CAIRO: A US vascular surgeon who left Gaza after a stint as a volunteer said on Wednesday nothing had prepared him for the scale of injuries he had faced there.
Dozens of patients a day. Most of them young. Most facing complicated injuries caused by shrapnel. Most ending up with amputations.
“Vascular surgery is really a disease for older patients and I would say I had never operated on anybody less than 16, and that was the majority of patients that we did this time around,” Shariq Sayeed, from Atlanta, Georgia, told Reuters in Cairo.
“Most were patients 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 years of age. Mostly shrapnel wounds, and that was something I have never dealt with, that was something new.”
In his stint at the European Hospital in Gaza, Sayeed said his team would deal with 40-60 patients a day. The vast majority were amputation cases.
“And unfortunately there is a very high incidence of infection as well so once you have an amputation that doesn’t heal, you end of getting a higher amputation,” he said.
Around 70 percent of the surgeries he performed were on injuries caused by shrapnel, the rest mostly from blast injuries and collapsing buildings.
Ismail Mehr, an anaesthesiologist from New York State, who led the Gaza mission, said the volunteer medics were “speechless at what we saw” when they arrived this month in southern Gaza.
Mehr is chairman of IMANA Medical Relief, a program that focuses on disaster medical relief and health care support and has provided treatment to over 2.5 million patients in 34 countries and counting.
He has been to Gaza several times in the past, but could not imagine what he saw this time: “Truly everywhere I saw was destruction in Khan Younis, not a single building standing.”
Out of 36 hospitals that used to serve more than 2 million residents, just 10 were somewhat functional by early April, according to the World Health Organization.
Health facilities lacked medical supplies, equipment, staff, and power supplies, Mehr said. His biggest fear now is an expected Israeli assault into the southern city of Rafah, where half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought shelter.
“I hope and I pray that Rafah is not attacked,” he said. “The health system will not be able to take care of that. It will be a complete catastrophe.”
US surgeon in Gaza: nothing prepared me for scale of injuries
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US surgeon in Gaza: nothing prepared me for scale of injuries
- Around 70 percent of the surgeries he performed were on injuries caused by shrapnel
- Team would deal with 40-60 patients a day
One SDF fighter killed in attack by Daesh in eastern Syria
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Daesh in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government, now led by former militants who toppled President Bashar Assad last year.
Syria’s new authorities have clashed with Daesh fighters, particularly in the east. Last month, Daesh killed five SDF fighters in one of the deadliest recent attacks against the group.
Egypt rejects all Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, El-Sisi tells Aoun
- During a meeting in Cairo, Egyptian president pledges support for stability in Lebanon and reconstruction of his counterpart’s country
- Lebanese president says Lebanon needs ‘stability and lasting peace in our region, built on justice’ and his nation cannot be excluded from this just peace
BEIRUT: Egypt rejects repeated Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and its occupation of parts of the country, and supports Lebanon’s reconstruction efforts, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Monday as he received a visit in Cairo from his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun.
The two leaders discussed ways in which bilateral relations might be strengthened and Egypt can support stability in Lebanon, as well as broader challenges to regional peace.
During a joint press conference following their talks, El-Sisi said that his country remains firm in its support of Lebanon’s internal stability and efforts to safeguard its full sovereignty.
He said Egypt continues to call on Israeli authorities to withdraw their forces immediately and unconditionally from Lebanese territory, respect the 1949 Armistice Agreements with Arab states, and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Resolution 1701 was adopted in 2006 with the aim of resolving the conflict that year between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
El-Sisi said his country will not interfere in internal Lebanese affairs but is keen to have a strong relationship with the nation. The president added that he wants Egypt to support reconstruction efforts in Lebanon, called on the wider international community also to assume its responsibilities in this process, and affirmed the need to enhance the nation’s internal stability and preserve its full sovereignty.
“On the political level, there should be a voice that supports Lebanon and its president, namely when it comes to calling for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the five occupied hills, and addressing the remaining issues calmly and regularly in accordance with the Lebanese president’s wish in order to preserve the country’s security and stability,” El-Sisi said.
Turning to the situation in Palestine, he stressed the need to end Israeli hostilities in Gaza immediately. He called for the mobilization of the international community to implement a Gaza reconstruction plan without any displacement of the population, and to enable Palestinian authorities to carry out their role in fully managing the territory.
