Psychological wounds hard to heal for Gaza war victims

Psychological wounds hard to heal for Gaza war victims
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A young Palestinian amputee evacuated from the Gaza Strip sits on a wheelchair inside an Emirati floating hospital in the Egyptian port of Al-Arish on Jul. 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 05 July 2024
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Psychological wounds hard to heal for Gaza war victims

Psychological wounds hard to heal for Gaza war victims
  • Child amputees and elderly people in wheelchairs are among the patients on the converted ship off Al-Arish funded and operated by the UAE
  • If that only scratches the surface of the needs of Gaza, it reflects the difficulty of providing aid for the sealed and bombarded territory

AL-ARISH, Egypt: On a floating hospital near Gaza, doctors aren’t just treating physical wounds — they’re providing emotional support too for children and adults haunted by months of terrifying war.
Child amputees and elderly people in wheelchairs are among the patients on the converted ship off Arish, northern Egypt, funded and operated by the United Arab Emirates.
About 2,400 people have been treated at the temporary facility, whose rows of tents below deck hold about 100 patients at a time, says deputy medical director Abdullah Al-Zahmi.
If that only scratches the surface of the needs of Gaza, it reflects the difficulty of providing aid for the sealed and bombarded territory.
More than 38,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war broke out nearly nine months ago, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Nine-year-old Yazan is one of those traumatized by the war, after being brought to the hospital about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Gaza without his parents and having a leg amputated because of his wounds.
Zahmi jokes with the boy, asks how his parents are doing in Gaza and assures him he will soon have a prosthetic leg fitted.
“The traditional relationship between the patient and the doctor” has dissolved, the doctor tells AFP.
“Every day we see each other, we speak comfortably, and we care about their needs, problems, and psychological pain.”
Yazan’s parents were not allowed to accompany him through the Rafah crossing into Egypt, Zahmi says, without giving further details. The route was closed by Israeli forces in early May.
The boy’s condition “was initially a concern for us, as dealing with him was difficult because he was emotional and in need of his mother and father.”
“But as days passed, we began to include Yazan as one of our family... and now he has become an icon for us because of his clinging to life, his constant smile, and everyone’s love for him,” Zahmi says.
The child is undergoing psychological and social rehabilitation and communicates daily with his family, Zahmi adds.
Smiling as he sits inside one of the tents, Yazan shows the doctor a picture of him with his father before the outbreak of war last October.
After his artificial leg is fitted, Yazan says he wants to “walk and play football,” adding that his “favorite player is (Cristiano) Ronaldo.”
“I would like to return to Gaza and live with my father and mother,” he says.
Zahmi says more than 840 operations have been carried out at the hospital, which has a surgical department, an intensive care and anaesthesia unit, X-ray facilities, a pharmacy and laboratory.
Its 60 staff span specialities including orthopaedics, internal care, neurosurgery and dentistry.
The hospital also provides communal spaces and communications with relatives in Gaza or elsewhere, Zahmi says.
“We provide them with high-speed Internet, outdoor areas for playing and resting, and a place for prayer,” he says.
In the main loading area of the 200-meter ship, ambulances are preparing to transfer patients to a plane to the UAE, where they will receive further treatment.
According to Zahmi, they are among those chosen as part of a UAE initiative to receive 1,000 wounded children and 1,000 cancer-sufferers from the Gaza Strip.
Other patients discharged from the hospital are taken to housing designated for them by Egyptian authorities.
For any patients who need further treatment but who are not being flown to the UAE, the Emirates Red Crescent will cover their costs at an Egyptian hospital.
Fadia Al-Madhun, 44, is on the floating hospital with her husband, who was injured in a bombing that targeted their Gaza home.
“We left the house. It was bombed. We did not take clothes or anything else,” says Madhun, wearing a floral hijab.
“They gave us everything (including) psychological support for our children,” she adds.
Zahmi says the hospital staff have seen “many families who lost their children and people who lost their fathers and mothers, and therefore we understand the tragedies.”
“We listen a lot and try to accept, but in the end, no matter how much we console them, the wound runs deep and remains in the memory,” he adds.


UAE sends aid ship to Gaza as part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3

UAE sends aid ship to Gaza as part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3
Updated 2 sec ago
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UAE sends aid ship to Gaza as part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3

UAE sends aid ship to Gaza as part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3
  • Ship transported 5,820 tonnes of food, medicines, medical equipment, and shelter materials
  • Initiative reflects the UAE leadership’s commitment to providing humanitarian aid to those in need

LONDON: The UAE dispatched a ship loaded with thousands of tonnes of aid relief to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as part of an ongoing humanitarian campaign.

Zayed Humanitarian Ship 7 departed Saturday evening from Hamriyah Port in Dubai, bound for the Egyptian port of El-Arish to aid Palestinians.

The ship transported 5,820 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food, medicines, medical equipment, and shelter materials. The aid is part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, which aims to support Palestinians in Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan.

This initiative reflects the UAE leadership’s commitment to providing humanitarian aid to those in need, the Emirates News Agency reported.

