The evacuation highlighted the escalating humanitarian crisis, with thousands of Palestinians in need of urgent care outside the besieged territory.
Dozens of patients have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip as the health system risks collapse due to Israeli strikes on and around hospitals. Early Tuesday, 45 patients were transported from Khan Yunis to the United Arab Emirates, passing through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing.
Among them was Abdullah Abu Yousef, 10, who suffers from kidney failure. He was accompanied by his sister, the Israeli authorities having rejected his mother’s request to join him.
“The boy is sick”said his mother, Abeer Abu Yousef. “He needs hemodialysis three to four days a week.” The enclave’s Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, says several thousand Palestinians in Gaza need medical treatment abroad. The Israeli offensive, launched following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, devastated the territory’s health care system, forcing the closure of most hospitals. Those that remain operational only work partially.
Israel has controlled all entry and exit points since seizing the southern city of Rafah in May. The United Nations reports that Israeli strikes have devastated Gaza’s health system, which is “on the verge of total collapse”.
In a report, it documents 136 strikes on hospitals and medical facilities since October 2023, warning of violations of international law.
“This report details the destruction of the health system in Gaza and the scale of the killings of patients, staff and other civilians in these attacks, in blatant disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law.”said Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Israel claims the militants used the hospitals for military purposes, although the United Nations says there is insufficient evidence to support the claims.
Netanyahu participates in budget vote after surgery
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in Parliament on Tuesday for a critical vote on the budget, less than two days after prostate surgery, defying doctors’ advice.
His governing coalition managed to secure a majority in a last-minute effort. The vote was crucial because Tuesday marked the last day of the 2024 fiscal year, and a failure of the measure would have forced the government to seek other funding to cover a deficit of around 10 billion Israeli shekels (2.6 billion euros).
Coalition unity remains strained, with far-right Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordering his party to oppose the budget.
US targets Houthis in airstrikes
The United States launched airstrikes against Houthi military installations in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, targeting command centers and weapons storage after Houthi attacks on US ships in the Red Sea.
Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdul-Salam called the action “blatant violation of sovereignty”.
The Houthis have launched drones and missiles at Israel and targeted shipping in the Red Sea corridor, saying these attacks would continue until Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas in the Strip. Gaza.
Israel recognizes assassination of Hamas leader
For the first time, Israel acknowledged its role in the January 2024 assassination of Hamas leader Saleh Arouri in Beirut.
Mr. Arouri is one of five Hamas figures assassinated in Lebanon this year, according to the Israeli security service Shin Bet.
France strikes Islamic State in Syria
France has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria for the first time since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, according to Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
While visiting French UN peacekeeping forces in neighboring Lebanon, Lecornu said in a message on X that Sunday’s airstrikes were part of “as part of the fight against terrorism in the Levant”.
France has participated in the international coalition against the Islamic State group, known as Operation Inherent Resolve, since 2014 in Iraq and 2015 in Syria. Despite a rapid offensive by Syrian insurgents that ousted Assad and reshaped the region’s political dynamics, the coalition continued to target IS militants.
Israel claims 2,500 arrests in Gaza in 2024
Israel’s Shin Bet security service claims to have arrested around 2,500 Palestinians in Gaza in 2024, with 650 of them subjected to interrogation.
The agency claimed, without providing evidence, that interrogations made it possible to find nine bodies of hostages kidnapped and taken to Gaza during the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.
Additionally, the Shin Bet revealed that 27 Israelis have been charged with spying for Iran, representing a nearly four-fold increase from 2023.
In the occupied West Bank, 3,682 Palestinians were arrested on suspicion of participating in “terrorist activities”according to the agency.
The UN said that between October and December last year, Israel arrested more than 4,000 Palestinians in the West Bank.
Heavy rains worsen Gaza crisis
In addition to winter temperatures, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in camps face frequent torrential rains. Recent bad weather has damaged tents and equipment in several displacement camps. According to UNRWA, 945,000 people in the Gaza Strip are at risk of serious health problems this winter.