Abbas Downplays Health Concerns after Medical Checks in US

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the United Nations Security Council on February 20, 2018 in New York (AFP/Timothy A. Clary)
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the United Nations Security Council on February 20, 2018 in New York (AFP/Timothy A. Clary)
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Abbas Downplays Health Concerns after Medical Checks in US

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the United Nations Security Council on February 20, 2018 in New York (AFP/Timothy A. Clary)
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the United Nations Security Council on February 20, 2018 in New York (AFP/Timothy A. Clary)

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas appeared on local television Friday to downplay concerns over his health, saying the results of his medical checks at a hospital in the United States were “positive.”

In an interview with Palestine TV while in the US, 82-year-old Abbas rejected reports he had been rushed to hospital during his visit.

"It was a suitable opportunity to be here to conduct some medical tests, and these tests have been conducted and now we left," he said after leaving hospital.

"All the results are positive and reassuring."

Palestinian officials said Abbas would be returning to the West Bank on Friday.

He flew to the United States to address the UN Security Council in New York on Feb. 20. He was also in the US to meet with political allies amid a breakdown of communication with the US administration following President Donald Trump's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Palestinians, who see the eastern part of the city as the capital of their future state, have said the US has disqualified itself as a mediator in talks with Israel and cut political ties with the administration.

Trump is expected to propose a peace plan in the coming months.



Israeli Forces and Drones Fire on Hundreds of Palestinians Waiting for Aid

Palestinians carry the body of a man killed a day earlier while attempting to get aid at a distribution point near the Israeli-controlled Zikim border crossing, during a funeral procession at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinians carry the body of a man killed a day earlier while attempting to get aid at a distribution point near the Israeli-controlled Zikim border crossing, during a funeral procession at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Israeli Forces and Drones Fire on Hundreds of Palestinians Waiting for Aid

Palestinians carry the body of a man killed a day earlier while attempting to get aid at a distribution point near the Israeli-controlled Zikim border crossing, during a funeral procession at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinians carry the body of a man killed a day earlier while attempting to get aid at a distribution point near the Israeli-controlled Zikim border crossing, during a funeral procession at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 25 people, Palestinian witnesses and hospitals said.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, which received the victims, said the Palestinians were waiting for the trucks on the Salah al-Din Road south of Wadi Gaza.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces opened fire as people were advancing eastward to be close to the approaching trucks.