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The start of the rainy season and the possibility of flooding increased fears that the densely populated enclave's sewage system will be overwhelmed and disease will spread. At a U.N. shelter in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the rain brought dismay for displaced people who woke to find the clothes they put out to dry the night had been drenched by rain. It voiced concern on Tuesday about the prospect of rain causing flooding and overwhelming already meagre and damaged sewage facilities. Ahmed Bayram, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the start of the rainy season could mark "the most difficult week in Gaza since the (military) escalation began." Touma said just a small amount of rain could cause the streets of Gaza to flood, given the sewage system's inability to absorb water.

Persons: Khan Younis, Fayeza Srour, Karim Mreish, We've, Margaret Harris, Ahmed Bayram, Israel, Juliette Touma, We're, Touma, Cross, William Schomburg, Emma Farge, Mai Shams El, Timothy Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, Norwegian Refugee Council, Communications, International Committee, ICRC, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Gaza, GAZA, GENEVA, Israel, Geneva, Palestinian, Gazans

☆ U.N. observes minute's silence for 101 staff killed in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The United Nations flag flies at half-mast at the European headquarters, honouring the more than 100 employees killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began last month in Geneva, Switzerland, November 13, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - United Nations workers observed a minute's silence on Monday to honour the more than 100 employees killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began last month as U.N. flags flew at half mast. "This is the highest number of aid workers killed in the history of our organisation in such a short time," said Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the United Nations in Geneva. "We are gathered here today, united in this very symbolic location, to pay respect to our brave colleagues who sacrificed their lives while serving under the United Nations flag." "But the United Nations is more relevant than ever."

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Tatiana Valovaya, Israel, Valovaya, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Cécile, Emma Farge, Nick Macfie Organizations: United Nations, Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, U.N, UNRWA, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Geneva, Switzerland, U.N, Palestinian, Nigeria, Abuja, United

AMMAN/GENEVA, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights chief on Friday urged an investigation into what he called Israel's use of "high-impact explosive weapons" in Gaza, which he said was causing indiscriminate destruction in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Israel's air, sea and land bombardment of Gaza, accompanied now by a ground assault deep inside the territory, aims to destroy the militant group Hamas which controls Gaza. Israel's subsequent bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians according to health authorities in the Palestinian enclave. "The extensive Israeli bombardment of Gaza, including the use of high-impact explosive weapons in densely populated areas ... is clearly having a devastating humanitarian and human rights impact," Turk told a news conference during a visit to Jordan's capital Amman. "But such conduct by Palestinian armed groups does not absolve Israel of its obligation to ensure that civilians are spared."

Persons: Volker Turk, Turk, Israel, Suleiman Al, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Emma Farge, Maytaal, John Davison, Linda Pasquini, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Human Rights, West Bank, Thomson Locations: AMMAN, GENEVA, Gaza, Israel, Amman, Khalidi, Geneva, Jerusalem, Beirut

Smoke rises over Gaza as seen from Southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, November 10, 2023. UNRWA is mourning, Palestinians mourning, Israelis mourning," Philippe Lazzarini said on social media platform X. Besides Gaza, the next most deadly conflicts for U.N. aid workers was Nigeria in 2011 when a suicide bomber attacked its Abuja office during an Islamist insurgency, killing 46. In addition, seven other non-U.N. Palestinian aid workers have been killed in Gaza, the database showed. Established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli war, UNRWA provides public services including schools, healthcare and aid.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, Philippe Lazzarini, Juliette Touma, Israel, Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Riham Alkousaa, Stephanie van den, Miranda Murray, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, GENEVA, United Nations, Reuters, UN, Communications, UNRWA, Aid Worker Security, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Southern Israel, Israel, Palestinian, Nigeria, Abuja, Sudan, Afghanistan, U.S

☆ Russian anti-doping agency hoping for fair ruling in Valieva case
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Russia's national anti-doping agency (RUSADA) said on Friday it hoped for a fair ruling in the doping case of figure skater Kamila Valieva, which is being heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. Valieva tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, which prevents angina, at the Russian national championships in December 2021 as a 15-year-old. Her team has said the positive test could have been due to a mix-up with her grandfather's heart medication. "Like all other participants in these proceedings, we are expecting a fair ruling by the court." One skater on the silver medal-winning U.S. team, Vincent Zhou, said the case showed that the global anti-doping system was "failing athletes".