Aoun praised the depth of the Lebanese-Egyptian relationship, saying it is built on “freedom and openness.” He affirmed the commitment of his nation to Resolution 1701, which he said preserves his country’s sovereignty and territorial unity, and emphasizes the importance of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s role in the south of the country.
He called for a halt to Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and said: “We affirm the necessity to put an end to Israeli hostilities, and adhere to the provisions of the 1949 Armistice Agreement in a way that ensures security and stability in southern Lebanon and the whole region.”
The Lebanese president urged the international community to “fulfill its responsibilities, particularly in compelling Israel to adhere to the ceasefire agreement, reached under US and French sponsorship, in order to maintain security and stability in Lebanon and the region, withdraw from all Lebanese territories up to our internationally recognized and demarcated borders, and facilitate the return of Lebanese prisoners.”
Aoun also emphasized his nation’s “commitment to establishing the best possible relations” with neighboring Syria, and highlighted the importance of “coordination and cooperation between the two countries to address shared challenges, particularly concerning the issue of Syrian refugees.”
He underscored “the necessity of ensuring the safe and dignified return of the refugees to their homeland,” and urged the governments of Syria and Lebanon “to act swiftly through joint committees that have been agreed upon to achieve this, thereby safeguarding the interests of both nations and their peoples.”
He affirmed Lebanon’s support for all efforts to preserve Syrian unity and sovereignty and address the aspirations of its people. He welcomed recent decisions to lift international sanctions against the country, following the fall of the Assad regime, and expressed hopes that this will contribute to its recovery and wider regional stability.
Returning to the situation in his own country, Aoun said Lebanon needs “stability and lasting peace in our region, built on justice by granting all rights to their rightful owners. This is what the Arab countries approved in the Beirut Peace Initiative in 2002 and this is what we look forward to embodying as soon as possible.”
This peace would include “the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state,” he added, and a battle against “extremism and terrorism, poverty and hunger, ideas of elimination and desires of exclusion,” to “achieve development and prosperity for our people.
“I affirm that Lebanon cannot be outside such an equation. It is not in the interest of any Lebanese person, nor any country or people in our region, to exclude itself from the path of a comprehensive and just peace.”
Aoun called for “the establishment of a system for common Arab interests, one of the first pillars of which would be a body regulating the common interests of our countries and peoples, as a prelude to establishing a common regional market that would begin between two countries and gradually expand across sectors and geographies.”
Aoun’s office said that during his talks with El-Sisi the two leaders agreed to convene a joint high-level committee meeting, chaired by the countries’ prime ministers in Cairo on a date to be announced, to examine Lebanon’s needs and establish a working mechanism to help achieve them.
El-Sisi said he wishes to see Egyptian companies operating in Lebanon and providing assistance, as the Lebanese market represents a promising destination for trade and investment.
The Egyptian minister of electricity and renewable energy, Mahmoud Esmat, highlighted the cooperation between the two countries in the electricity sector, and El-Sisi said Lebanon “must be assisted in repairing its (power) grid and in everything that can help secure electricity.” This will be discussed further during the upcoming high-level ministerial committee meeting, he added.
Aoun’s visit to Egypt formed part of his strategic Arab outreach following his election as president in January. The trip to Cairo followed visits to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in what Lebanese presidential sources described as a concerted effort to “forge a new chapter in Lebanon-Arab world relations.”
Tripoli-based govt ‘pursuing permanent truce after clashes’
- UN mission welcomes creation of ceasefire committee, calls for protection of all civilians
TRIPOLI: Libya’s UN-recognized government said on Monday it was pressing efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire after days of deadly clashes in the capital and protests demanding the prime minister’s resignation.
The fighting last week pitted an armed group aligned with the Tripoli-based government against factions it has sought to dismantle, resulting in at least eight dead, according to the UN.
The Libyan Defense Ministry said in a statement that “the efforts toward a ceasefire remain ongoing” and that it was “directly” overseeing the process to ensure stability.
The fighting had largely ended by late on Thursday, according to an Interior Ministry official and the UN mission in Libya, but without any formal ceasefire agreement.
