LONDON: Amid the horrors of Israel’s war on Gaza, a one-month-old baby girl born during the violence lies alone in an incubator.
Her mother Hanna was killed in an Israeli airstrike, giving birth via Caesarean section without ever holding her child.
"We just call her the daughter of Hanna Abu Amsha," Warda al-Awawda, a nurse who is caring for the newborn at the al-Aqsa Hospital, told the BBC.
Children, who make up nearly half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million, have had their lives shattered by the brutal war, the BBC reported.
Despite Israel's claims of avoiding civilian casualties, more than 11,500 children have been killed according to Palestinian health officials. Many more have sustained serious, often life-altering injuries
With entire families in Gaza nearly wiped out, medics and rescuers frequently struggle to find caregivers for bereaved children.
"We have lost contact with her family. "None of her relatives have shown up and we don't know what happened to her father,” al-Awawda,
A report from the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor suggests that over 24,000 children have lost one or both parents.
The toll is evident in stories like that of 10-year-old Ibrahim Abu Mouss, who suffered severe leg and stomach injuries from a missile strike that killed his mother, grandfather, and sister.
"They kept telling me they were being treated upstairs in the hospital," Ibrahim told the BBC as his father clutches his hand.
"But I found out the truth when I saw photos on my dad's phone. I cried so much that I hurt all over."
The cousins of the Hussein family used to play together but now sit quietly beside the sandy graves near a converted school-shelter in central Gaza, graves that hold some of their relatives. Each cousin has endured the loss of either one or both parents.
"The missile fell on my mum's lap and her body was torn into pieces. For days we were taking her body parts from the rubble of the house," Abed Hussein, who lived in al-Bureij refugee camp, said
"When they said that my brother, my uncle and my whole family were killed I felt like my heart was bleeding with fire," he added.
The trauma leaves him sleepless, haunted by the memories and ongoing shelling.
"When my mum and dad were alive, I used to sleep but after they were killed, I can't sleep any more. I used to sleep next to my dad," he explained.
Life for Abed and his two surviving siblings, now in their grandmother's care, is immensely challenging.
"There's no food or water," he says. "I have a stomach ache from drinking sea water."
Similarly, Kinza Hussein mourns her father, who was killed by a missile while attempting to procure flour for bread. The distressing sight of his lifeless body, brought back for burial, haunts her.
"He had no eyes, and his tongue was cut," she remembers.
"All we want is for the war to be over," she says. "Everything is sad."
Nearly everyone in Gaza now relies on aid handouts for the basics of life.
UN reports indicate that about 1.7 million Palestinians in the strip are displaced, many in constant search for safety.
However, United Nations Children's Fund highlights the plight of approximately 19,000 children now orphaned or alone.
"Many of these children have been found under the rubble or have lost their parents in the bombing of their home," Jonathan Crickx, chief of communications for UNICEF Palestine, told the BBC. Others have been found at Israeli checkpoints, hospitals and on the streets.
"The youngest ones very often cannot say their name and even the older ones are usually in shock so it can be extremely difficult to identify them and potentially regroup them with their extended family."
Even when relatives can be found, they are not always well placed to help care for bereaved children.
Relatives, when located, often struggle to care for these children due to their own challenging circumstances. SOS Children's Villages, collaborating with UNICEF has stepped in to care for 55 such children under 10, offering psychological support. One striking case is a four-year-old girl with selective mutism, an anxiety disorder which left her unable to speak about , now slowly recovering in their care.
Since the war started, a non-profit organization, SOS Children's Villages, which works locally with Unicef, says it has been working to take in 55 such children, all aged under 10. It has employed additional specialist staff in Rafah to give psychological help.
A senior SOS staff member tells me about a four-year-old who had been left at a checkpoint. She was brought in with selective mutism, an anxiety disorder which left her unable to speak about what had happened to her and her family, but is now making progress after being welcomed with gifts and playing with other children she lives with.
UNICEF estimates that nearly all children in Gaza require mental health support. Even with a lasting ceasefire, the deep scars and losses endured will challenge their ability to rebuild their lives.
Gazan children orphaned by war suffer as war continues
https://arab.news/ynweq
Gazan children orphaned by war suffer as war continues
- With entire families in Gaza nearly wiped out, medics and rescuers struggle to find caregivers for bereaved children
Thousands displaced in Lebanon as Israel expands evacuation zones
- Short-term outlook ‘remains bleak,’ warns Mikati
- Israeli attacks intensified in south Lebanon and the Bekaa region
BEIRUT: Israel expanded its evacuation warnings to new areas of Lebanon on Thursday as Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned that the short-term outlook for his country “remains bleak.”
His comments came as US envoys Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Israeli orders for Lebanese civilians to evacuate large areas of Tyre and Baalbek were condemned by Mikati as an “additional war crime,” adding to the “series of crimes of killing, destruction and sabotage committed by the Israeli army.”
