GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Sunday it was ready to pour much-needed aid into Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce, but that it would need “systematic access” across the territory to do so.
Much of the Gaza Strip’s health infrastructure has been destroyed by the more than year-long war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas before a ceasefire took hold on Sunday.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the ceasefire, posting on social media that it would “bring great hope for millions of people whose lives have been ravaged by the conflict.”
But he added that “addressing the massive health needs and restoring the health system in Gaza will be a complex and challenging task, given the scale of destruction, operational complexity and constraints involved.”
While the United Nations’ health body was “ready to scale up the response” to address the territory’s critical needs, it said in a statement that “it is critical that the security obstacles hindering operations are removed.”
“WHO will need conditions on the ground that allow systematic access to the population across Gaza, enabling the influx of aid via all possible borders and routes, and lifting restrictions on the entry of essential items,” the agency said in a statement.
Until the truce, Israel had complete control over the volume and nature of aid allowed into Gaza.
Warning that the “health challenges ahead are immense,” the Geneva-based agency estimated the cost of rebuilding Gaza’s battered health system in the years to come at “billions in investment.”
Last week the WHO put the figure at more than $10 billion.
“Only half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, nearly all hospitals are damaged or partly destroyed, and just 38 percent of primary health care centers are functional,” the WHO said.
Basing its figures on those provided by the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which the UN considers reliable, the WHO put the war’s toll in Gaza at more than 46,600 people killed and over 110,000 wounded.
A quarter of those wounded “face life-changing injuries and will need ongoing rehabilitation,” the UN body estimated.
Around 12,000 people need to be evacuated for urgent treatment elsewhere, it added, while warning the destruction of health infrastructure had had knock-on effects.
The WHO also expressed concern over the “breakdown of public order, exacerbated by armed gangs” interfering with aid deliveries to Gaza.
WHO says needs full Gaza access during Israel-Hamas truce
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WHO says needs full Gaza access during Israel-Hamas truce
Bahraini national security advisor and UK military chief discuss defense cooperation
- Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa highlights strong ties between the nations, especially defense and military cooperation
- His talks with Adm. Tony Radakin, Britain’s chief of defense staff, cover long-term defense partnerships, regional security and stability, and counterterrorism efforts
LONDON: Bahrain’s national security advisor, Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, met Adm. Tony Radakin, the UK’s chief of defense staff in London on Wednesday.
They discussed ways in which military cooperation between their countries might be enhanced, and the importance of long-term defense partnerships in efforts to ensure regional security and stability, the Bahrain News Agency reported.
Sheikh Nasser highlighted the existing strong ties between Bahrain and the UK, especially in terms of defense and military cooperation. He and Radakin addressed regional security challenges, focusing in particular on counterterrorism cooperation and maritime security in the Arabian Gulf region, and the need for joint military exercises and the coordination of multinational operations.
They also discussed the enhancement of Gulf security through maritime and air alliances, and aerial defense collaboration, the news agency added.
Lebanon rejects further Israeli delay in withdrawing forces from southern areas
- Israeli army is asking to remain in some border areas until Feb. 28
- Lebanon informs overseeing committee of firm rejection to request
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday called on Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel to “ensure the EU countries pressure Israel to complete its withdrawal from the southern border area within the set deadline of the 18th of this month.”
Aoun said that “Lebanon supports the Arab Peace Initiative and rejects any proposals that would lead to any form of Palestinian displacement from their land or undermine their legitimate rights as enshrined in United Nations resolutions.”
Six days before the full withdrawal of Israeli forces that had advanced into southern Lebanon — following a 24-day extension of the withdrawal deadline, with US approval — the committee overseeing the monitoring of the ceasefire and the implementation of Resolution 1701 was informed that the Israeli army is asking to remain in some border areas until Feb. 28. Lebanon however, has informed the committee of its firm rejection of this request.
Morgan Ortagus, US deputy ambassador for the Middle East, is expected to return to Beirut on a second visit as part of her current mission to follow up on the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon on Feb. 18.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a recent meeting at the White House asked US President Donald Trump to delay the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanon for a few weeks.
Additionally, he sought to maintain Israeli control over five key hills: Jabal Blat, Labouneh, Aziziyah, Awida, and Hamames.
Lebanon’s efforts to ensure Israel’s complete withdrawal from its territory by the specified deadline are accompanied by a proposal for UNIFIL forces to be stationed in coordination with the Lebanese army to take control of the said hills.
Maj. Gen. Hassan Ouda, acting chief of Lebanon's army, met Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lazaro, commander of UNIFIL, and their “discussions focused on the efforts being made to implement Resolution 1701,” according to an army statement.
The authorities in Lebanon are awaiting the Trump administration to fulfill its commitment regarding the scheduled withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Last week, Ortagus said in a statement from Beirut that her country “is dedicated to ensuring that Israel completes its withdrawal on the specified timeline.”
Meanwhile, Avichay Adraee, spokesperson for the Israeli military, issued an urgent warning on social media to the residents of southern Lebanon.
“The Israeli army remains deployed in the field following the extension of the agreement’s implementation period. Therefore, you are prohibited from moving south or returning to your homes in the areas in question until further notice. Anyone attempting to move south is at risk,” he posted.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces continued bombing border villages in the eastern and central Gaza Strip and set houses ablaze.
Additionally, Israeli forces carried out bulldozing operations on the outskirts of the town of Al-Dahira and used cranes to install concrete slabs at the technical fence of the Blue Line.
