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SvennoJ on 22 July 2024
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Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis appeals for urgent blood donations

Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is appealing for urgent blood donations, the Palestinian Health Ministry has said in a statement.

The hospital said it faces a shortage of blood units, “which poses a serious threat to the lives of the sick and injured in light of the ongoing massacres carried out by the occupation forces against the innocent and civilians”.

Israeli professors call for Gaza ceasefire to stop polio spread

Eight professors of epidemiology, hematology and other health sciences are calling for a cessation of fighting in the besieged and bombarded coastal enclave, citing the detection of polio in sewage samples in Gaza as a threat to both Israelis and Palestinians.

In an opinion piece published in the Israeli daily Haaretz, the health professionals said the identification of the polio virus in Gaza “reminds us that pathogens and toxic exposures know no borders. Polio can be spread for weeks by infected individuals who have no symptoms. The devastating consequences of this disease, including paralysis, long-term disability and death are well known”.

The experts said the response to the threat of the highly infectious poliovirus must be coordinated and comprehensive. It requires the cooperation of international organisations to reach infants, humanitarian and health workers and immunocompromised adults, and the vaccination of all soldiers currently or recently in Gaza, as well as infants who have not yet been adequately vaccinated.

“A ceasefire will enable efforts to improve the water, sanitation and hygienic conditions and to enhance food security, rebuild adequate shelter and rehabilitate Gaza’s health system,” they wrote.

On Friday, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said a ceasefire was “essential” to effectively respond after type-2 poliovirus was found in several wastewater samples taken in southern Gaza.

On Sunday, the Israeli army said it has started “a broad vaccination operation for all ground troops” in Gaza.

The highly contagious virus is caught by drinking contaminated water or through oral contact. It can cause paralysis and in extreme cases, death.


Sewage floods a street in Khan Younis, one of two locations in the Gaza Strip where poliovirus was found in wastewater samples


Israeli forces shoot at UN convoy heading to Gaza City: UNRWA chief

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), says Israeli forces shot at a UN convoy heading to Gaza City yesterday, despite the movement being coordinated and approved by Israeli authorities.

“One vehicle received at least five bullets while waiting just ahead of the Israeli Forces’ checkpoint south of Wadi Gaza,” he said on X. “The car was severely damaged, it left the convoy. The teams re-assembled & finally reached Gaza City.”

Lazzarini added that the teams were “traveling in clearly marked UN armoured cars and wearing UN vests”, yet still had to duck and take cover.

He called for those responsible to be held accountable.

 

Jordan’s top diplomat condemns Israeli attack on UN convoy in Gaza

We have quoted the UNRWA chief as saying that Israeli forces shot at a UN convoy heading to Gaza City yesterday, despite the movement being coordinated and approved by Israeli authorities.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi condemned the attack, saying it was “a war crime”, calling for the protection of UNRWA and other humanitarian teams “from Israeli occupation forces and war crimes”.

“Gaza has not only become a graveyard for children. It has become a graveyard for [international] law, a shameful stain on whole [international] order,” Safadi added.