NAJAF: Lubana Ismail had just fled her village in southern Lebanon with her husband and two children when she went into labor. She had swollen veins in her uterus and needed immediate medical supervision to give birth safely.
They searched for a hospital in Beirut or Sidon that would admit her, but all were full of the dead and wounded.
“No hospital accepted me. We were turned away everywhere until my father suggested we go to Iraq,” she recounted.
So they boarded a flight and flew to Najaf. It was there, in a Shiite pilgrimage city in a former war zone 1,000 km (600 miles) from home, that Lubana finally gave birth to baby Zahraa, healthy and safe.
The proud father, Fouad Youssef, recounted the perils of their evacuation.
“At first, we went to Tyre, but a strike hit directly next to us. We decided to go to Beirut, thinking it would be safer, but even on the way, a strike hit near us,” he said.
“During our two days of displacement, I tried to get my wife into a hospital because her labor was difficult. But due to the high number of injuries and martyrs, there were no vacancies.”
More than a million Lebanese have fled their homes since Israel intensified its airstrikes and launched a ground campaign in southern Lebanon against the Hezbollah movement which has been striking Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Imran Riza, UN humanitarian coordinator, said the pace of displacement since Sept. 23 had exceeded worst case scenarios, and too much damage was being done to civilian infrastructure.
Najaf, which accepts millions of Shiite pilgrims a year, is accustomed to handling the emergency medical needs of foreigners, and Iraqis have endured almost two decades of war at home. But receiving refugees from Lebanon is unexpected. Iraq’s interior ministry says around 5,700 Lebanese have arrived so far.
Lubana and Fouad are grateful to have found a safe place to bring their family and give birth to their daughter. But they have no idea what will come next.
“We are afraid the war will go on for a long time. What will happen to our children? We were preparing them for school, but now there is no education. Are we going to stay here? Are we leaving? Are we going back to our country?” pondered Youssef, watching news of the destruction in Lebanon on his mobile screen.
With hospitals full in Lebanon, family flees to give birth in Iraq
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With hospitals full in Lebanon, family flees to give birth in Iraq
UN, aid groups warn Gaza operations at risk from Israel impediments
- Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations and aid groups warned on Wednesday that humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, were at risk of collapse if Israel does not lift impediments that include a “vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized” registration process.
Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days, said the UN and more than 200 local and international aid groups in a joint statement.
“The deregistration of INGOs (international aid groups) in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services,” the statement read.
“INGOs run or support the majority of field hospitals, primary health care centers, emergency shelter responses, water and sanitation services, nutrition stabilization centers for children with acute malnutrition, and critical mine action activities,” it said.
SUPPLIES LEFT OUT OF REACH: GROUPS
While some international aid groups have been registered under the system that was introduced in March, “the ongoing re-registration process and other arbitrary hindrances to humanitarian operations have left millions of dollars’ worth of essential supplies — including food, medical items, hygiene materials, and shelter assistance — stuck outside of Gaza and unable to reach people in need,” the statement read.
Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement. Under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas began on October 10. Hamas released hostages, Israel freed detained Palestinians and more aid began flowing into the enclave where a global hunger monitor said in August famine had taken hold.
However, Hamas says fewer aid trucks are entering Gaza than was agreed. Aid agencies say there is far less aid than required, and that Israel is blocking many necessary items from coming in. Israel denies that and says it is abiding by its obligations under the truce.
“The UN will not be able to compensate for the collapse of INGOs’ operations if they are de-registered, and the humanitarian response cannot be replaced by alternative actors operating outside established humanitarian principles,” the statement by the UN and aid groups said.
The statement stressed “humanitarian access is not optional, conditional or political,” adding: “Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay.”
