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.


Israel agrees on US plan for temporary ceasefire in Gaza, PM’s office says

Israel agrees on US plan for temporary ceasefire in Gaza, PM’s office says
Updated 18 sec ago
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Israel agrees on US plan for temporary ceasefire in Gaza, PM’s office says

Israel agrees on US plan for temporary ceasefire in Gaza, PM’s office says

CAIRO: Israel will adopt the proposal by US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods, the prime minister’s office said early on Sunday, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire was set to expire. 

 


Mourners bury one of the last hostages released from Gaza as talks start for ceasefire future

Mourners bury one of the last hostages released from Gaza as talks start for ceasefire future
Updated 1 min 5 sec ago
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Mourners bury one of the last hostages released from Gaza as talks start for ceasefire future

Mourners bury one of the last hostages released from Gaza as talks start for ceasefire future
  • With the first phase of the ceasefire deal set to end Saturday, relatives of hostages still held in Gaza are ramping up pressure on Netanyahu to secure the release of their loved ones

JERUSALEM: Mourners in Israel on Friday buried the remains of one of the final hostages released in the first phase of the ceasefire between Hamas militants and Israel, as negotiators discussed a second phase that could end the war in Gaza and see the remaining living captives returned home.
The funeral procession for Tsachi Idan, an avid soccer fan who was 49 when he was abducted by Hamas militants, began at a Tel Aviv football stadium en route to the cemetery where he was buried in a private ceremony.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Idan, taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 2023 attack that left 1,200 dead in Israel and sparked the war in Gaza, was killed in captivity.
His body was one of four released by Hamas early Thursday in exchange for over 600 Palestinian prisoners, the last planned swap of the ceasefire’s first phase, which began in January.
Idan was the only one of his family taken to Gaza. His eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed as militants shot through the door of their saferoom. Hamas militants broadcast themselves on Facebook live holding the Idan family hostage in their home, as his two younger children pleaded with the militants to let them go.
“My brother is the real hero. He held on,” Idan’s sister, Noam Idan ben Ezra, said in an interview on Israeli radio Friday. She said Idan had been “a pace away” from being released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023, when more than 100 of the 251 people abducted on Oct. 7 were released.
“Tsachi was forsaken twice. The first time when he was kidnapped from his home and the second time when the deal blew up,” she added. “The fact that Tsachi is not standing next to me today is the outcome of the decision-making and the policy here in Israel. They did not listen to us then, but it’s not too late to listen to us today.”
Concern for remaining hostages
With the first phase of the ceasefire deal set to end Saturday, relatives of hostages still held in Gaza are ramping up pressure on Netanyahu to secure the release of their loved ones.
According to Israel, 32 of the 59 hostages still in Gaza are dead, and there has been growing concern about the welfare of an unknown number who are still alive, particularly after three hostages released Feb. 8 appeared emaciated.
One of the three, Eli Sharabi, said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 Friday that he and other hostages had been held in iron chains, starved and sometimes beaten or humiliated.
“During the first three days, my hands are tied behind my back, my legs are tied, with ropes that tear into your flesh, and a bit of food, a bit of water during the day,” he said, in one of the first interviews by a hostage released under the current deal. “I remember not being able to fall asleep because of the pain, the ropes are already digging into your flesh, and every movement makes you want to scream.”
Sharabi found out after his release that his wife and daughters had been killed during the Oct. 7 attack.
The next phase of the ceasefire
Officials from Israel, Qatar and the United States have started “intensive discussions” on the ceasefire’s second phase in Cairo, Egypt‘s state information service said Thursday. The agreement calls for those talks to bring an end to the war, with the return of all remaining living hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Hamas said in a statement released Friday that it “reaffirms its full commitment to implementing all terms of the agreement in all its stages and details.” It called on the international community to pressure Israel to “immediately proceed to the second phase without any delay or evasion.”
Hamas has rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the first phase by 42 days, saying it goes against the ceasefire agreement, according to a member of the group who requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. The Israeli proposal calls for extending the ceasefire through the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in return for an additional hostage exchange, the Hamas member said.
Netanyahu’s office confirmed he had sent a delegation to Cairo.
Mediators in the talks are “also discussing ways to enhance the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, as part of efforts to alleviate the suffering of the population and support stability in the region,” the statement from Netanyahu’s office said.
Israel’s negotiators were to return home Friday night, said an Israeli official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks. Negotiations are set to continue Saturday, the official said. But it was not clear if the Israeli team would travel back to Cairo to attend them.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that the coming days are “critical,” and urged Israel and Hamas to fulfill their commitments.
The first phase of the ceasefire, which paused 15 months of fighting, saw the release of 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has vowed to return all the hostages and destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza.
But it’s unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas without resuming the war, and Hamas is unlikely to release the remaining hostages — its main bargaining chips — without a lasting ceasefire.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, who don’t differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but say over half the dead have been women and children.
Palestinians prepare for Ramadan amid destroyed homes
Palestinians who returned to destroyed homes in Gaza City started Friday to prepare for Ramadan, shopping for essential household goods and foods. Some say the Islamic holy month feels better than one spent last year, but still far from normal.
“The situation is very difficult for people and life is very hard. Most people — their homes have been destroyed. Some people can’t afford to shop for Ramadan, but our faith in God is great as he never forgets to bless people,” said Gaza City resident Nasser Shoueikh.
Ramadan is a holy Islamic month during which observant Muslims around the world practice the ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset. It’s often known for increased prayers, charity and spirituality as well as family gatherings enjoying different dishes and desserts during Iftar, when Muslims break their fasting, and Suhoor, the last meal before sunrise.


