7 dec 2018
The State of Kuwait has provided $4.5 million to carry out important infrastructure projects and build a maternity center at al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip.
In press remarks, minister of public works and housing Mufid Hasayneh stated that his ministry had embarked on contacting several Arab and international parties to urge them to support reconstruction and infrastructure projects in Gaza and help alleviate the suffering of the population.
Hasayneh expressed his thanks to Kuwait and its Arab Economic Development Fund for the support they provide for the Palestinian people.
In press remarks, minister of public works and housing Mufid Hasayneh stated that his ministry had embarked on contacting several Arab and international parties to urge them to support reconstruction and infrastructure projects in Gaza and help alleviate the suffering of the population.
Hasayneh expressed his thanks to Kuwait and its Arab Economic Development Fund for the support they provide for the Palestinian people.
5 dec 2018
The Palestinian health ministry in the Gaza Strip received on Wednesday 8.5 tons of medical supplies provided by the Turkish Red Crescent.
The Turkish medical shipment is worth $274,000 and includes medicines for the treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer and kidney failure.
During a news conference held in Gaza, Red Crescent official Seljuk Ozturk stated that the Turkish organization has a permanent office in Gaza and provides different kinds of medical assistance for the population.
Last May, the Turkish Red Crescent sent medical supplies worth some $100,000 to its Palestinian counterpart following a distress call from Gaza.
The Gaza Strip continues to groan under a decade-long Israeli blockade that has gutted the territory’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities, including food, fuel and medicine.
The Turkish medical shipment is worth $274,000 and includes medicines for the treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer and kidney failure.
During a news conference held in Gaza, Red Crescent official Seljuk Ozturk stated that the Turkish organization has a permanent office in Gaza and provides different kinds of medical assistance for the population.
Last May, the Turkish Red Crescent sent medical supplies worth some $100,000 to its Palestinian counterpart following a distress call from Gaza.
The Gaza Strip continues to groan under a decade-long Israeli blockade that has gutted the territory’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities, including food, fuel and medicine.
3 dec 2018
The Ministry of Health, on Monday, sent from its warehouses, in the West Bank city of Nablus, 8.5 tons of medical aid donated by the Turkish Red Crescent to the besieged Gaza Strip, announced Health Minister Jawad Awwad.
Awwad said that the ministry dispatched two truckloads of medical supplies worth $274 thousand, including medicines to treat chronic diseases such as cancer and kidney diseases.
The medical aid convoy is expected to reach its destination on Monday, according to WAFA.
President of the Red Crescent Organization in Turkey, Karam Kannik, affirmed the continued support of Turkey to Palestine, especially in the health sector, in light of Israel’s ongoing blockade of the Strip, which he stressed, has negatively affected all fields in Gaza, especially within the health sector.
Awwad praised Turkey’s continued support to the Strip, pointing to the many vital projects provided by Turkey to Palestine in all fields, especially in the health sector.
Awwad said that the ministry dispatched two truckloads of medical supplies worth $274 thousand, including medicines to treat chronic diseases such as cancer and kidney diseases.
The medical aid convoy is expected to reach its destination on Monday, according to WAFA.
President of the Red Crescent Organization in Turkey, Karam Kannik, affirmed the continued support of Turkey to Palestine, especially in the health sector, in light of Israel’s ongoing blockade of the Strip, which he stressed, has negatively affected all fields in Gaza, especially within the health sector.
Awwad praised Turkey’s continued support to the Strip, pointing to the many vital projects provided by Turkey to Palestine in all fields, especially in the health sector.
2 dec 2018
~Doctors Without Borders/Days of Palestine
The vast majority of the 3,117 patients treated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) between 30 March and 31 October – out of the total 5,866 the Ministry of Health says have been injured by live fire – had been shot in the leg. Around half suffered open fractures, with severe soft tissue damage to many of the rest.
