Israel Denounced over Gaza Health Emergency at WHO Meeting

Palestinians evacuate Kamal Adwan hospital following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, May 21, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians evacuate Kamal Adwan hospital following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, May 21, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israel Denounced over Gaza Health Emergency at WHO Meeting

Palestinians evacuate Kamal Adwan hospital following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, May 21, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians evacuate Kamal Adwan hospital following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, May 21, 2024. (Reuters)

More than 30 countries condemned Israel's attacks on hospitals in Gaza and demanded more scrutiny of its role in the enclave's health crisis at a World Health Organization meeting on Wednesday, and some blamed Israel for a growing risk of famine.

The WHO has recorded hundreds of attacks on health facilities in the occupied Palestinian territories, which includes Gaza, since the Oct. 7 Israel-Hamas conflict began, but does not attribute blame.

The latest phase of the conflict this month has seen Israel launch a military operation against Rafah, blocking patient transfers, all but cutting off medical supplies and threatening its last functioning hospital.

A group of countries are backing a proposal at the WHO's annual assembly in Geneva that would mandate the UN health agency to boost documentation of the "catastrophic humanitarian crisis" in Gaza and report on "starvation" amid UN warnings of famine and disease after nearly eight months of conflict.

The motion is supported by over 30 countries mostly from Africa and the Gulf region but also Russia, Türkiye and China but even more spoke in favor of it. A vote is expected later on Wednesday.

"The healthcare system of Gaza is devastated. Israel has targeted hospitals in Gaza, completely destroying treatment facilities. This also means a war against the fundamental right to health," said Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

He also accused Israel of using hunger as a weapon of war and said its actions against hospitals amounted to a war crime.

Palestine's ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi urged countries to support the motion. "We cannot allow Israel to destroy everything, to destroy health care facilities and to allow this to happen," he told the crowded meeting room.

Israel's ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar blamed Hamas for "deliberately putting the safety of patients at risk" by using health facilities for military purposes. It submitted an amendment to include a reference to the 250 hostages seized during the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks which killed 1,200 people and to condemn the use of hospitals by armed groups.

Israel denies responsibility for delays in getting aid into Gaza and says the UN and others are responsible for its distribution once inside.

Ireland was one of just a handful of countries to call for the release of the hostages in a speech where it also asked Israel to cease its Rafah operation.



US General Sees Progress as Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Deadline Approaches in Lebanon

 A general view shows damage and debris in the southern Lebanese village of al-Taybeh, near the border with Israel, on February 4, 2025. (AFP)
A general view shows damage and debris in the southern Lebanese village of al-Taybeh, near the border with Israel, on February 4, 2025. (AFP)
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US General Sees Progress as Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Deadline Approaches in Lebanon

 A general view shows damage and debris in the southern Lebanese village of al-Taybeh, near the border with Israel, on February 4, 2025. (AFP)
A general view shows damage and debris in the southern Lebanese village of al-Taybeh, near the border with Israel, on February 4, 2025. (AFP)

The US representative on a committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement that ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war said Friday that “significant progress” had been made ahead of a looming deadline to implement all the terms of the deal.

However, Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers' statement appeared to leave some ambiguity on whether Israel would withdraw its forces from all of southern Lebanon by the ceasefire's Feb. 18 deadline, saying only that he was confident “all population centers in the Southern Litani Area” would be back under Lebanese control by then.

In areas where Israeli forces pull out, the Lebanese army and a UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL are tasked with ensuring Hezbollah does not reestablish a military presence.

The deadline for Israel and Hezbollah to withdraw was initially set for late January, but Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend it. Lebanese officials say they won't agree to another extension and adamantly reject an Israeli proposal to keep its forces in five border points after leaving other areas.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Thursday that his country had proposed a beefed-up UNIFIL presence, including French forces, in place of Israeli troops at those five points. The monitoring committee also includes France, Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL.