Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Four cancer patients in the Gaza Strip have died within hours of being taken to other medical centres after the closure of the enclave's only specialist cancer hospital.
As Israel's siege and war continue, the medical infrastructure of the Palestinian enclave is on the brink of collapse.
At least 16 of the strip's 35 hospitals have gone out of service because of shelling or lack of fuel, the Health Ministry in Gaza said, while other facilities warned supplies were dwindling.
Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital director Dr Subhi Skeik told The National on Friday that it “ran out of fuel on Wednesday and anywhere between 50 to 70 patients were taken to other, already overloaded facilities, like Al Shifa, Al Aqsa and Dar Al Salam hospitals”.
“It was a choice between keeping them in the facility without electricity, waste management or machines for chemotherapy, or risking their lives by transporting them and getting them potentially killed in an air strike.
“If we get fuel, we will become operational again,” said Dr Skeik, now stationed with his staff at Dar Al Salam Hospital.
The closure of all borders has also eliminated patients' chances of receiving cancer treatment in the occupied West Bank, Israel or Jordan.
“This was already a long and drawn-out process with many rejections,” said Dr Skeik. “Now, patients no longer have the option of travelling abroad for treatment under the Ministry of Health’s sponsorship, as we used to do in the past.”
Other stories of survival and life-saving work have emerged during the war.
In one video posted by the Palestinian Red Crescent, a paramedic is emotional as he holds an infant he has just rescued.
Spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza, Mohammad Abu Msabbah, said the war was taking its toll on paramedics.
“One of our crew members went to his home and discovered that his father was killed [in a strike],” he said. “Another evacuated his family thinking it would be safer, but they were killed anyway. Imagine not being able to go say goodbye.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent has lost four of its crew members and four volunteers since the war broke out on October 7.
Others, such as British-Palestinian surgeon Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta do not know when, or if, they will see their families again.
He says he has “made peace” with his difficult decision to leave the comfort of his UK home to help in Gaza.
“I have made my peace with the idea that things can go very wrong and I would not see my family again. But we all make our bed.”
If “you feel you can make a difference, you feel the need to be there”, said the 63-year-old father of three.
Dr Abu Sitta has been working mostly in northern Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital, which has been long under threat of Israeli bombardment.
In just under a month of war, more than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed, including 3,760 children, according to the Ministry of Health.
More than 21,500 Palestinians have been injured and are being treated using increasingly rudimentary methods and tools, as medical supplies run out.
“You’re continuously trying to balance what you can do with what you have,” said Dr Abu Sitta, who has been working relentlessly over the past few weeks.
“Everything needed for the treatment of the … wounded people is running out,” he said. “This started with the antiseptic solution. We're using bottles of washing-up liquid, which I get from the shop so that the [antiseptic] liquid we have is saved for blades, sutures and dressings.
“Numbers [of injured] keep increasing. Ambulances never stop.”
On October 19, Dr Abu Sitta, who has been documenting his experience in Gaza to a growing number of followers on social media, posted a photo of a bottle of rose-flavoured vinegar with the caption: “Vinegar from the corner shop to treat pseudomonas bacterial wound infections. It's come to that.”
Since the start of Israeli bombing, Gaza's hospitals have been turned into bloody shelters.
In the northern Al Shifa Hospital, new terminology has been given to the type of cases being handled.
“WCNSF = Wounded Child, No Surviving Family. It's a thing in Gaza,” Dr Abu Sitta wrote on October 15.
At least 44 medical staff members have been killed in the war so far. Al Shifa itself is under threat of closing, too, and the Ministry of Health has made an urgent plea for fuel donations to the hospital before its main generator runs out.
About 50,000 people have sought refuge in the compound of the hospital, Dr Abu Sitta said.
“It has turned into a shanty town with cardboard, tarpaulin, tents and people sleeping on mattresses on the floor,” he said.
“These internally displaced people are living in the stairwells and corridors of the hospital”.
He said there were about four times the number of wounded than there are beds in the hospital.
“The wounded are on mattresses on the floors, on trolleys, everywhere you can imagine,” he said.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
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- It can be as long as you link
- But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
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- That's about it
From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
Honeymoonish
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
More on Quran memorisation:
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Challenge Cup result:
1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults
'Project Power'
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback
Director: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Rating: 3.5/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
