BEIRUT: Dr. Hassan Hamdan was one of the few trained plastic surgeons in Gaza, a specialist in wound reconstruction. His skills were vitally needed as Israel’s military onslaught filled hospitals with patients torn by blasts and shrapnel, so the 65-year-old came out of retirement to help.
Earlier this month, an Israeli airstrike killed him along with his wife, son, two daughters, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, six grandchildren and one other person, as his family sheltered in their home in an Israeli-declared “safe zone.”
Israel’s 9-month-old war with Hamas in Gaza has decimated the territory’s medical system. It has not only wreaked physical destruction on hospitals and health facilities, it has devastated Gaza’s medical personnel. More than 500 health care workers have been killed since October, according to the UN.
Among them were many specialists like Hamdan.
Dr. Ahmed Al-Maqadma, also a reconstructive surgeon and a former fellow at UK Royal College, was found shot to death alongside his mother, a general practitioner, on a street outside Gaza City’s Shifa hospital after a two-week raid on the facility by Israeli forces in April.
One of Gaza’s most prominent fertility doctors, Omar Ferwana, was killed along with his family in a strike on his home in October. The territory’s only liver transplant doctor, Hamam Alloh, was killed in a hit on his home in Gaza City.
Israeli strikes in November on a northern Gaza hospital killed two doctors working with Doctors Without Borders. They are among six staffers killed from the international charity, which focuses on reconstructive and orthopedic surgeries, physiotherapy and burn care in Gaza.
Israel has detained doctors and medical staff. At least two have died in Israeli detention, allegedly of ill-treatment: the head of Shifa’s orthopedics department, Adnan Al-Bursh, and the head of a women’s hospital, Iyad Al-Rantisi. Israel has not returned either man’s body. Hundreds of other medical workers have been displaced or left Gaza altogether.
Along with the personal toll, their deaths rob Gaza’s medical system of their skills when they have become crucial.
Since the Hamas attack against Israel on Oct. 7 — which left some 1,200 people dead and 250 kidnapped — Israel’s campaign has killed more than 38,000 people in Gaza and wounded more than 88,000, according to local health officials. Malnutrition and disease have become widespread as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians cram into squalid tent camps.
Dr. Adam Hamawy, a former US Army combat plastic surgeon who volunteered in Gaza in May, said Hamdan’s death “leaves a significant void that will be hard to fill.”
Like many in Gaza, he believes Israel is deliberately destroying the health system, pointing to how Israeli forces have raided hospitals, destroyed medical complexes, fired on medical convoys and hit ambulances. Israel says it is targeting Hamas, which it says uses hospitals as command centers and ambulances for transport. The military has provided limited evidence for its claims.
Twenty-three of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are out of service, and the rest are only partially functioning, according to the latest UN figures. Only five field hospitals out of nine are operational. And more than 60 percent of Gaza’s primary health facilities have shut down.
Hamdan’s death leaves only one other specialist in reconstructive plastic surgery in Gaza. Other doctors have had to learn the skills of repairing major wounds on the job amid relentless daily waves of maimed patients.
Hamawy saw firsthand the need during his work in Gaza as part of an international medical team that came to help the territory’s health workers.
During three weeks at the European General Hospital in Khan Younis, he said he performed 120 surgeries, more than half of them on children, and all but one of them for treatment and reconstruction of war wounds. Two colleagues at the hospital were killed in strikes on their homes while he was there, and he spoke to doctors who had been released from Israeli detention and described being tortured, he said.
Hamawy said a general surgeon at the hospital stepped in to fill the demand for plastic surgeons, but he had no formal training. Five medical students volunteered with him.
They “are doing their best to fill in the gap,” Hamawy said.
On July 2, the European General Hospital evacuated its staff and patients, fearing it would be attacked. That left Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah and a field hospital in Rafah as the only facilities able to offer reconstructive surgery, said Dr. Ahmed Al-Mokhallalati, Gaza’s last reconstructive plastic surgery specialist.
Al-Mokhallalati said he has been rushing between hospitals, at one point overseeing treatment for 400 patients in one and 500 in another. At the Rafah field hospital, he was doing up to 10 surgeries a day.
“It is a very critical situation,” he said.
Hamdan founded the burns and plastic surgery department in Khan Younis’ Nasser Medical complex in 2002, after serving at the territory’s first such unit, at Shifa hospital. He headed the department at Nasser until 2019, when he retired.
When the Israeli army invaded Hamdan’s home city of Khan Younis in December, he returned as a volunteer at Nasser, Gaza’s second largest hospital, said his son Osama Hamdan, an orthopedic surgeon. His colleagues said he was cool under pressure. “The smile never left his face,” said Dr. Mohamad Awad, a surgeon who worked with him.
Soon after, Israeli forces besieged and raided Nasser Hospital, forcing its evacuation. Hamdan was displaced, taking shelter in the home of one of his daughters in Deir Al-Balah, further north.
Troops occupied Nasser hospital for weeks, wreaking extensive damage. After they withdrew, the facility was rehabilitated. In mid-June, Hamdan returned home and was discussing returning to work with hospital officials.
On July 2, Israel ordered another evacuation of Khan Younis. Hamdan and his family fled again, returning to his daughter’s home in Deir Al-Balah.
Only hours after they arrived, an airstrike hit the building on July 3 – “a direct hit with two rockets on my sister’s apartment,” Osama Hamdan said. He said no one in the family was affiliated with militant groups.
The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment on the strike.
Osama was on duty in the emergency room at Nasser hospital when he received the call. His wife and two sons – 3 and 5 years old – were among those killed.
“I was only able to collect some body parts of my kids and their mother because of how huge the explosion was,” he said.
One of his sisters died days later in the hospital from her wounds. Another sister remains in intensive care.
Osama is feeling partially responsible. “I had pressed him to leave Khan Younis,” he said in a text message, marked with two broken hearts emojis.
As Gaza’s doctors struggle to save lives, many lose their own in Israeli airstrikes
https://arab.news/5x6bn
As Gaza’s doctors struggle to save lives, many lose their own in Israeli airstrikes
- Israel’s 9-month-old war with Hamas in Gaza has decimated the territory’s medical system
- One of Gaza’s most prominent fertility doctors, Omar Ferwana, was killed along with his family in a strike on his home in October
UN says 653 aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 653 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the fifth day of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
OCHA cited information received from Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement — the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
Gazans prepare tent camps for families returning to north
GAZA CITY: Palestinians in northern Gaza prepared tent encampments for displaced families on Thursday, two days before they were expected to return to their home areas under the timeline of a ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas.
On open ground surrounded by blown-out buildings, a group of men began putting up rows of white tents to receive families who are planning to return north on Saturday when Hamas is due to release a second batch of hostages in return for dozens of Palestinians jailed by Israel.
Many of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians expected to head back to the northern Gaza Strip will return to homes in ruins after a 15-month Israeli military offensive that has laid waste to the enclave and killed more than 47,000 Gazans.
In October, Israeli forces returned to areas of the north in a major anti-Hamas operation focused on the Jabalia refugee camp near Gaza City and Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya towns, clearing the area of its inhabitants and razing most of its buildings.
“Is this the tent that we dreamed of? This will have to fit 10 people. This tent is for my children who are coming from the south. Really, is this adequate space?” asked Wael Jundiya as he prepared a tent for his children, who will return from where they had been sheltering in the Mawasi coastal area of the south.
“On Saturday, people will come from the south and flood Gaza (City). Where will they go? This camp will fit 100, 200 people. There will be 1.5 million coming from the south,” Jundiya told Reuters.
Hamas published a statement on Thursday saying the return of the displaced families would begin after Saturday’s exchange was complete and once Israeli forces had pulled out from the coastal road to the north.
At least four hostages are expected to be handed over to Israel on Saturday.
Highlighting concerns by many Palestinians over how strong the phased ceasefire is, an Israeli tank shelling killed two Gazans in Rafah in the south of the enclave, the local civil emergency service said.
Gaza ceasefire ‘wouldn’t have happened without us,’ Trump tells WEF
- The US president touted his administration’s role in brokering the Israel-Hamas hostage deal
- He also welcomed Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion investment, while calling for lower oil prices
DAVOS: In a virtual address at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, US President Donald Trump highlighted his administration’s pivotal role in brokering the ceasefire in Gaza and securing the release of hostages.
“Before even taking office, my team negotiated a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East, which wouldn’t have happened without us,” Trump said in his first major speech on the world stage since returning to the White House.
“Earlier this week, the hostages began to return to their families. They are returning, and it’s a beautiful sight, and they’ll be coming in more and more.”
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, came into effect on Jan. 19, ending 15-months of fighting which has left more than 47,500 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The deal was structured in multiple phases, the first involving a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
In exchange, Israel committed to releasing 90 Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank and allowing hundreds of aid trucks carrying food and fuel into the Gaza Strip through border crossings in Israel and Egypt.
The negotiation process was marked by significant diplomatic efforts, with both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration playing instrumental roles.
Brett McGurk, a Middle East negotiator for the Biden administration, collaborated closely with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. This bipartisan cooperation was driven by a mutual desire to resolve the conflict prior to the presidential inauguration.
Trump had issued stern warnings, stating that failure to release the hostages, including seven American citizens, before his inauguration would result in severe consequences.
The US president, who began his second term on Monday, also used his WEF speech to welcome Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion investment, and said that he hoped there would be room for it to grow to $1 trillion and lower oil prices.
“I’ll be asking the Crown Prince (Mohammed bin Salman), who’s a fantastic guy, to round it up to around $1 trillion. I think they’ll do that,” Trump said.
He did, however, add: “I’m also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil.” Four days into his presidency, Trump said he wants to lower global oil prices, interest rates and taxes, and warned they will face tariffs if they make their products abroad.
“I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately. And likewise, they should be dropping all over the world,” he said.
Some of his harshest criticism was reserved for traditional US allies Canada and the EU who he threatened again with new tariffs, while berating their import policies blaming them for the US’s trade goods deficit with these partners.
“One thing we’re going to be demanding is we’re going to be demanding respect from other nations. Canada. We have a tremendous deficit with Canada. We’re not going to have that anywhere,” he said.
Trump promised to reduce inflation with a mix of tariffs, deregulation and tax cuts along with his crackdown on illegal immigration and commitment to making the US a hub of artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies and fossil fuels.
He also criticized levels of taxation in the EU.
“The US has the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we’re going to use it,” Trump said. “Not only will this reduce the cost of virtually all goods and services, it will make the US a manufacturing superpower.”
Declaring the US had entered the “golden age of America,” Trump highlighted the sweeping reforms of his administration, which he said were correcting the “disasters” left by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Trump criticized Biden’s economic policies, saying: “His $8 trillion in wasteful deficit spending, energy restrictions, regulations, and hidden taxes resulted in the worst inflation crisis in modern history.”
Italy defends expulsion of wanted Libya police chief
- Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi defended before parliament the release on Tuesday of Osama Najim, who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes
- Piantedosi told the Senate that the court had found the detention of Najim was “irregular” and “not provided for by law”
ROME: Italy’s government said Thursday a Libyan police chief arrested on a war crimes warrant was flown home after a court found no basis to detain him — and he was too dangerous to remain.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi defended before parliament the release on Tuesday of Osama Najim, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity charges related to his management of migrant detention camps.
Najim was arrested in the northern city of Turin on Sunday but returned to Tripoli Tuesday on an Italian air force plane after the court of appeals in Rome ruled that he could not be held.
Piantedosi told the Senate that the court had found the detention of Najim was “irregular” and “not provided for by law,” ordering him freed.
Najim was “then repatriated to Tripoli for urgent security reasons,” the minister said, citing “the dangerousness of the subject.”
Najim is believed to have been in charge of Tripoli’s Mitiga detention center, and is wanted on charges including murder, rape and sexual violence and torture, committed since 2015.
Italy’s release of the Libyan has drawn vehement criticism from opposition parties and a subtle rebuke from the ICC, which on Wednesday reminded its member state that it had a “duty” to “cooperate fully” in the court’s investigations and prosecutions.
It said Najim had been released and sent home “without prior notice or consultation with the court.”
In its order Tuesday to release Najim, the Rome appeals court wrote that the arrest did not conform to Italian law because ICC requests should first pass through the justice minister, who, “to date, has sent no request on the matter.”
Italian opposition parties have demanded that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni explain before parliament the reasons for the release of an accused war criminal wanted by the international court.
On Thursday, Sandra Zampa, a senator with the center-left Democratic party, called the affair “shameful.”
“He was not simply released from prison, but he was brought home on a state plane,” Zampa said, charging that “procedural errors have nothing to do with it.”
International human rights groups have long condemned abuses in Libyan detention centers, citing widespread violence and torture.
Rome has a controversial deal with the North African country — dating from 2017 and renewed under Meloni’s hard-right government — to provide funding and training to the Libyan coast guard.
In exchange, Libya was expected to help stem the departure of migrants to Italy or return those already at sea back to Libya, where they were often taken to such detention centers.
In 2011, the United Nations referred the situation in Libya to the ICC for investigation, a few months before a revolt toppled dictator Muammar Qaddafi after four decades of iron-fisted rule.
Najim’s arrest and release come about a week after Rome and Tripoli resumed direct flights between the two capitals after a decade-long hiatus.
Italy’s foreign ministry hailed the “concerted effort” shown by Rome to strengthen ties with its former colony, calling Libya “a strategic and privileged partner for our country.”
Continued denial of Palestinian statehood is threat to global security, says Arab league chief
- Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks at UN Security Council meeting on importance of UN-League relations amid rapidly evolving regional security, political and humanitarian challenges
- He warns that the current environment of ‘strategic global competition’ is hampering the council’s engagement on Arab issues
NEW YORK CITY: The secretary-general of the Arab League on Thursday warned that the Arab region is in a critical phase that is underscored by a growing global power rivalry that has complicated the ability of the UN Security Council to effectively address Arab concerns.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit was speaking during a meeting of the council in New York chaired by the Algerian foreign minister, Ahmed Attaf, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the council this month. Algeria convened the meeting to underscore what it described as the urgent need to strengthen the mechanisms for conflict resolution, peace-building and humanitarian assistance in the Arab world.
Several major Arab crises are at the forefront of international diplomacy concerns presently, with particular emphasis on the war between Israel and Hamas, and ongoing instability in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. Some of the crises have been on the Security Council agenda for years.
“Our concerns are one and the same,” said Aboul Gheit as he underscored the importance of building on the historical cooperation between the UN and the Arab League, particularly in light of the “strategic global competition” he said was shaping the current geopolitical landscape.
He expressed concern that these global tensions have had a negative effect on the Security Council’s engagement on Arab issues, most notably the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Aboul Gheit strongly reiterated the League’s position on Palestine, framing the struggle for an independent Palestinian state as not only a regional issue but one that poses a significant threat to international peace and security.
He welcomed recent efforts to establish a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after more than a year of violence, which he called “genocide,” against the Gaza Strip. However, he stressed that a ceasefire agreement is merely a temporary measure, and a permanent resolution can only be achieved through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“The continued denial of Palestinian rights is a direct threat to the stability of the region and, by extension, the world,” Aboul Gheit told council members as he highlighted the urgent need for the international community to support a two-state solution, in line with several Security Council resolutions.
“We have witnessed during the recent months a war that did not stop at the borders of Gaza or Palestine but has spilled over, and its flames have reached the region,” he said.
He called for a greater role for the Security Council in the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, the founding of which was spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, the EU and Norway last September with the aim of expediting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In Sudan, meanwhile, the brutal conflict between rival military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives and displaced millions since April 2023.
Aboul Gheit called for a return to peace talks there. He warned that the situation in the country has reached catastrophic levels, and urged the Security Council to take stronger action in support of Sudanese sovereignty and unity.
Turning to Syria, he expressed the Arab League’s support for the aspirations of the Syrian people to rebuild after more than a decade of devastating civil war. Acknowledging the complex political dynamics in the country, he called for a transition led by the Syrian people themselves, free from foreign intervention.
He also reiterated the opposition of the League to the continuing Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, describing it as “illegal and unjustified.” He warned against “the Israeli expansionist greed” in Syria, and the exploitation of this delicate moment. He emphasized the need to remain committed to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement as the basis of the truce between Syria and Israel.
Aboul Gheit also touched on the situations in Lebanon, Libya and Somalia, each of which he said face distinct challenges and will require coordinated international support to achieve stability and progress.
He congratulated Lebanon on the recent election of President Joseph Aoun and praised the formation of a broad consensus government.
“We look forward to a new beginning in Lebanon, one of stability, reconstruction and revival of the economy,” he said.
Aboul Gheit reiterated the League’s support for a political process in Libya free from foreign interference, and acknowledged the continuing instability in Somalia, where he said the League was working to promote national unity.
A particularly pressing issue for the Arab League is the future of the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides vital humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees. An Israeli ban on the organization is due to take effect next week.
Aboul Gheit expressed alarm at what he described as Israeli plans to undermine the agency, stressing that its work is crucial for stability in the region.
“The role of UNRWA is irreplaceable,” he said, warning that any attempt to dismantle it would have grave consequences for regional peace.
“UNRWA is not only carrying out a humanitarian role but it is a pillar of stability in the Arab region.
“Eliminating its role is a direct threat to this stability, and we look forward to a decisive role from the Security Council in defending this specialized agency, which is performing an irreplaceable and critical role.”