In response to Israel’s expansion of its air campaign, Mikati “requested increased pressure on Israel” from international and diplomatic bodies.
Hochstein reportedly told Mikati on Wednesday that he would urge Israel to end its campaign in return for a Lebanese commitment to implementing Resolution 1701.
As Lebanon awaited a diplomatic response, Israel’s Channel 12 said that the Israeli army is preparing to expand its ground operations in Lebanon “as negotiations might take time.”
Israeli attacks intensified in south Lebanon and the Bekaa region, with evacuation warnings extending to the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp in Tyre and civil defense centers in Baalbek.
The Israeli army warned residents of several southern towns, including the Rashidieh camp, to evacuate north of the Awali River.
The order sparked panic among the camp’s 323,000 residents, triggering mass displacement of people who had few options for shelter.
A similar event took place in the Baalbek region a day earlier as tens of thousands of Lebanese fled their homes following warnings of imminent Israeli bombardment.
This warning was repeated on Thursday, preventing the return of residents.
Many spent the night in their cars in harsh cold weather as nearby town shelters reached capacity from earlier evacuees.
Some residents sought shelter in the historic Baalbek Castle, assuming the site had international protection status, but Baalbek Gov. Bashir Khodr advised against this, warning that the castle fell within the “red zone” designated by Israel as a potential target.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee, in a new warning posted on X to people in Baalbek, Ain Bourday and Douris, said that residents of the three areas “are staying in a combat zone in which the Israeli army intends to attack.”
Israeli strikes later hit border areas in northern Bekaa and across the Syrian border, a common route for illegal crossings.
An airstrike in Bodai destroyed a home and killed its four inhabitants.
About 10,000 airstrikes have hit Baalbek in the last two days, killing about 70 people and injuring more than 500 others.
Israeli raids targeted an Amal Movement ambulance in Zefta and a civil defense center affiliated with Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization on the highway between Dardagia and Arzoun in southern Lebanon.
The strike killed a paramedic and injured two others, bringing the death toll of health workers in Lebanon to 174, with 279 wounded.
Israeli drone attacks against cars and motorcycles in southern Lebanon and western Bekaa continued on Thursday.
A car on the Araya-Kahala road was struck, killing two and injuring one.
On Wednesday, an Israeli drone struck a car on the same road, killing its driver, who was transporting anti-tank missiles.
A drone also struck a car on the Al-Amariyeh-Naqoura road, killing its driver, a Lebanese Army soldier.
A motorcycle rider was killed in the town of Qaraoun located in the West Bekaa region.
Meanwhile, Israel’s air campaign escalated across south Lebanon, targeting residential homes and neighborhoods. A missile struck a man’s home in Ebel El Saqi, injuring his eight-year-old granddaughter.
The town of Chihine was hit with Israeli white phosphorous artillery shells, while the Israeli army blew up four houses in Alma Al-Shaab, a town adjacent to the Blue Line.
A residential building in Aita Al-Shaab was also struck from the air.
On Wednesday evening, the Israeli army destroyed the only mosque in the border town of Boustane, along with several houses in the border town of Al-Dahira.
A new video showing extensive destruction in the southern border town of Kfar Kila was shared. All of the town’s buildings and houses had been leveled.
In a statement, Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, warned: “At least one child is killed and 10 injured daily in Lebanon.
“Thousands more children who have survived the many months of constant bombings are now acutely distressed by the violence and chaos around them.”
Clashes on the ground between the Israeli army and Hezbollah continued on Thursday across the border region.
Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV reported that “violent clashes” took place east of Khiam, with militants repelling an Israeli incursion into the area.
Clashes near the border town have continued for three days following an Israeli assault.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said that the international force had been targeted more than 50 times since the beginning of the conflict.
Seven of these attacks were “carried out deliberately by Israel,” he added.
Israel claimed it had killed Mohammed Khalil Alian, the commander of the anti-tank force affiliated with Hezbollah’s Nasr unit, in Burj Qallawiyah.
On Wednesday, Israel’s air force claimed the elimination of a Hezbollah air defense cell that had launched a missile at an Israeli aircraft in the region north of Tyre.
Houthis abduct another Yemeni employee of US Embassy in Sanaa
- Armed Houthis, including Zaynabiyat policewomen, stormed the house of Mohammed Abdullah Shammakh
- Shammakh was in a nearby market purchasing items for his family when the raid occurred
AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Houthi militia has abducted a Yemeni employee of the US Embassy in Sanaa, becoming the latest known victim of the Houthis’ crackdown on aid and civil society workers in Yemeni areas under their control.
A group of armed Houthis, including Zaynabiyat policewomen, have stormed the house of Mohammed Abdullah Shammakh, an administrative officer at the US Embassy in Sanaa, and abducted him after searching it, according to his friend and Yemeni journalist Sami Ghaleb.
Ghaleb, who spoke with residents of Sanaa’s Al-Ziraah neighborhood, where the abducted man lived, told Arab News on Thursday that the Houthis raided the three-story building on Oct. 10 and instructed its occupants, including children and women, to go to the roofs.