These are complex and serious injuries that do not quickly heal. Their severity and the lack of appropriate treatment in Gaza’s crippled health system means that infection is a high risk, especially for patients with open fractures.
Gaza currently lacks the ability to properly diagnose bone infections, but from experience MSF expects that at least 25 per cent of patients with fractures are infected. Out of roughly 3,000 open fractures, this means it is likely that more than 1,000 patients are infected.
Based on a preliminary analysis of MSF’s patients in Gaza, we estimate that at least 60 per cent of the total number of injured patients treated by all health providers – a massive 3,520 people – will need further surgery, physiotherapy and rehabilitation.
A significant proportion of those patients will require some form of reconstructive surgery to properly heal, but untreated infections will prevent that from happening.
This burden is too much to bear for the health system in Gaza in its current form, weakened as it is by more than a decade of blockade.
Such a large number of injuries affects not just the injured; it also puts a strain on the provision of regular healthcare in Gaza.
The consequences of these wounds – especially if untreated – will be lifelong disability for many, and if infections are not tackled then the results could be amputation or even death.
Although MSF and other organisations are working hard to provide treatment for these patients, the scale of the needs is quickly becoming overwhelming, challenging our continued ability to respond.
The situation is also worsening as more people are shot, wounded flesh and bone dies, and the risk of infection increases.
An adequate response will cost tens of millions of euros – money that urgently needs to be found.
“MSF has already tripled its capacity in Gaza but the required volume of surgery, carefully managed antibiotics, intensive nursing care, and long-term physiotherapy and rehabilitation is staggering,” said Marie-Elisabeth Ingres, MSF’s head of mission in Palestine.
What is required now is:
As Ingres concludes, “the alternative – that thousands of patients will be left to deal with terrible injuries, with many permanently disabled and dependent on their families – is unconscionable when adequate treatment is within the world’s grasp.”
The vast majority of the 3,117 patients treated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) between 30 March and 31 October – out of the total 5,866 the Ministry of Health says have been injured by live fire – had been shot in the leg. Around half suffered open fractures, with severe soft tissue damage to many of the rest.
These are complex and serious injuries that do not quickly heal. Their severity and the lack of appropriate treatment in Gaza’s crippled health system means that infection is a high risk, especially for patients with open fractures.
Gaza currently lacks the ability to properly diagnose bone infections, but from experience MSF expects that at least 25 per cent of patients with fractures are infected. Out of roughly 3,000 open fractures, this means it is likely that more than 1,000 patients are infected.
Based on a preliminary analysis of MSF’s patients in Gaza, we estimate that at least 60 per cent of the total number of injured patients treated by all health providers – a massive 3,520 people – will need further surgery, physiotherapy and rehabilitation.
A significant proportion of those patients will require some form of reconstructive surgery to properly heal, but untreated infections will prevent that from happening.
This burden is too much to bear for the health system in Gaza in its current form, weakened as it is by more than a decade of blockade.
Such a large number of injuries affects not just the injured; it also puts a strain on the provision of regular healthcare in Gaza.
The consequences of these wounds – especially if untreated – will be lifelong disability for many, and if infections are not tackled then the results could be amputation or even death.
Although MSF and other organisations are working hard to provide treatment for these patients, the scale of the needs is quickly becoming overwhelming, challenging our continued ability to respond.
The situation is also worsening as more people are shot, wounded flesh and bone dies, and the risk of infection increases.
An adequate response will cost tens of millions of euros – money that urgently needs to be found.
“MSF has already tripled its capacity in Gaza but the required volume of surgery, carefully managed antibiotics, intensive nursing care, and long-term physiotherapy and rehabilitation is staggering,” said Marie-Elisabeth Ingres, MSF’s head of mission in Palestine.
What is required now is:
- for the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to do all they can to facilitate the free access and work of all healthcare providers in Gaza that are trying to build the advanced capacity to care for these people;
- for other countries in the region and around the globe to step forward and offer funding and space in their hospitals where advanced surgical capacity exists; and
- for authorities in Palestine and Israel to facilitate the transfer of these patients abroad.
As Ingres concludes, “the alternative – that thousands of patients will be left to deal with terrible injuries, with many permanently disabled and dependent on their families – is unconscionable when adequate treatment is within the world’s grasp.”
30 nov 2018
At least 28 Palestinians were injured on Friday when the Israeli occupation forces opened fire at the peaceful protesters taking part in the Great March of Return on Gaza border.
Spokesman for Gaza's Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qedra said that 28 Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire, including a journalist, and an ambulance was partially damaged after it was attacked with teargas canisters.
Hundreds of Palestinians on Friday marched along the border fence between Gaza and the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories, holding Palestinian flags and portraits of the Great March of Return martyrs.
The Higher National Committee for the Great March of Return in a statement on Thursday said that the demonstrations of the 36th week of the Great March of Return are aimed at marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
For his part, Abdullatif al-Qanou', Hamas's spokesman, said in a press statement that the solidarity with the Palestinian people should be translated into actions toward breaking the 13-year-long blockade on Gaza and ending the occupation.
The Great March of Return was launched on 30 March with the aim of highlighting the Palestinian refugees' right to return, and breaking the siege on Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestinian civilians have died and thousands injured as a result of Israel's use of lethal force to quell the border protests.
Spokesman for Gaza's Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qedra said that 28 Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire, including a journalist, and an ambulance was partially damaged after it was attacked with teargas canisters.
Hundreds of Palestinians on Friday marched along the border fence between Gaza and the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories, holding Palestinian flags and portraits of the Great March of Return martyrs.
The Higher National Committee for the Great March of Return in a statement on Thursday said that the demonstrations of the 36th week of the Great March of Return are aimed at marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
For his part, Abdullatif al-Qanou', Hamas's spokesman, said in a press statement that the solidarity with the Palestinian people should be translated into actions toward breaking the 13-year-long blockade on Gaza and ending the occupation.
The Great March of Return was launched on 30 March with the aim of highlighting the Palestinian refugees' right to return, and breaking the siege on Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestinian civilians have died and thousands injured as a result of Israel's use of lethal force to quell the border protests.
25 nov 2018
Gaza's Ministry of Health said that the first shipment of medical drugs sent by the Japanese government arrived in the besieged territory on Sunday.
Head of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Health Ashraf Abu Mahady said in a press conference that Japan has many contributions in supporting the health sector in the Gaza Strip, the most recent of which was opening an early detection unit for breast cancer and providing al-Shifa Hospital with medical supplies.
Abu Mahady thanked the Japanese embassy and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for their great efforts in supporting the health sector and meeting the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian citizens in Gaza.
He added that Japan will soon launch a new project aimed at helping and rehabilitating the Palestinians injured in the Great March of Return.
A representative of the Japanese embassy said that the drug shipment is part of $1 million donations provided by the Japanese government and people.
"Gaza and Japan have the same spirit. Both of them are able to rise again from the ashes," she added.
Head of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Health Ashraf Abu Mahady said in a press conference that Japan has many contributions in supporting the health sector in the Gaza Strip, the most recent of which was opening an early detection unit for breast cancer and providing al-Shifa Hospital with medical supplies.
Abu Mahady thanked the Japanese embassy and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for their great efforts in supporting the health sector and meeting the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian citizens in Gaza.
He added that Japan will soon launch a new project aimed at helping and rehabilitating the Palestinians injured in the Great March of Return.
A representative of the Japanese embassy said that the drug shipment is part of $1 million donations provided by the Japanese government and people.
"Gaza and Japan have the same spirit. Both of them are able to rise again from the ashes," she added.
