Doctors Without Borders Withdraw From Functional Hospital in Sudan after Attacks

Health workers from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) welcome patients in Sudan
Health workers from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) welcome patients in Sudan
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Doctors Without Borders Withdraw From Functional Hospital in Sudan after Attacks

Health workers from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) welcome patients in Sudan
Health workers from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) welcome patients in Sudan

Health workers from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) were forced on Thursday to suspend work and withdraw from a Sudanese hospital serving hundreds of thousands of people in Wad Madani, the capital of Al Jazirah state, which is controlled by the Rapid Support Forces.

The medical humanitarian organization announced it has suspended work at the Madani Teaching Hospital, the only functional hospital for hundreds of thousands of people in dire need of medical assistance.

Already 15 public and private hospitals have gone out of service across the country.

“This extremely difficult decision comes after more than three months of relentless challenges trying to provide care at the hospital, including growing insecurity and repeated security incidents, such as looting and harassment,” MSF said.

The charity group called on the warring parties to stop violating health facilities and guarantee the safety of medical personnel.

The Madani Teaching Hospital is considered the largest in Al Jazirah state. It offers daily medical services to thousands of patients, particularly surgeries and dialysis.

In a report on the health situation in Al Jazira state, the Sudan Doctors’ Union said last Sunday that artificial respirators were stolen from the intensive care department, in addition to operational equipment from the orthopedic department.

The Union said part of the looted equipment was moved by the RSF to the capital, Khartoum.

It then accused military authorities of blocking the delivery of medical supplies from the eastern city of Port Sudan to Wad Madani, and the RSF of looting health equipment from the state.

In Al Jazirah, many medical facilities face major shortages of medical supplies and lack essential utilities such as water and electricity, exacerbating the suffering of patients.

MSF has helped reopen several hospitals in the area months after the RSF controlled the state in mid-December 2023. But the medical facilities are still in dire need of supplies, medicines and electricity.

The charity group’s decision to suspend its work in Wad Madani would definitely worsen the health situation in Al Jarizah, medical sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Hundreds of thousands of citizens stranded in the state’s towns and villages face difficulty in reaching medical facilities in large cities. Some of them will now be forced to travel to states outside the 'war belt' in the east of the country to receive treatment,” the sources said.

A doctor working at a hospital in Al Jazirah, and who asked to remain anonymous, said the limited number of hospitals operating in the state lack the simplest medical equipment and cannot treat the rising cases of bullet wounds.



Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Christian leaders accused Israeli settlers on Monday of attacking sacred sites in the West Bank, in violence that one said was forcing some to consider quitting the occupied territory.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III - visiting the Christian town of Taybeh with other Jerusalem-based clerics - said settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th century church there last week.

"These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community ... but also to the historic and religious heritage," the patriarch told diplomats and journalists at a press conference in Taybeh.

Settlers had also attacked homes in the area, he said.

"We call for an immediate and transparent investigation on why the Israeli police did not respond to emergency calls from the local community and why these abhorrent actions continue to go unpunished," he added.

Israel's government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Israel's government had previously said that any acts of violence by civilians are unacceptable and that individuals should not take the law into their own hands.

During the visit, the heads of the churches led locals in prayer as candles flickered in the ruins of the 5th century church of St George. They spoke with residents who described their fears.

B'Tselem and other rights groups say settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel's war against Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza in late 2023.

Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank.

Palestinian health authorities and witnesses said two men, including a US citizen, were killed by settlers during a confrontation on Friday night.

Fears over violence were pushing Christians to leave the West Bank, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem since 2020, said.

"Unfortunately, the temptation to emigrate is there because of the situation," he added. "This time it's very difficult to see how and when this will finish, and especially for the youth to talk about hope, trust for the future."

Around 50,000 Christian Palestinians live in Jerusalem and in the West Bank, an area that includes many of the faith's most sacred sites including Bethlehem where believers say Jesus was born.

Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war, which Palestinians see as part of a future state.