They then confined them, before storming Shammakh’s apartment and conducting a search.
Shammakh was in a nearby market purchasing items for his family when the raid occurred and was taken aback when he observed the Houthis occupying his residence, his friend said.
When he returned home, the Houthis abducted him, leaving behind a chaotic house and a terrified family, according to Ghaled.
“He’s more like a family member than a friend. He is a great person, like his father, lovable and helpful, and he assists his neighbors,” said Ghaled, who published an article on his news site, www.alndaa.net, in which he urged the Houthis to release him and other abducted individuals.
“You are responsible for these heinous violations, and no one in the historic capital is willing to listen to your ridiculous argument. These are simply helpless employees,” Ghaled wrote on his website on Wednesday.
The US Embassy in Yemen, which is now based in Riyadh, responded to Arab News’ request for comment on the abduction of its employee in Sanaa by saying: “We are aware of that report but cannot confirm if it is true at this time.”
The US Embassy in Yemen has been closed since early 2015, and the diplomatic mission has been relocated to Riyadh, months after the Houthis seized power.
In 2021, the Houthis raided the US Embassy compound in Sanaa, abducting Yemeni employees from the building and also abducting other former and current embassy employees from their Sanaa homes.
According to lawyers in Sanaa, the Houthis recently referred six abducted US Embassy employees to court and intend to try them on espionage charges.
Over the past four months, the Houthis have abducted more than 70 Yemeni workers from UN agencies, international human rights and aid organizations, and foreign diplomatic missions, accusing them of spying for US and Israeli intelligence agencies.
Relatives of some of those abducted have told Arab News that the Houthis have denied their requests to visit them in detention, call them, or provide information about their conditions.
On Wednesday, the office of the UN Yemen envoy, Hans Grundberg, said that he discussed efforts to release the UN workers abducted by the Houthis with Nada Al-Nashif, the UN deputy high commissioner for human rights, and reiterated his appeal to the Houthis to release them.
“The UN remains steadfast in demanding their immediate and unconditional release,” Grundberg’s office said.
Middle East conflicts to leave ‘lasting scars’: IMF
- IMF lowers its predicted growth for the Middle East and Central Asia to 2.1 percent for 2024
- IMF forecasts for Lebanon, where conflict with Israel has sharply escalated this month, have been suspended
DUBAI: Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan will take decades to recover from the conflicts raging on their soil, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday after downgrading the region’s growth forecast.
Israel’s military actions against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Sudan’s civil war would have enduring impacts, the IMF said.
“The damage caused by these conflicts will leave lasting scars at their epicenters for decades,” the global lender said in a statement.
The IMF has lowered its predicted growth for the Middle East and Central Asia to 2.1 percent for 2024, a drop of 0.6 percent due to the wars and lower oil production.
Depending on the conflicts, growth should rise to 4.0 percent next year, according to the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook which was compiled in September.
“This year has been challenging with conflicts causing devastating human suffering and lasting economic damage,” Jihad Azour, the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department director, told reporters in Dubai.
“The recent escalation in Lebanon has greatly increased the uncertainty in the whole MENA region.”
IMF forecasts for Lebanon, where conflict with Israel has sharply escalated this month, have been suspended. But “conservative” estimates show a 9.0-10 percent contraction this year, Azour said.
“The impact (on Lebanon) will be severe and it will depend how long this conflict will last,” said the former Lebanese finance minister.
Saudi-led oil cuts through the OPEC+ group, aimed at propping up prices, “are contributing to sluggish near-term growth in many economies,” the IMF said.
For the region’s oil exporters, “medium-term growth is projected to moderate, as economic diversification reforms will take time to yield results,” it added.
Downside risks continue to dominate, the lender said, including fluctuating commodity prices, conflicts and climate shocks.
Syria state media report Israel strikes on town near Lebanon border
DAMASCUS: Syrian state media said Israeli strikes hit the town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border on Thursday, the latest in a series of raids in the area.
“An Israeli aggression targeted the Qusayr area in the southern Homs countryside,” causing “material damage to the industrial city and some residential neighborhoods,” the official SANA news agency said.
Doctors Without Borders surgeon detained by Israel in north Gaza hospital raid
- Mohammed Obeid, an MSF orthopaedic surgeon working at Kamal Adwan hospital in north Gaza, was detained during an Israeli military raid on the site on Oct. 26, MSF said
GENEVA: Medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Thursday that one of its doctors working in a north Gaza hospital has been detained by Israeli forces.
Mohammed Obeid, an MSF orthopaedic surgeon working at Kamal Adwan hospital in north Gaza, was detained during an Israeli military raid on the site on Oct. 26, MSF said.
“We are extremely alarmed by the detention of our colleague,” it said.
“We call for the safety and the protection of our colleague, and for all medical staff in Gaza who work under impossible conditions and are facing horrific violence as they try to provide care.”