The dispatch of the aid-laden ship is part of a series of humanitarian initiatives led by the UAE. Several humanitarian organizations are contributing to the effort, including the Emirates Red Crescent and Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation.

Last week, four aid planes from the UAE landed at El-Arish International Airport also as part of the country’s efforts to support Palestinian families in Gaza.


Turkish and British officials to discuss post-Assad Syria in Ankara talks

Turkish and British officials to discuss post-Assad Syria in Ankara talks
Updated 21 min 57 sec ago
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Turkish and British officials to discuss post-Assad Syria in Ankara talks

Turkish and British officials to discuss post-Assad Syria in Ankara talks
  • NATO-member Turkiye was a main backer of rebels who fought Bashar Assad for years
  • Britain said last month it would adapt its Syria sanctions regimes after Assad’s fall

ANKARA: Turkish and British officials will discuss the Syrian Arab Republic’s future during a meeting in Ankara on Monday, with security, sanctions and economic development on the agenda, a Turkish foreign ministry source said on Sunday.
NATO-member Turkiye was a main backer of rebels who fought Bashar Assad for years and it has forged close ties with the new administration in Damascus following Assad’s ouster last year. It has promised to help rebuild Syria and offered assistance to train and equip its security forces.
Britain said last month it would adapt its Syria sanctions regimes after Assad’s fall, but will ensure asset freezes and travel bans imposed on members of the former government remain in place.
The Turkish source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Monday’s talks would be led by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and British junior Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer.
Yilmaz will emphasize the need for sanctions on Syria to be lifted unconditionally for rebuilding and economic development, the source said.
Yilmaz will also stress “the importance of the international community backing the Syrian administration’s steps toward achieving national reconciliation within a central government,” and push “to stop Israel’s actions openly violating and threatening Syria’s sovereignty,” the source added.
Reuters reported on Friday that Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralized, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkiye’s growing influence in Syria, according to sources familiar with the efforts.
Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Sunday Turkiye had completed an initial phase of repairs and maintenance, including installing new equipment, at Damascus airport as part of Ankara’s efforts to help rebuild the transport hub.


Egypt says Gaza reconstruction plan ready, will intensify efforts for phase two

Women prepare food for iftar on the first day of Ramadan, as they sit by the rubble of collapsed building in shelter in Jabalia.
Women prepare food for iftar on the first day of Ramadan, as they sit by the rubble of collapsed building in shelter in Jabalia.
Updated 52 min 4 sec ago
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Egypt says Gaza reconstruction plan ready, will intensify efforts for phase two

Women prepare food for iftar on the first day of Ramadan, as they sit by the rubble of collapsed building in shelter in Jabalia.
  • Egyptian counter reconstruction plan will not be purely Egyptian or Arab but will gain international support and funding to ensure successful implementation: Abdelatty

DUBAI: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Sunday the Egyptian Gaza reconstruction plan, that ensures Palestinians remain in their land, is ready and will be presented to the emergency Arab summit on March 4.
Arab states who were swift to reject President Donald Trump’s plan for the US to take control of Gaza and resettle Palestinians are scrambling to agree on a diplomatic offensive to counter the idea.
Trump’s plan, announced on February 4 during a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, has infuriated Palestinians and Arab countries and upended decades of US diplomacy focused on a two-state solution.
The Egyptian counter reconstruction plan, according to Abdelatty, will not be purely Egyptian or Arab but will gain international support and funding to ensure its successful implementation.
“We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab Summit,” Abdelatty said in a presser with the European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica.
Abdelatty said Europe’s role, especially in the economic aspect of rebuilding the war-torn enclave, is critical.
Asked about the second phase of the ceasefire deal, Abdelatty said Egypt will continue its intensive efforts to ensure the ceasefire is maintained and negotiations for the second phase can begin.
He stressed the importance of safely executing the ceasefire agreement signed in January, emphasizing its commitment to ensuring its proper implementation.
“The first phase has concluded successfully, and now we must shift to discussions on the second phase, which is key to sustaining the ceasefire,” he said.
“Naturally, it will be difficult, but with goodwill and political determination, it can be achieved.”
Abdelatty said that following the emergency Arab Summit, there will be an urgent ministerial meeting in Saudi Arabia for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, where foreign ministers will push for the summit’s outcomes to be presented globally.
“We will ensure that the results of the Arab summit are presented to the world in the best possible way,” Abdelatty added.


