Palestinians identify the bodies of relatives at Rafah's Al-Najjar hospital on February 18, 2024, following overnight Israeli air strikes on the southern Gaza (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: The Nasser Hospital has been put “completely out of service”, said a spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry. The head of the World Health Organization also confirmed that Nasser Hospital, the main medical center serving southern Gaza, was no longer able to function after Israel raided the facility late last week.
Meanwhile, The United States said it would veto another draft UN cease-fire resolution.
The war has killed at least 28,985 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Around 80% of Gaza's population have been driven from their homes and a quarter face starvation.
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[11:30pm Doha Time] Palestinian Red Crescent releases new audio recording of slain 6-yr-old Hind
Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has released a new audio recording of the six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind documenting the moments of horror she experienced while trapped in their car surrounded by her dead relatives, as an Israeli tank gets near.
PRCS on its social media added: "Hind was also killed, as the occupation [forces] bombed the ambulance that was heading to rescue her, just a few meters away from her, resulting in the killing of the PRCS paramedics Yusef Al-Zaino and Ahmed Al-Madhoun. Justice for Hind, Yousef, and Ahmad."
The two medics were found dead after going missing for 12 days.
[4pm Doha Time] Brazil's Lula accuses Israel of 'genocide' in Gaza
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Israel Sunday of committing "genocide" against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and compared its actions to Adolf Hitler's campaign to exterminate Jews.
"What's happening in the Gaza Strip isn't a war, it's a genocide," Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa where he was attending an African Union summit. Read more
[3:45pm Doha Time] Toll from Israeli aggression on Gaza rises to 28,985 martyrs, 68,883 injured
The Israeli occupation forces committed 13 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours claiming the lives of 127 martyrs and injuring 205 people, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza in a statement.
The toll of the Israeli aggression on the strip since October has risen to 28,985 martyrs and 68,883 injured, the statement said.
Spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza Ashraf Al Qudra held the Israeli occupation responsible for the safety of the injured and the medical personnel at Nasser Medical Complex, confirming that the Israeli occupation arrested 70 of medical personnel from the medical facility located in Khan Yunis.
Spokesman of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital emphasized that over 50 martyrs and 150 injured arrived at the hospital following the Israeli shelling that has been continuing since Saturday, pointing out that the number of martyrs and injured is projected to increase with the operations underway to retrieve bodies from underneath the rubble.
Meanwhile, two Palestinians were martyred, and others injured following the Israeli bombardment of the vicinity of Almaari School for displaced people north of Khan Yunis, while two Palestinians were martyred, and others injured after the Israeli occupation pounded a home in Al-Shuja'iya Neighborhood.
The Israeli gunboats shelled the seacoast of Rafah, with Israeli artillery bombing the western and southern areas of Khan Yunis.
[2:50pm Doha Time] Healthcare situation in Gaza is beyond critical: IFRC chief
The healthcare situation in Gaza is beyond critical and the gap between needs and support available is widening, says Jagan Chapagain, the secretary-general and CEO of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
I am concerned by the situation unfolding at @PalestineRCS Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.
— Jagan Chapagain (@jagan_chapagain) February 18, 2024
For the past 27 days, Al-Amal Hospital has been enduring shelling, endangering the lives of patients, medical staff, @PalestineRCS teams and civilians in the surrounding area.
I again…
He also said that due to the situation, many vulnerable people are lacking essential medical services.
“Civilian population in Gaza have suffered enough, and healthcare stands as one of the last remaining beacons of hope,” Chapagain said on X.
In Gaza, the healthcare situation is beyond critical.
— Jagan Chapagain (@jagan_chapagain) February 18, 2024
The gap between healthcare needs and the support currently available is widening, resulting in many vulnerable people lacking essential medical services.
Civilian population in Gaza have suffered enough, and healthcare…
He added: “I remind all parties that the right to access healthcare must be upheld even in times of conflict. Once again, I call for safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers so they can continue their life-saving work.”
[12:45pm Doha Time] Saudi Foreign Minister stresses importance of ceasefire in Gaza Strip
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah stressed the importance of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, noting that the priority must also be to end the humanitarian catastrophe occurring in the Strip.
During a panel discussion on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference 2024, Titled "Towards Stability and Peace in the Middle East: De-escalation Challenge", the Minister called on focusing on the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from Gaza and increasing the access of humanitarian aid to the residents therein.
The Saudi Foreign Minister also reiterated that the path to security and stability in the region, including Israel, can be realized through the establishment of a Palestinian state, calling on the international community to focus on this.
Furthermore, the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs also pointed that the provocations by the Israeli occupation forces inevitably inflame the feelings of the Arab and Islamic nations, especially as the death toll is approaching 30,000 civilians and at least 17,000 children have become orphans as a result of the ongoing crisis.
His Highness also added that there is an ongoing human suffering in the Gaza Strip, including shortage in food, water, and medicine supplies, and that these Israeli provocations may serve the ideologies of terrorism and extremism around the world.
Smoke billows over buildings during Israeli bombardment south of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt on February 17, 2024 (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
[11:17am Doha Time] Israel strikes across Gaza as US pledges to veto another UN cease-fire resolution
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 18 people overnight and into Sunday, according to medics and witnesses, as the United States said it would veto another draft UN cease-fire resolution. Read more.
[11:15am Doha Time] UN says raided hospital no longer functioning
The head of the World Health Organization said Nasser Hospital, the main medical center serving southern Gaza, was no longer able to function after Israel raided the facility late last week.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a WHO team was not allowed to enter the hospital on Friday or Saturday "to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel alongside partners.”
He said there are still about 200 patients in the hospital, including 20 who need urgent referrals to other hospitals.
Nasser hospital in #Gaza is not functional anymore, after a weeklong siege followed by the ongoing raid.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) February 18, 2024
Both yesterday and the day before, the @WHO team was not permitted to enter the hospital to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite…
[10:35am Doha Time] Israeli forces shell al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis: PRCS
Israeli forces have targeted the third floor of al-Amal Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis with artillery shelling, the Palestine Red Crescent Society says.
The PRCS statement on X did not give further details.
The Israeli army has been attacking and raiding medical facilities in Gaza since October 7.
????The Israeli occupation targets the third floor of Al-Amal Hospital with artillery shelling. #NotATarget ❌ #IHL #Gaza #AlAmalHospital #غزة #مستشفى_الأمل #لست_هدفا pic.twitter.com/Bl8zZrlhBG
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) February 18, 2024
