Moroccan Senate President Delays Trip to Israel Due to Illness

Morocco's senate president Enaam Mayara. Asharq Al-Awsat
Morocco's senate president Enaam Mayara. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Moroccan Senate President Delays Trip to Israel Due to Illness

Morocco's senate president Enaam Mayara. Asharq Al-Awsat
Morocco's senate president Enaam Mayara. Asharq Al-Awsat

Morocco's senate president has postponed a visit to Israel due to a medical emergency, the Israeli parliament announced Wednesday.

The announcement came just a day before Enaam Mayara was scheduled to visit Israel's Knesset, or parliament, on a trip aimed at cementing relations between the two countries.

The Knesset issued a statement late Wednesday saying that Mayara had been hospitalized during a stop in neighboring Jordan. He was forced to reschedule his Israel trip and call off a visit earlier in the day to the Palestinian government in the West Bank, the statement said.

“I am sorry that because of a medical emergency, I am unable to come to the Knesset,” the statement quoted Mayara as saying. It gave no details on the nature of his illness but said he would return to Morocco.

“The connection between the kingdom of Morocco and the state of Israel is a shared interest of the two countries, and together we will deepen it,” he added.

Israel's Knesset speaker Amir Ohana, who visited Morocco earlier this year, said Mayara's visit was supposed to be a highlight of the new relations. He said Israel wished Mayara “a speedy and full recovery.”



Israeli Airstrike Hits Hospital Entrance in Gaza, Wounding 10 Medics and Patients 

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Palestinian homes in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 14 April 2025. (EPA)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Palestinian homes in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 14 April 2025. (EPA)
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Israeli Airstrike Hits Hospital Entrance in Gaza, Wounding 10 Medics and Patients 

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Palestinian homes in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 14 April 2025. (EPA)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Palestinian homes in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 14 April 2025. (EPA)

An Israeli airstrike hit the northern gate of a field hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, wounding 10 people, including three medics and seven patients, a spokesman for the hospital said.

The strike hit the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands of people have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps. Saber Mohammed, a spokesman for the hospital, said two of the patients were critically wounded.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The military has struck hospitals on several occasions during the 18-month war, accusing Hamas fighters of hiding out in them or using them for military purposes. Hospital staff have denied the allegations and accused Israel of recklessly endangering civilians and gutting the territory's health system.

On Sunday, Israel struck the last major hospital providing critical care in northern Gaza after ordering an evacuation. A patient died during the evacuation, and the strike severely damaged the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings, according to Al-Ahli Hospital.

The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which runs the hospital, condemned the strike.

Israel said it targeted a Hamas command and control center within the facility, without providing evidence. Hamas denied the allegations.

The war began when Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 51,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up more than half of the dead. The offensive has destroyed a vast part of the territory and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.