Egypt rejects attempts to form parallel Sudanese government

Egypt rejects attempts to form parallel Sudanese government
Updated 02 March 2025
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Egypt rejects attempts to form parallel Sudanese government

Egypt rejects attempts to form parallel Sudanese government
  • Egypt rejected on Sunday attempts aimed at establishing a rival government in Sudan

CAIRO: Egypt rejected on Sunday attempts aimed at establishing a rival government in Sudan, warning that such moves jeopardized the “unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the war-torn country.
Sudan has been locked in a war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for nearly two years, plunging the country into what the United Nations describes as one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory.
A week ago, the RSF and its allies signed a charter in Kenya declaring the formation of a “government of peace and unity” in areas under their control.
“Egypt expresses its rejection of any attempts that threaten the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of brotherly Sudan, including the pursuit of forming a parallel Sudanese government,” a statement from Cairo’s foreign ministry said Sunday.
It added that such actions “complicate the situation in Sudan, hinder ongoing efforts to unify political visions and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.”
Egypt also called on “all Sudanese forces to prioritize the country’s supreme national interest and to engage positively in launching a comprehensive political (peace) process without exclusion or external interference.”
Last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty voiced the same stance in a press conference alongside his Sudanese counterpart Ali Youssef.
“Sudan’s territorial integrity is a red line for Egypt,” he said, adding that his country “rejects any calls to establish alternative structures outside the current framework.”
The paramilitaries’ move to form a rival government has drawn sharp criticism, including from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who warned it would “further deepen Sudan’s fragmentation.”
Saudi Arabia, which previously mediated ceasefire talks between the warring sides, also rejected the RSF’s move.
In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency on Friday, Riyadh’s foreign ministry warned against “any step or illegal measure taken outside the framework of official institutions.”
Kuwait echoed that position on Friday, saying it rejected “any unlawful actions taken outside the framework of legitimate state institutions” in Sudan, calling them “a threat to its territorial unity.”
At a UN Human Rights Council dialogue on Friday, Saudi Arabia’s Gulf neighbor Qatar also expressed its support for “Sudan’s unity and territorial integrity.”


Loss, worry and prayers for better days mark Ramadan’s start as fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza

Loss, worry and prayers for better days mark Ramadan’s start as fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza
Updated 52 min 42 sec ago
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Loss, worry and prayers for better days mark Ramadan’s start as fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza

Loss, worry and prayers for better days mark Ramadan’s start as fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza
  • For Palestinians observing Ramadan in Gaza, the Muslim holy month started this year under a fragile ceasefire agreement

JABALIYA: Before the war, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was a festive time of increased worship, social gatherings and cheer for Fatima Al-Absi. Together with her husband, the resident of Jabaliya in Gaza said she used to do Ramadan shopping, visit relatives and head to the mosque for prayers.
But the Israel-Hamas war has shredded many of the familiar and cherished threads of Ramadan as Al-Absi once knew it: her husband and a son-in-law have been killed, her home was damaged and burnt and the mosque she attended during Ramadan destroyed, she said.
“Everything has changed,” she said on Saturday as her family observed the first day of Ramadan. “There’s no husband, no home, no proper food and no proper life.”
For Al-Absi and other Gaza residents, Ramadan started this year under a fragile ceasefire agreement that paused more than 15 months of a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated the Gaza Strip. Compared to last Ramadan, many found relief in the truce — but there’s also worry and fear about what’s next and grief over the personal and collective losses, the raw wounds and the numerous scars left behind.
“I’ve lost a lot,” said the 57-year-old grandmother, who’s been reduced to eking out an existence amid the wreckage. “Life is difficult. May God grant us patience and strength,” she added.
Israel cut off all aid and other supplies to Gaza on Sunday to pressure Hamas to accept a new proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire. Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the existing ceasefire agreement, but both sides stopped short of declaring the truce over.
“We’re scared because there’s no stability,” Al-Absi said and added that she’s praying for the war to end and that she can’t bear any more losses. She spoke before Israel announced the new proposal and the aid cutoff on Sunday.
Though Ramadan is still far from normal, some in the Gaza Strip said that, in some ways, it feels better than last year’s.
“We can’t predict what will happen next,” Amal Abu Sariyah, in Gaza City, said before the month’s start. “Yes, the country is destroyed and the situation is very bad, but the feeling that the shelling and the killing ... have stopped, makes you (feel) that this year is better than the last one.”
Overshadowed by war and displacement, last Ramadan was “very bad” for the Palestinian people, she said. The 2024 Ramadan in Gaza began with ceasefire talks then at a standstill, hunger worsening across the strip and no end in sight to the war.
The war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel in which Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Israel’s military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Vast areas of Gaza have been destroyed.
Under the ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flooded back into northern Gaza. After initial relief and joy at returning to their homes — even if damaged or destroyed — they’ve been grappling with living amid the wreckage.
As Palestinians in the Gaza Strip prepared for Ramadan, shopping for essential household goods and food, some lamented harsh living conditions and economic hardships, but also said they rely on their faith in God to provide for them.
“I used to help people. ... Today, I can’t help myself,” said Nasser Shoueikh. “My situation, thank God, used to be better and I wasn’t in need for anything. ... We ask God to stand by us.”
For observant Muslims the world over, Ramadan is a time for fasting daily from dawn to sunset, increased worship, religious reflection, charity and good deeds. It often brings families and friends together in festive gatherings around meals to break their fast.
Elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, Fatima Barbakh, from the southern city of Khan Younis, said her Ramadan shopping was limited to the essentials.
“We can’t buy lanterns or decorations like we do every Ramadan,” she said.
Back in Jabaliya, Al-Absi bitterly recalled how she used to break her fast with her husband, how much she misses him and how she remembers him when she prays.
“We don’t want war,” she said. “We want peace and safety.”