GCC Health Ministers Discuss Efforts to Combat COVID-19

A lab technician working on coronavirus test samples
A lab technician working on coronavirus test samples
TT
20

GCC Health Ministers Discuss Efforts to Combat COVID-19

A lab technician working on coronavirus test samples
A lab technician working on coronavirus test samples

The sixth meeting of the GCC Health Ministers Committee has discussed a number of important issues, including efforts by the health sector to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The meeting reviewed the GCC Supreme Council's decisions on health, including the concluding statement, the Riyadh Declaration at the conclusion of the 40th summit of the Council, and follow-up of the implementation of its decisions on health.

It further discussed the Committee's Plan of Action, the follow-up to the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005).

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that 474 more patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 336,068.

In addition, it said that 59,317 new PCR tests had been conducted in the past 24 hours across the country.

There were 450 new confirmed cases, meaning 349,386 people have now contracted the COVID-19 disease. There are 7,829 active cases, 763 of them in critical condition.

Oman

The Ministry of Health registered 320 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths.

The total cases in the country have now touched 117,167 including 107,368 recoveries, according to the ministry.

Kuwait

Kuwait recorded 795 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the country to 129,638, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.

Bahrain

Bahrain's Health Ministry reported 261 new cases, along with 249 recoveries.

Four new deaths were recorded. The death toll stands at 328.

Qatar

In Qatar, the Health Ministry recorded 227 cases, in addition to the recovery of 212 patients.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
TT
20

Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 18 people on Friday, including 10 who were waiting for aid in the south of the war-ravaged territory.

The fresh deaths came as the United Nations said nearly 800 people had been killed trying to access food in Gaza since late May, when Israel began easing a more than two-month total blockade on supplies.

UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said most of the deaths occurred near facilities operated by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, AFP reported.

"We've recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF sites," from the time the group's operations began in late May until July 7, Shamdasani said Friday.

An officially private effort, GHF operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and frequent reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.

The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives and violates basic humanitarian principles.

Responding to the UN's figures, Israel's military said it had worked to minimize "possible friction between the population and the army forces as much as possible".

"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted... and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned," it added.

Gaza civil defense official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that 10 people were shot by Israeli forces on Friday while waiting for supplies in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah, where there are regular reports of deadly fire on aid seekers.

- 'Extremely difficult' -

The civil defense reported six more people killed in four separate Israeli airstrikes in the area of Khan Yunis, in the south of the territory.

Two drone strikes around Gaza City in the north killed two more people, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes from the Israeli military, which has recently expanded its operations across Gaza.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.

A Palestinian speaking to AFP from southern Gaza on condition of anonymity reported ongoing attacks and widespread devastation, with Israeli tanks seen near Khan Yunis.

"The situation remains extremely difficult in the area -- intense gunfire, intermittent airstrikes, artillery shelling, and ongoing bulldozing and destruction of displacement camps and agricultural land to the south, west and north of Al-Maslakh," an area to Khan Yunis's south, said the witness.

Israel's military said in a statement that its soldiers were operating in the area, dismantling "terrorist infrastructure sites, both above and below ground", and seizing "weapons and military equipment".

The civil defense also reported on Friday five people killed in an Israeli strike the previous night on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza.

Nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the more than 21-month war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people living there.

Many have sought shelter in school buildings, but these have repeatedly come under Israeli attack, with the military often saying they were targeting Hamas militants hiding among civilians.