US says killed military leader of Syria Al-Qaeda affiliate

US says killed military leader of Syria Al-Qaeda affiliate
Updated 8 min 34 sec ago
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US says killed military leader of Syria Al-Qaeda affiliate

US says killed military leader of Syria Al-Qaeda affiliate
  • On February 22, it said a “precision air strike” had killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a leader of the group which the US classifies as a terrorist organization

WASHINGTON: The US Army said Saturday it had killed a top military leader of Hurras Al-Din, a Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda which announced its dissolution in January.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM), in charge of American forces in the Middle East, said in a statement that its forces on February 23 “conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras Al-Din.”
Since Hurras Al-Din announced in late January that it was dissolving itself, US air strikes have killed several of the group’s leaders, according to CENTCOM.
On February 22, it said a “precision air strike” had killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a leader of the group which the US classifies as a terrorist organization.
American forces are in Syria as part of an international coalition created in 2014 to fight the terrorists of the Daesh group.
After a rebel alliance led by radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham toppled President Bashar Assad and took power in Damascus on December 8, Hurras Al-Din said it no longer needed to exist.
The group, including foreign jihadists, was based in mountainous northwestern Syria.
 

 


’Steadfast’ Gazans begin second Ramadan among rubble

’Steadfast’ Gazans begin second Ramadan among rubble
Updated 18 min 29 sec ago
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’Steadfast’ Gazans begin second Ramadan among rubble

’Steadfast’ Gazans begin second Ramadan among rubble
  • Israeli bombardment or fighting has displaced almost the entire population and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations

RAFAH, Palestinian Territories: A red-covered table stretching several hundred meters carved a path through mounds of rubble in southern Gaza on Saturday, as families gathered to break their fast during the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
As the sun set over a neighborhood in Rafah, where fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants has left barely a handful of buildings standing, hundreds of Gazans of all ages dug into their Iftar meal marking the end of the day’s fast.
“People are deeply saddened, and everything around us feels heartbreaking,” said Malak Fadda, who had organized the communal meal.
“So, we decided to bring joy back to this street, just as it was before the war.”

A woman looks on as Palestinians gather for a communal iftar, or fast-breaking meal, on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, amid building rubble in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 1, 2025. (AFP)

As the crowd sat down to eat, uncertainty loomed over the next stages of the Gaza ceasefire, the first phase of which was drawing to a close on Saturday after largely bringing an end to more than 15 months of fighting.

A second stage is supposed to pave the way for a more permanent end to the war, but negotiations have so far been inconclusive.

Music wafted from loudspeakers through the crowd in Rafah, who sat on a long row of plastic chairs under bunting, Palestinian flags and lights strung between the broken concrete.

People gather for the iftar, or fast-breaking meal, on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 1, 2025 by the rubble of collapsed buildings that were destroyed during the war between Israel and Hamas, amid the ongoing truce. (AFP)

The war sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel has left over 69 percent of Gaza’s buildings damaged or destroyed.
Israeli bombardment or fighting has displaced almost the entire population and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations.
The truce that took effect on January 19 has enabled greater aid flows into the devastated Palestinian territory, but hundreds of thousands continue to live in tents, with many camped out in the rubble of their former homes.
“On the first day of Ramadan, we had hoped to return to our houses to break our fast with our families and be together at our homes,” Rafah resident Umm Al-Baraa Habib told AFP.