The UN mission, UNSMIL, welcomed on Sunday the creation of a “truce committee building on the fragile peace reached last week” after the violence that saw heavy artillery used in central Tripoli.
UNSMIL said the committee “is focused on facilitating a permanent ceasefire with emphasis on the protection of all civilians, and to agree on security arrangements for Tripoli.”
Tripoli saw a return to relative calm late last week as flights resumed, shops reopened, and people returned to work, but the situation remained volatile as calls for Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s resignation grew.
The clashes were sparked by the killing of an armed faction leader by a group aligned with Dbeibah’s government — the 444 Brigade, which later fought a third group, the Radaa force that controls parts of eastern Tripoli and the city’s airport.
It came after Dbeibah announced a string of executive orders seeking to dismantle Radaa and dissolve other Tripoli-based armed groups, but excluding the 444 Brigade.
The 444 Brigade said on Monday it had uncovered a mass grave with 10 bodies in Abu Salim, a district of Tripoli that before last week was controlled by the group of Abdelghani Al-Kikli, whose killing sparked the clashes.
Dbeibah had accused Al-Kikli’s group, the Support and Stability Apparatus, of multiple abuses, including “cold-blooded” executions and forced disappearance of critics.
In an address on Saturday after securing the public support of several dignitaries, Dbeibah called on armed groups in Tripoli to align themselves with “state institutions.”
“Our goal is a Libya free of militias and corruption,” he said.
Jordanian king, Maltese PM discuss cooperation in energy, tourism
- Robert Abela also met with Prime Minister Jafar Hassan to discuss cooperation in the economy, culture, education, and academia
- King Abdullah stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the flow of humanitarian aid
LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan met with Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela to discuss ties and regional development at Al-Husseiniya Palace in Amman on Monday.
King Abdullah said that the cooperation agreement and memorandums of understanding between Jordan and Malta highlight their commitment to strengthening private sector collaboration.
Crown Prince Hussein attended the meeting, which highlighted the need to receive sick and injured Palestinian children from Gaza for medical treatment.
Abela praised Jordan for promoting stability and peace in the region, providing medical care for Gaza’s children, and offering assistance to Syrian refugees, the Petra news agency reported.
King Abdullah stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the flow of humanitarian aid, reiterating Jordan’s commitment to working with allies for peace and praising Malta’s role in these efforts. He said that tensions in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, along with Israeli plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza, threaten regional stability.
The king and Abela witnessed the signing of a framework agreement for cooperation, along with three memorandums of understanding in the areas of water and energy, tourism, and language exchange and archiving.
On Monday, Abela met with Jordan’s Prime Minister Jafar Hassan to discuss cooperation in the economy, culture, education, and academia sectors.
Their discussion focused on building partnerships in the pharmaceutical and medical industries, future technologies, and potential twinning agreements between tourist cities in both countries, Petra added.
Britain, Canada, France condemn Israel’s ‘egregious actions’ in Gaza
- ‘We are committed to recognizing a Palestinian state as a contribution to achieving a two-state solution and are prepared to work with others to this end’
- Slammed ‘abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate’
PARIS: The leaders of Britain, France and Canada on Monday condemned Israel’s “egregious actions” in Gaza, opposed its expanded offensive, and slammed Israeli ministers for threatening the mass displacement of civilians.
“We will not stand by” while the government of Benjamin Netanyahu pursues those actions, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a joint statement.
“We are committed to recognizing a Palestinian state as a contribution to achieving a two-state solution and are prepared to work with others to this end,” they said.
The statement coincided with a joint demand by 22 countries — including Britain, France and Canada — for Israel to immediately “allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza,” noting that the territory’s population “faces starvation.”
Israel has kept Gaza in a total aid blockade since March 2, but announced on Monday it would allow a limited number of supply trucks.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said the limited aid access was because “images of mass starvation” in Gaza could hurt the legitimacy of his country’s war.
The statement by Britain, France and Canada said that Israel’s “denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law.”
It also slammed “abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate.”
The leaders said that “permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law.”
Israel’s military has stepped up an offensive in Gaza as part of its prolonged response to Hamas’s October 2023 attack that triggered the war and resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Gaza’s health ministry said on Monday at least 3,340 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,486.
