tag

UN commission says Israel has committed genocide in GazaIt cites destruction of Gaza fertility clinic in findingsIsrael denies allegations of genocideNajwa Abu Hamada felt no sense of justice when a UN Commission of Inquiry cited the destruction of a fertility clinic among actions that it said showed Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.Instead, the commission’s findings revived painful memories in Abu Hamada of the embryos she had stored at the Al-Basma IVF centre and lost when it was hit by Israeli forces in late 2023.Like other Gazans, Abu Hamada feels helpless and without a voice to protest as Israel presses on with its nearly two-year-old military offensive in Gaza and the death toll keeps rising.“The genocide is not only targeting men, children and women, it is also targeting frozen fertility eggs – my only hope,” Abu Hamada said in Qatar, where she now lives. “Israel came and even carried out genocide which reached even the embryos that belong to me at (the) Al Basma centre. What can compensate me?”Abu Hamada has already had one child by using fertility procedures in Gaza, and is still wondering if she can have another child at the age of 49.On Tuesday, she and her husband Eyad Abu Hamada spoke with her doctor Bahaeldeen Ghalayini, an obstetrician and gynaecologist who established the Al Basma IVF centre, about the possibility of undergoing further fertility treatments.“The doctor told us don’t lose hope,” said her husband.The couple had travelled to Qatar for fertility treatment before the Gaza war began. The loss of her embryos back home in Gaza in 2023 dealt a huge blow to her hopes of having another child.Reuters could not independently verify details of her story. But Ghalayini confirmed separately to Reuters that Abu Hamada had embryos that were stored at the Gaza clinic before it was attacked in late 2023.The UN Commission concluded that the destruction of the Al Basma IVF centre was “a measure intended to prevent births among Palestinians in Gaza” — one of five acts or violations that count as genocide under the 1948 convention.“The Israeli security forces launched a tank shell that directly hit the clinic and caused the explosion of five liquid nitrogen tanks, consequently destroying all the reproductive material that was stored therein for future conception of Palestinians,” it said.Israel has not confirmed striking the clinic. It has denied carrying out genocide or deliberately targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure during its military operation in Gaza, which it says is intended to eradicate Hamas following the group’s storming of Israel in October 2023.Daniel Meron, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the UN commission of inquiry’s conclusion that Israel has committed genocide was “scandalous” and “fake,” and described its report as a “libelous rant.”Reuters was first to report on the attack that Ghalayini said destroyed 4,000 embryos plus 1,000 more specimens of sperm and unfertilised eggs.The commission’s 72-page legal analysis is the strongest UN finding to date but the body is independent and does not officially speak for the United Nations. The UN has not used the term ‘genocide’ but is under increasing pressure to do so.Israel has accused Hamas fighters of operating from medical facilities, which Hamas denies.Along with the destruction the fertility clinic, the commission of inquiry cited as evidence of genocide the scale of the killings in Gaza, aid blockages and forced displacement.Abu Hamada had a son, Khalil, who was conceived through fertility procedures at a different clinic. He was killed when he was 17, during a flare-up of violence between Israel and the Islamic Jihad fighter group in 2022.“God blessed me with him after 12 years (of infertility) and five (IVF) transplant operations. He is gone after he became a young man and I wanted him to get married and celebrate his wedding, and I lost him,” said Abu Hamada.“We want everyone to stand by us. The whole world is watching and doing nothing.”

Bahrain’s Mumtalakat and Abu Dhabi’s CYVN Holdings took full ownership of McLaren Racing Tuesday in a deal some media reports said valued the reigning Formula One champions at more than $4bn.No financial details were given in a McLaren Group statement confirming the purchase of all shares held by MSP Sports Capital, funds managed by O’Connor Capital Solutions, Ares Sports, Media and Entertainment funds and Caspian Funds.Sky News earlier reported the sale of the 30% stake would value the team at more than £3bn ($4.05bn).Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat will remain the majority shareholder with CYVN, majority-owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, having a non-controlling stake.CYVN created McLaren Group Holdings last April after completing its acquisition of sportscar maker McLaren Automotive.McLaren Racing runs teams in Formula One, US-based IndyCars and will enter the World Endurance Championship from 2027.US-based investment group MSP and others took a significant minority stake in 2020, when McLaren were in need of funds during the Covid-19 pandemic.The deal, for a maximum 33% stake by 2022, valued the British racing outfit at £560mn at the time. Since then McLaren have emerged as a dominant force in the sport, winning the constructors’ title last year for the first time since 1998 and on course to win both titles this season.“Our suite of minority investors came on board in 2020 and we thank them for their tremendous support over the past few years as we set McLaren Racing on a path to commercial growth and financial stability,” said McLaren Group Executive Chairman Paul Walsh.He said the simplified ownership structure “strengthens our ability to future-proof the business and capture new growth opportunities.”MSP Sports Capital CEO Jeff Moorad and chairman Jahm Najafi will vacate their seats on the McLaren Racing board.Ares Management said in a statement the proceeds from the transaction “will be used to return capital to investors and further strengthen its position as an experienced investor across the sports ecosystem”.