People arrive for the iftar, or fast-breaking meal, on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 1, 2025 by the rubble of collapsed buildings that were destroyed during the war between Israel and Hamas, amid the ongoing truce. (AFP)

“But this is God’s will, and we remain steadfast,” she added.

In the northern city of Beit Lahia, dozens defiantly joined together in the fading evening light to break the fast among the remnants of half-collapsed buildings.
“We are here in the midst of destruction and rubble and we are steadfast despite the pain and our wounds,” said Mohammed Abu Al-Jidyan.
“Here we are eating Iftar on our land and we will not leave this place,” he added.
United States President Donald Trump has floated an idea for a US takeover of Gaza under which its Palestinian population would be relocated — a proposal met with global condemnation.

Palestinians break their fast by eating the Iftar meals during the holy month of Ramadan, near the rubble of buildings, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 1, 2025. (REUTERS)

Before the break of dawn in the southern city of Khan Yunis, fluorescent pink, yellow and blue lights illuminated a largely war-destroyed neighborhood where a small crowd had gathered for the Suhur meal, eaten ahead of fasting.
A mural reading “Ramadan brings us together” with a crescent moon was painted onto one of the walls left standing.
The day before young people had hung colorful Ramadan lanterns, flags and decorations between the rubble, while vendors displayed balloons and toys for children.
But the usual joy of the Muslim holy month has brought little hope to many of Gaza’s war displaced.
“My children sometimes ask me for clothes and food, but I can’t provide for them because I have been out of work for a year and a half,” said Omar Al-Madhoun, a resident of the hard-hit Jabalia camp in north Gaza.
“We sit among the destruction, not knowing how to manage our lives. We also fear that the war will return, bringing even more destruction,” he told AFP on Friday, the day the start of Ramadan was announced.
Hamas’s attack on Israel that began the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s retaliation has killed 48,388 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory whose figures the UN has deemed reliable.
The first phase of the truce has seen Hamas free 25 living hostages and return the bodies of eight others to Israel in exchange for more than 1,700 Palestinian prisoners.
 

 


Israel’s military is told to prepare to defend a Druze community outside Syria’s capital

Israel’s military is told to prepare to defend a Druze community outside Syria’s capital
Updated 42 min 36 sec ago
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Israel’s military is told to prepare to defend a Druze community outside Syria’s capital

Israel’s military is told to prepare to defend a Druze community outside Syria’s capital
  • The Druze are a religious minority who live in southern Syria and in Israel’s Golan Heights, where they navigate their historically Syrian identity while living under Israeli rule

JERUSALEM: Israel’s defense ministry on Saturday said the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was “under attack” by Syrian forces.
The statement, citing an order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, follows an Israeli warning last weekend that the forces of neighboring Syria’s new government and the insurgent group that led last year’s ouster of former President Bashar Assad should not enter the area south of Damascus.
Saturday’s statement indicates that Israeli forces could push farther into Syria as its new authorities try to consolidate control after more than a decade of civil war. Israeli forces recently set up posts in a buffer zone and on strategic Mt. Hermon nearby. There have been no major clashes between Israeli troops and Syria’s new forces.
“We will not allow the terrorist regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be harmed by us,” the statement said.
There was no immediate response from Syria’s government.
The Druze are a religious minority who live in southern Syria and in Israel’s Golan Heights, where they navigate their historically Syrian identity while living under Israeli rule.
Israel’s statement followed the outbreak of unrest Friday in the Druze settlement of Jaramana, when a member of the security forces entered and started shooting in the air, leading to an exchange of fire with local gunmen that left him dead.
On Saturday, gunmen came from the Damascus suburb of Mleiha to Jaramana, where they clashed with Druze gunmen. That left one Druze fighter dead and nine other people wounded, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor.
The Israeli warning last Sunday to Syrian forces and Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the main former rebel group, made clear that Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria for an indefinite period.
“We demand the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida from the forces of the new regime,” that earlier statement said. “Likewise, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria.”
After the fall of Assad in December, Israel seized the UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory. The zone was set up under a 1974 ceasefire agreement. Syria’s new authorities and UN officials have called for Israel to withdraw.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s government has been under pressure to protect Israelis living near border areas in the north as it tries to return residents of the north to their homes.