Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israeli forces have surrounded a hospital in northern Gaza and opened fire on it, local authorities and witnesses have told The National, with ambulances unable to reach the injured as the military lays siege to an area where 300,000 people live.
Doctors Without Borders said it had received reports of people dying from their wounds after emergency crews were unable to bypass the Israeli blockade. The NGO said evictions and bombing of homes were turning the north into an “unlivable wasteland”.
Israeli officials previously announced plans to turn Gaza's north into a military zone, and have ordered people to leave the cities of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia and Beit Lahia.
“We are unable to retrieve these martyrs due to the occupation forces targeting ambulance and civil defence crews,” Gaza government civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told The National on Tuesday.
Gaza's ministry of health said Kamal Adwan Hospital had been surrounded and fired on by Israeli troops. Israeli forces on Tuesday gave staff and patients 24 hours to leave the hospital, as well as two other health facilities – the Indonesian Hospital and Al Awda Hospital. At least 300 patients, including 80 in intensive care, were being treated at the two sites, the ministry said.
Witnesses told The National that people had been shot by Israeli forces while attempting to leave their homes under Israeli orders. Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the Israelis did not provide a safe corridor or evacuation plan. “The occupation is trying to completely disable the healthcare system in northern Gaza, preventing medical services for the injured and those trapped in their homes,” Dr Safiya said.
He said Israeli forces had threatened the hospital would be attacked in the same way as Gaza's Al Shifa hospital if people did not co-operate. In April, the Israeli army conducted a two-week operation against Al Shifa that resulted in dozens of deaths, hundreds of arrests and extensive destruction in the area.
Mahmoud Abu Al Jidian spoke to The National from inside Kamal Adwan Hospital, where he was tending to his injured brother. The 42-year-old said Israeli forces were targeting “anyone who moves”.
“My brother can’t move, and he needs an ambulance, but Israeli forces have refused to grant permission for ambulances to evacuate the patients,” he said. “The army demanded the evacuation of the hospital without providing a safe passage for civilians, the injured, or medical staff. This is something we absolutely cannot do, so we have chosen to remain.”
Elsewhere in Gaza, Israei forces launched fresh air strikes on Wednesday. Twelve people, including nine members of the same family, were killed in two attacks in Gaza city's Al Shujaiya neighbourhood and Al Nuseirat refugee camp, Wafa reported.
Mohammed Hajila, a neighbour of the family killed, said he witnessed the aftermath of the strike. “We heard the sound of an explosion, so we went outside to see what had happened,” he said. “We found that one of our neighbours' houses had been completely destroyed, with the residents still inside. We tried to save those trapped in the house, but unfortunately, we couldn’t reach any of the bodies. No one survived.”
“There was no warning before the attack,” said another neighbour, Khaled Al Selk. In Nuseirat, three people, including a child, were killed in a strike on another home, Wafa reported.
Many Palestinians displaced from their homes by Israeli operations have been forced to move south to overcrowded humanitarian zones in Al Mawasi and Deir Al Balah, where one million people live in dire conditions without proper access to food, water, shelter or sanitation.
Doctors Without Borders said the mass evictions and bombing were “effectively emptying out the whole north of the strip of Palestinian life”. Aid convoys have been prohibited from accessing the besieged areas. “No humanitarian supplies have been allowed to enter the area since October 1,” the NGO said.
However, some Gazans are refusing to leave, knowing they will be unlikely to ever return. Tariq Sultan, 31, who is living in the Jabalia refugee camp, said heading south was not an option.
“Even if they empty the hospitals and block all the roads, we will not head south and leave our homes and land. We will not repeat the mistakes of our parents who fled before. The army is lying about so-called safe zones – there is no safe place, whether in the north or the south of Gaza,” he told The National.
“People here will remain steadfast in their homes … They may move from one spot to another within the area, but heading south is not an option.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
The Greatest Royal Rumble card
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