18 nov 2018
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A group of extremist illegal Israeli colonists attacked, Sunday, a Palestinian ambulance while rushing to a patient in Hebron city, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, causing damage.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has reported that it received a call from a family of a patient in Tal Romeida neighborhood, in Hebron city, and headed towards the Shuhada Street, after coordinating the ambulance’s passage through the closed Shuhada Street. It added that, once the ambulance reached the Shuhada Street, the illegal settlers started throwing stones at it, and obstructed the road, although it was sounding its siren and trying to reach the patient. Eid Abu Monshar, a medic with the PRCS, said the Israeli assailants saw the ambulance rushing to the patient, yet, started throwing stones at it. Mohammad Zghayyar, a spokesperson with the Youth Coalition against |
Settlements in Hebron, said that the coalition activists, along with internationals, witnessed at least fifteen illegal Israeli colonialist settlers attacking the ambulance and closing the road.
He added that coalition members started filming the attacked, before the soldiers assaulted them and forced them away.
He added that coalition members started filming the attacked, before the soldiers assaulted them and forced them away.
15 nov 2018
Nearly 3 weeks into its planned 4-week run, an electronic billboard honoring first responders in the Gaza Strip was pulled on November 13th when the billboard company received phone calls and email complaints labeling their staff as terrorists and anti-Semites, and threatening a boycott.
The Palestine Advocacy Project sponsored the billboard on Interstate 93, near Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to highlight the desperate situation in the Gaza Strip, and to emphasize the humanity and agency of the people of Gaza, who are often portrayed as terrorists or victims.
The billboard included a photo of deceased Palestinian medic Razan al-Najjar, and text reading: “Honoring the First Responders of Gaza. Saving Lives.
Rescuing Hope.” It was estimated to be viewed by over a half million motorists each week of its planned 4-week run, beginning 24 October. The billboard was met with positive media coverage.
This week, a coordinated, aggressive campaign was launched against the billboard company with accusations of anti-Semitism, intended to damage the company for hosting this billboard. Sarah Gold, a volunteer with the Palestine Advocacy Project, said, “This campaign is neither engaging us nor our perspective. Instead it is attempting through intimidation to eradicate the avenues of free speech we have endeavored to use; to silence us.”
The billboard is another casualty in an ongoing attack on free speech. Palestine Legal states in their 2017 report, “The Israeli state and its proxy organizations in the U.S. are investing heavily in punitive measures to intimidate and chill the free speech of those who wish to express criticism of Israeli policies.” The report documents 308 attacks on U.S.-based Palestine-related free speech in 2017 alone, according to the PNN.
Razan al-Najjar and other Gazan first responders were doing their best to attend to wounded civilians; yet celebrating them is construed as an act of “hate & anti-Semitism.”
One complaint reads in part: “A billboard glorifying those who try to kill and destroy our People and Homeland! Anti Semitism is as old as time itself, Hate of Israel is hate of Jews, completely unacceptable!”
This negative campaign appears to be based on the erroneous notions that all Gazans are anti-Semites intent on murdering Jews, that Gazans are not entitled to basic human rights, and that any display of solidarity with them equates to a call for the destruction of Israel.
Richard Colbath-Hess, founder of the Palestine Advocacy Project, remarked that “The billboard was extremely positive and does not even mention Israel.
Instead it was a celebration of Palestinian heroes. Apparently, there cannot be Palestinian heroes without some advocates of Israel feeling attacked.”
The Palestine Advocacy Project sponsored the billboard on Interstate 93, near Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to highlight the desperate situation in the Gaza Strip, and to emphasize the humanity and agency of the people of Gaza, who are often portrayed as terrorists or victims.
The billboard included a photo of deceased Palestinian medic Razan al-Najjar, and text reading: “Honoring the First Responders of Gaza. Saving Lives.
Rescuing Hope.” It was estimated to be viewed by over a half million motorists each week of its planned 4-week run, beginning 24 October. The billboard was met with positive media coverage.
