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WHO Chief: A Child is Killed on Average Every 10 Minutes in Gaza

Patients and internally displaced people are pictured at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on November 10, 2023. (Photo by Khader Al Zanoun / AFP)
Patients and internally displaced people are pictured at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on November 10, 2023. (Photo by Khader Al Zanoun / AFP)
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WHO Chief: A Child is Killed on Average Every 10 Minutes in Gaza

Patients and internally displaced people are pictured at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on November 10, 2023. (Photo by Khader Al Zanoun / AFP)
Patients and internally displaced people are pictured at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on November 10, 2023. (Photo by Khader Al Zanoun / AFP)

A child is killed on average every 10 minutes in the Gaza Strip, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the United Nations Security Council on Friday, warning: "Nowhere and no one is safe."
He said that half of Gaza's 36 hospitals and two-thirds of its primary healthcare centers were not functioning and those that were operating were way beyond their capacities, describing the healthcare system as being "on its knees."
"Hospital corridors crammed with the injured, the sick, the dying. Morgues overflowing. Surgery without anesthesia. Tens of thousands of displaced people sheltering at hospitals," Tedros told the 15-member council, according to Reuters.
Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, after an Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel in which it says the militants killed around 1,200 people and took more than 240 hostages. Israel has struck Gaza - an enclave of 2.3 million people - from the air, imposed a siege and launched a ground invasion.
"On average, a child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza," Tedros said.
Since Oct. 7, the WHO has verified more than 250 attacks on healthcare in Gaza and the West Bank, while there had been 25 attacks on healthcare in Israel, Tedros said. Israel says Hamas hides weapons in tunnels under hospitals, charges Hamas denies.

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Damascus, Amman Agree to Facilitate Travel of Syrians through Nassib Border-Crossing

The Syrian ministers tour the Nassib border-crossing with Jordan. (Syrian Ministry of Transport)
The Syrian ministers tour the Nassib border-crossing with Jordan. (Syrian Ministry of Transport)
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Damascus, Amman Agree to Facilitate Travel of Syrians through Nassib Border-Crossing

The Syrian ministers tour the Nassib border-crossing with Jordan. (Syrian Ministry of Transport)
The Syrian ministers tour the Nassib border-crossing with Jordan. (Syrian Ministry of Transport)

The Syrian and Jordanian governments have been exerting efforts to facilitate the travel of Syrians through the Nassib-Jaber border-crossing between their countries.

The governments are in agreement over the need to improve the crossing, located in the southern Daraa governorate, and remove hurdles that impede the flow of travelers from both countries, especially amid the Israeli assault against Hezbollah in Lebanon and its targeting of the majority of crossings between Syria and Lebanon.

Informed sources in Damascus said there was an agreement between Syria and Jordan over this issue as part of efforts to keep southern Syrian regions away from the Israeli escalation.

The governments are also keen on seizing the opportunity to improve trade exchange across the crossing after several Syrian travelers shifted their transit from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport to the Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan.

On Sunday, a Syrian government delegation, including the ministers of interior, transport, local administration and finance, toured the Nassib crossing to inspect the improvements there and the movement of travelers and goods.

Interior Minister Mohammed al-Rahmoun vowed to “ease” all obstacles, noting an improvement in services.

Communication is also present with officials on the Jordanian side of the border to overcome any problems, he added.

Daraa Governor Asaad Toukan had said the crossing needs “constant development” in aspects related to services, tourism and trade given that it is Syria’s gateway to Jordan and the Gulf region.

The ministers’ visit took place a week after Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

The informed sources said Amman had been imposing strict measures on Syrians and the transit of goods from Syria to the kingdom as part of its efforts to limit the flow of Syrian refugees to Jordan and combat drug smuggling.

The restrictions did impact movement at the crossing, with travelers being forced to wait more than seven hours to cross. Trucks had to wait days, even weeks, to pass.

The Israeli escalation in Lebanon, however, has led to faster measures and the suspension of some restrictions.