Also on Wednesday, a young man, identified as Khalil Fayyad, succumbed to gunshot wounds inflicted by Israeli forces on Jan. 26 in his hometown of Aitaroun during residents’ attempts to return to the town.
Egypt’s El-Sisi, Jordan king stress ‘unity’ of positions on Gaza: Egypt presidency
- Leaders affirmed the “unity of the Egyptian and Jordanian positions,” on the reconstruction of Gaza Strip, “without displacing the Palestinian people”: Statement
CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II stressed Wednesday the “unity” of their countries’ positions on Gaza, a day after US President Donald Trump held talks with the Jordanian monarch in Washington.
“The two leaders affirmed the unity of the Egyptian and Jordanian positions,” on the reconstruction of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, “without displacing the Palestinian people from their land,” a statement from the Egyptian presidency read.
Another statement from the Jordanian royal court said that the two leaders stressed their “shared position” rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Both statements also referred to their willingness to “cooperate” with Trump to achieve “just and lasting peace” in the Middle East.
Egypt and Jordan have been at the forefront of a fierce Arab pushback against a Trump plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to the two countries.
Trump’s remarks have been coupled with a suggestion that he could “conceivably” halt aid to both countries if they refuse to take in Palestinians.
After his talks with Trump in Washington on Tuesday, King Abdullah II said that his country remains “steadfast” in its position against the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
“This is the unified Arab position,” Abdullah wrote on social media.
Egypt announced this week that it would host a summit of Arab nations later this month. It also said it would present a “comprehensive vision” for Gaza’s reconstruction in a way that ensures Palestinians remain on their land.
Egypt and Jordan, both key US allies, are heavily reliant on foreign aid and the US is considered one of their top donors.
124 journalists killed, most by Israel, in deadliest year for reporters
- Journalists murdered across 18 different countries in 2024, including Palestine, Sudan and Pakistan
- Sudan and Pakistan record second-highest number of journalists and media workers killed, six each
NEW YORK: Last year was the deadliest for journalists in recent history, with at least 124 reporters killed — and Israel responsible for nearly 70 percent of that total, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported Wednesday.
The uptick in killings, which marks a 22 percent increase over 2023, reflects “surging levels of international conflict, political unrest and criminality worldwide,” the CPJ said.
It was the deadliest year for reporters and media workers since CPJ began keeping records more than three decades ago, with journalists murdered across 18 different countries, it said.
A total of 85 journalists died in the Israeli-Hamas war, “all at the hands of the Israeli military,” the CPJ said, adding that 82 of them were Palestinians.
Sudan and Pakistan recorded the second highest number of journalists and media workers killed, with six each.
In Mexico, which has a reputation as one of the most dangerous countries for reporters, five were killed, with CPJ reporting it had found “persistent flaws” in Mexico’s mechanisms for protecting journalists.
And in Haiti, where two reporters were murdered, widespread violence and political instability have sown so much chaos that “gangs now openly claim responsibility for journalist killings,” the report said.
Other deaths took place in countries such as Myanmar, Mozambique, India and Iraq.
“Today is the most dangerous time to be a journalist in CPJ’s history,” said the group’s CEO Jodie Ginsberg.
“The war in Gaza is unprecedented in its impact on journalists and demonstrates a major deterioration in global norms on protecting journalists,” she said.
CPJ, which has kept records on journalist killings since 1992, said that 24 of the reporters were deliberately killed because of their work in 2024.
Freelancers, the report said, were among the most vulnerable because of their lack of resources, and accounted for 43 of the killings in 2024.
The year 2025 is not looking more promising, with six journalists already killed in the first weeks of the year, CPJ said.
124 journalists killed, most by Israel, in deadliest year for reporters
- The uptick in killings marks a 22 percent increase over 2023
- Journalists murdered across 18 different countries, including Palestine's Gaza, Sudan and Pakistan
NEW YORK: Last year was the deadliest for journalists in recent history, with at least 124 reporters killed — and Israel responsible for nearly 70 percent of that total, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported Wednesday.
The uptick in killings, which marks a 22 percent increase over 2023, reflects “surging levels of international conflict, political unrest and criminality worldwide,” the CPJ said.
It was the deadliest year for reporters and media workers since CPJ began keeping records more than three decades ago, with journalists murdered across 18 different countries, it said.
A total of 85 journalists died in the Israeli-Hamas war, “all at the hands of the Israeli military,” the CPJ said, adding that 82 of them were Palestinians.
Sudan and Pakistan recorded the second highest number of journalists and media workers killed, with six each.
In Mexico, which has a reputation as one of the most dangerous countries for reporters, five were killed, with CPJ reporting it had found “persistent flaws” in Mexico’s mechanisms for protecting journalists.
And in Haiti, where two reporters were murdered, widespread violence and political instability have sown so much chaos that “gangs now openly claim responsibility for journalist killings,” the report said.
Other deaths took place in countries such as Myanmar, Mozambique, India and Iraq.
“Today is the most dangerous time to be a journalist in CPJ’s history,” said the group’s CEO Jodie Ginsberg.
“The war in Gaza is unprecedented in its impact on journalists and demonstrates a major deterioration in global norms on protecting journalists,” she said.
CPJ, which has kept records on journalist killings since 1992, said that 24 of the reporters were deliberately killed because of their work in 2024.
Freelancers, the report said, were among the most vulnerable because of their lack of resources, and accounted for 43 of the killings in 2024.
The year 2025 is not looking more promising, with six journalists already killed in the first weeks of the year, CPJ said.
