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SvennoJ on 30 January 2024
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Israeli tanks are stationed in Khan Younis hospital complex and are "firing live ammunition," aid group says

After surrounding the Al Amal hospital in Khan Younis for more than a week, Israeli military vehicles have entered its compound, and they are stationed in the hospital front yard, which is crowded with thousands of displaced people, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said. The tanks are “firing live ammunition and smoke grenades,” the aid agency said in a series of messages between 10 a.m. ET and 11 a.m. ET.

CNN is unable to verify the situation independently and has asked the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

Earlier, Israeli forces were asking the crews and displaced people to “evacuate the building at gunpoint,” Muhammad Abu Musabih, director of Ambulance and Emergency Services at the hospital, told CNN in an audio message. This comes after PRCS had earlier reported gunfire from Israeli tanks on Tuesday in the area, killing one displaced woman and injuring nine others. Some 8,000 displaced people and 100 staff are at the hospital and the PRCS headquarters that is adjacent to the hospital, a PRCS official told CNN.

Israeli forces “demolished the outer wall of the building and fired … smoke bombs at the displaced people and the association’s staff,” the PRCS said. “The situation is becoming more dangerous. We are extremely concerned for the safety of our crews, the wounded, the sick, and the thousands of displaced people in the building.”

What's the situation like at two key hospitals in Khan Younis: Despite frequent shelling and strikes in the area, efforts have continued to sustain minimal operations at both Al Amal and Nasser hospitals. CNN received photographs of a tanker truck organized by the World Health Organization reaching the Nasser Medical Complex Tuesday with 24,000 liters of diesel fuel.

The situation in the larger Khan Younis city of Gaza has also worsened: The southern city was originally the place that residents of northern Gaza were asked to evacuate to. But now, with Israeli operations focused on Khan Younis, things are worsening for the already displaced people. As Israeli military issues instructions for people to leave neighborhoods in the area, journalists have told CNN there may be as many as 100,000 displaced people in UN shelters and other facilities in the area. Many are afraid to move to supposedly safer areas. Very little aid has reached these facilities in recent days because of the fighting.

Displaced Palestinians ‘terrified’ as Israeli forces take al-Amal Hospital

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says that Israeli forces have stormed Al-Amal Hospital and are demanding that displaced people taking refuge there evacuate at gunpoint. Israeli forces have stormed al-Amal Hospital, where thousands of Palestinians are taking refuge. Israeli forces had destroyed the back wall of the hospital along with setting fire to the majority of makeshift tents that were set in the facility of this medical complex.

The majority of evacuees there are completely terrified as the Israeli forces are recommending them to flee and to get out of the medical complex. This is one of the last two remaining hospitals that are still operating in the city of Khan Younis, and this will add extra pressure on the ability of medical teams and the medical sector to keep operating amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive … on Khan Younis.

Israel denies storming Al-Amal Hospital

An Israeli military spokesperson has denied PRCS reports that Israeli forces stormed Al-Amal Hospital, according to the news outlet Reuters. “There’s no storming of the hospital, entry into it or any ordering of people to leave at gunpoint,” the spokesperson said.



Health minister warns of rapid spread of epidemics in Gaza

Mai al-Kaila, health minister for the Palestinian Authority, warns of the rapid spread of epidemics in Gaza, describing health conditions as “catastrophic” as a result of severe shortages of health personnel, equipment, medicine and shelters. “There are 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip, 14 of which are partially operating, nine in the south and five in the north,” al-Kaila said in an interview with Palestine TV.

More than 1,100 medical personnel in the Gaza Strip have been killed or wounded, she said. “There are 325 shelter centres, 150 of which have one health point, and the remaining 175 centres do not.”

Israel’s aggression on Gaza ‘destroying’ environment

The Palestinian Environment Quality Authority says that the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip not only constitutes a humanitarian catastrophe but is also destroying all components of biological diversity, including plants and microorganisms. In a statement, the environmental body said that components of wildlife, including plant and animal diversity on land and offshore the Gaza Strip, have been subjected to the strongest forms of destruction as a result of the use of explosives and weapons.

“This has led to the destruction of the habitats of wild animals, their killing, and the burning of all forms of plant life, including trees, shrubs, and grasses – some of which are endemic to coastal and semi-coastal environmental conditions,” the statement said. The result has been the loss of certain species and even their permanent disappearance or extinction, the body added.


My two faced country

Canada to provide $28.9m for humanitarian aid to Gaza

Canada has announced $29.8m in funding to provide food, water supplies and other humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that the funds will be allocated to international agencies, including the World Food Programme, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization. The announcement comes days after Canada and several other countries paused funding to the UN refugee agency for Palestinians following allegations by Israel that some of its staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks.

UNWRA has the distribution centers, shelters and workforce in Gaza. Not that WFP, Unicef and the WHO can chip in, but they'll be sending the aid in through UNWRA anyway... Really seems like there is a concerted political effort to get rid of UNWRA.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 30 January 2024