water and fuel. HOSPITALS STRUGGLING The health ministry in Gaza said hospitals were at breaking point, with more than 30,000 people taking shelter at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City alone. It said it was “extremely concerned” about disease outbreaks due to poor water supply and sanitation. “There are corpses in the streets. Buildings are crashing down on their inhabitants,” said Jamil Abdullah, a Palestinian-Swede, hoping to flee the blockaded enclave. “The smell of the dead is everywhere.” UNRWA says more than 1mn Palestinians — almost half of Gaza’s population of 2.4mn — have fled their homes. An UNRWA flour storage near Gaza City was hit by an Israeli strike, an AFP photographer said. Even as the smoke was still rising from the rubble, desperate residents collected flour from the ground. “We are dying of hunger,” said Abu Hussni al-Hujein, 60. Israel has ordered residents of north Gaza to leave for the south, hoping to clear the area of civilians in preparation for a ground assault that would involve gruelling urban combat. NO ESCAPE Entire families, young children and the elderly have gathered belongings and fled to southern Gaza, bedding down in any available space, indoors and out. Egypt kept closed Gaza’s only border crossing not controlled by Israel, Rafah, meaning there is no escape. Israel has repeatedly struck the area on the Palestinian side and denied reports of any temporary ceasefire deal to open it. Rafah’s closure has so far prevented the escape of thousands of Palestinian-Americans and others hoping to get out of Gaza, or the entry of relief goods.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told Al Jazeera the Amman summit is canceled as "there is no use in talking now about anything except stopping the war."Jordan has canceled a summit it was to host in Amman today with US President Joe Biden and the Egyptian and Palestinian leaders to discuss the situation in Gaza, Safadi said. The Arab League has condemned the bombardment of Al Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of hundreds of Palestinians.Arab League Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, wondered, which mind from hell would intentionally bomb a hospital with its patients.

Lebanon's Hezbollah denounced what the group said was Israel's deadly attack on a Gaza hospital and called for "a day of unprecedented anger" on Wednesday, as protests erupted outside the US embassy in Beirut just hours after the incident.Hezbollah made the call for the day pf protest in Beirut in a statement late on Tuesday, after Palestinian officials said hundreds of people were killed in the strike on the hospital.Hundreds of Lebanese protesters, some waving Palestinian flags, gathered late into Tuesday night outside the US embassy in response to the incident. Others gathered outside the French embassy in Beirut.Tear gas was fired at protesters near the US embassy in Lebanon.In denouncing what the group said was a strike by Israel, Hezbollah said in its statement: "The attack reveals the true criminal face of this entity and its sponsor ... the United States, which bears direct and complete responsibility for this massacre."

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday called for immediate ceasefire and lifting the siege of Gaza Strip, reiterating its unequivocal rejection of forced displacement of Palestinian people.In its session chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the Saudi cabinet called for giving impetus to peace process based on United Nations' Security Council and UN resolutions, as well as Arab Peace Initiative that aim to establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.Still, the airstrikes carried out by the Israeli occupation continue unabated on Gaza Strip claiming the lives of roughly 3,000 Palestinian martyrs and causing massive devastation of infrastructure and critical infrastructure in the midst of Israeli calls for Palestinians to evacuate north Gaza and head to the south, and at a time the occupation army has cut off food, water and electricity supplies, in addition to restricting the access of fuel to Gaza, triggering an unprecedented humanitarian and health crisis.

The Palestinian Presidency stressed that the bombardment of Al Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces constitutes a crime of genocide and humanitarian catastrophe, holding Israel fully responsible for the crime that must be prosecuted before international courts.In a statement on Tuesday, Palestinian official and presidential Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh strongly condemned the savage crime perpetrated by the Israeli occupation by shelling the hospital causing the martyrdom and injuring hundreds of Palestinian people. He pointed out that the fall of this substantial number of innocent civilian victims at a hospital that should have been given an immunity, underscores the fact that the Israeli government does not uphold the recognized international standards and laws.This crime is added to the series of crimes perpetrated by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people since the start of the aggression which claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinian martyrs and casualties, most of them were women and children, Rudeineh emphasized, stressing the significance of immediate intervention by the whole world to halt this aggression and condemn these savage crimes that became crystal clear for the entire world, indicating that the majority of victimized people are innocent civilians.500 Palestinians were martyred and over 600 injured following the Israeli airstrike on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza, located in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza during the presence of thousands of Palestinians who took shelter in the hospital after their homes were destroyed.The Israeli occupation's large-scale and unprecedented aggression continues unabated on Gaza and the West Bank for the eleventh day with massive assaults and confrontations carried out by fighter jets, gunboats, and artillery to target homes, residential buildings, hospitals, and mosques claiming the lives of hundreds of Palestinians at a time the rescue missions are facing an extremely difficult situation to calculate the number of martyrs.