This week, a coordinated, aggressive campaign was launched against the billboard company with accusations of anti-Semitism, intended to damage the company for hosting this billboard. Sarah Gold, a volunteer with the Palestine Advocacy Project, said, “This campaign is neither engaging us nor our perspective. Instead it is attempting through intimidation to eradicate the avenues of free speech we have endeavored to use; to silence us.”
The billboard is another casualty in an ongoing attack on free speech. Palestine Legal states in their 2017 report, “The Israeli state and its proxy organizations in the U.S. are investing heavily in punitive measures to intimidate and chill the free speech of those who wish to express criticism of Israeli policies.” The report documents 308 attacks on U.S.-based Palestine-related free speech in 2017 alone, according to the PNN.
Razan al-Najjar and other Gazan first responders were doing their best to attend to wounded civilians; yet celebrating them is construed as an act of “hate & anti-Semitism.”
One complaint reads in part: “A billboard glorifying those who try to kill and destroy our People and Homeland! Anti Semitism is as old as time itself, Hate of Israel is hate of Jews, completely unacceptable!”
This negative campaign appears to be based on the erroneous notions that all Gazans are anti-Semites intent on murdering Jews, that Gazans are not entitled to basic human rights, and that any display of solidarity with them equates to a call for the destruction of Israel.
Richard Colbath-Hess, founder of the Palestine Advocacy Project, remarked that “The billboard was extremely positive and does not even mention Israel.
Instead it was a celebration of Palestinian heroes. Apparently, there cannot be Palestinian heroes without some advocates of Israel feeling attacked.”
14 nov 2018
Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers invaded, on Wednesday morning, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) building in the Suwwana neighborhood, in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, and abducted two medics.
The PRCS in Jerusalem said the soldiers abducted the two medics, identified as Rajeh Hawarin and Mohammad Odah from its building, and took them to an interrogation facility in the city.
It denounced the invasion and abduction of the medics, especially since the military has been frequently invading and searching medical facilities and institutions in Jerusalem, and various parts of the occupied West Bank.
In related news, many army jeeps invaded, late at night Tuesday, several neighborhoods in Jabal al-Mokabber neighborhood, in Jerusalem, especially the Schools Street.
In Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem, the soldiers invaded two areas in the city, searched homes, and abducted two young men, identified as Mohammad Hasan Nawawra and Jamal Shallash.
The PRCS in Jerusalem said the soldiers abducted the two medics, identified as Rajeh Hawarin and Mohammad Odah from its building, and took them to an interrogation facility in the city.
It denounced the invasion and abduction of the medics, especially since the military has been frequently invading and searching medical facilities and institutions in Jerusalem, and various parts of the occupied West Bank.
In related news, many army jeeps invaded, late at night Tuesday, several neighborhoods in Jabal al-Mokabber neighborhood, in Jerusalem, especially the Schools Street.
In Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem, the soldiers invaded two areas in the city, searched homes, and abducted two young men, identified as Mohammad Hasan Nawawra and Jamal Shallash.
9 nov 2018
Dozens of Palestinians were injured while three others were detained on Friday after the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) quelled dozens of protesters who were demonstrating in Jabal al-Risan area, west of Ramallah in the West Bank.
Local sources said that Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel rounds and teargas canisters towards the protesters who were marching against Israel’s plan to confiscate hundreds of dunums of land in the area.
Many cases of suffocation from gas inhalation were reported during the protest while a paramedic was injured after IOF targeted an ambulance he was by a rubber-coated bullet.
The Israeli soldiers also arrested three protesters including a preacher and a local activist.
Local sources said that Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel rounds and teargas canisters towards the protesters who were marching against Israel’s plan to confiscate hundreds of dunums of land in the area.
Many cases of suffocation from gas inhalation were reported during the protest while a paramedic was injured after IOF targeted an ambulance he was by a rubber-coated bullet.
The Israeli soldiers also arrested three protesters including a preacher and a local activist.
