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Jordan’s King Abdullah Stresses Importance of Preserving Iraq’s Unity

King Abdullah meets with the Iraqi parliament speaker in Amman. (AFP)
King Abdullah meets with the Iraqi parliament speaker in Amman. (AFP)
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Jordan’s King Abdullah Stresses Importance of Preserving Iraq’s Unity

King Abdullah meets with the Iraqi parliament speaker in Amman. (AFP)
King Abdullah meets with the Iraqi parliament speaker in Amman. (AFP)

Jordanian King Abdullah II reiterated the kingdom’s steadfast support for Iraq and its people, security and stability.

King Abdullah on Monday received Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi at the Basman Palace in Amman.

They discussed means of enhancing the deep-rooted ties between the two countries on all levels.

The meeting covered the outcomes of the recent Jordanian-Iraqi-Egyptian summit held in Baghdad and means of translating them on the ground.

It further discussed the latest regional developments, especially the Iraqi government’s efforts in countering terrorism.

The speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Abdel Moneim Al-Awdat and his Iraqi counterpart said Monday that Jordan and Iraq need to build on the outcomes of the tripartite summit to further cement cooperation towards achieving strategic integration among the three brotherly countries.

King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met in Baghdad in June for a summit that focused on boosting security and economic ties between their countries.

Awdat said Jordan supports efforts to bolster Iraq’s stability, adding that the summit sets a new phase in joint cooperation to guarantee the security and stability of their countries and draw a road map for joint investment projects that meet the aspirations of their people.

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Over 100 Patients to Be Evacuated from Gaza, WHO Says

A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
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Over 100 Patients to Be Evacuated from Gaza, WHO Says

A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

More than 100 patients including children will be transferred out of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in a rare medical evacuation from the Palestinian enclave during the Israel-Hamas war, a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday.

The WHO says fewer than 300 patients have been evacuated from Gaza since early May, when Israel expanded its military offensive southwards and took over the southern Rafah Crossing with Egypt, which had been used for medical transfers.

Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the patients, including children with trauma injuries and chronic diseases, would depart in a large convoy via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.

Under arrangements made by the WHO, the patients will then fly to the United Arab Emirates from Ramon Airport in southern Israel, and some will travel on to Romania, he said.

"These are ad hoc measures. What we have requested repeatedly is a sustained medevac (medical evacuation) outside of Gaza," Peeperkorn told a press conference.

Asked whether Israel had approved the transfer, he said he was hopeful it would be facilitated by Israeli authorities.

He said more than 12,000 people were awaiting transfer, adding: "We cannot continue the way we do now."

COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for Palestinian affairs, says it actively facilitates the departure of seriously ill or injured patients, adding that the scope of such evacuations was determined by the capacity of organizations and countries to receive them.

As of last week, it said 10 groups of patients had been evacuated through Israel and it was willing to coordinate more.

Peeperkorn was part of a WHO convoy that on Nov. 3 provided some relief for the busy al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza which he said were barely operational because of medical and staff shortages.

"For al-Awda we are very concerned because the hospital needs urgent fuel and medical supplies, otherwise it might become non-functional over the coming week," he said of the hospital in Jabalia, just north of Gaza City.

Israel accuses Hamas fighters of hiding among civilians, including in hospitals, in the war that began after the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023.

In a night-time raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital last month, an Israeli military official said around 100 Hamas fighters were captured, some posing as medical staff, along with weapons. Hamas rejected the accusations.