Persons: Kamila, Valieva, RUSADA, WADA, Vincent Zhou, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Ken Ferris Organizations: Sport, Russian, Russian Olympic Committee, Beijing, Olympics, Doping Agency, International Skating Union, ISU, Beijing Games, U.S, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Switzerland, Lausanne

☆ Israel Must Protect Palestinians in the West Bank - UN Rights Chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

AMMAN (Reuters) - The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday that Israel must take immediate measures to protect Palestinians in the West Bank as they find themselves targeted by more violence since the conflict with Hamas erupted last month. "I also appeal, as a matter of urgency, for Israeli authorities to take immediate measures, to take steps to ensure the protection of Palestinians in the West Bank, who are being on a daily basis subjected to violence from Israeli forces and settlers, ill treatment, arrests, evictions, intimidation and humiliation," Volker Turk told reporters in the Jordanian capital of Amman. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Geneva; Editing by Linda Pasquini)

Persons: Israel, Volker Turk, Suleiman Al, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Linda Pasquini Organizations: United Nations, Human Rights, West Bank, Hamas Locations: AMMAN, Jordanian, Amman, Khalidi, Geneva

☆ Russian figure skater Valieva's doping case resumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Lausanne-based court began hearing her case in September but adjourned the proceedings after a panel of arbitrators asked for further documentation. Valieva tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, designed to prevent angina, at the Russian national championships in December 2021 when she was 15. Her team has said the positive test could have been due to a mix-up with her grandfather's heart medication. The Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) disciplinary commission found that Valieva had committed a violation for which she bore "no fault or negligence". WADA is seeking a four-year ban that would include voiding Valieva's results from the Beijing Games, effectively denying ROC their team event gold medal.

Persons: Kamila Valieva, Valieva, Vincent Zhou, RUSADA, WADA, voiding, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Nick Macfie Organizations: Sport, Beijing, Russian, Russian Olympic Committee, Olympics, Olympic Committee, U.S, Doping Agency, International Skating Union, ISU, Beijing Games, ROC, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Lausanne, Russian

☆ WHO warns of 'worrying trends' in disease spread in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"As deaths and injuries in Gaza continue to rise due to intensified hostilities, intense overcrowding and disrupted health, water, and sanitation systems pose an added danger: the rapid spread of infectious diseases," WHO said. "Some worrying trends are already emerging." It said that the lack of fuel in the densely populated enclave had caused desalination plants to shut down, which increased the risk of bacterial infections like diarrhoea spreading. WHO said that more than 33,551 cases of diarrhoea had been reported since mid-October, the bulk of which among children under five. "Disrupted routine vaccination activities, as well as lack of medicines for treating communicable diseases, further increase the risk of accelerated disease spread," it warned.

Persons: Hassan Zain al Din, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Aurora Ellis Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Israel, Deir ., GENEVA, Gaza

The vivid blue diamond, known as "Bleu Royal" and set in a ring, is among the rarest ever to be unearthed. Max Fawcett, head of Christie's jewellery department in Geneva, said the diamond was unique because of its a deep rich blue colour and its unmodified pear brilliant shape. At its auction on Tuesday, Christie's sold dozens of rare jewellery pieces worth a combined total of more than $77 million. In a separate sale on Monday, Christie's sold a Rolex wristwatch worn by Marlon Brando in the 1979 movie "Apocalypse Now" for more than 4.5 million Swiss francs ($4.99 million). Two years ago, that same watch sold at auction for 2 million Swiss francs.

Persons: Carola Chiadini, Denis, Rahul Kadakia, Max Fawcett, Christie's, Fawcett, There's, Marlon Brando, Cécile Mantovani, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Switzerland, GENEVA, America

☆ UN bodies make united call for humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Masri Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The heads of several major United Nations bodies on Monday made a united call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza as Israeli strikes intensify nearly one month into the conflict. "We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Palestinian envoy to the United Nations Riyad Mansour responded that Griffiths should call for a full ceasefire. "You should be saying clearly and loudly in line with IHL (International Humanitarian Law) that a ceasefire should take place," Mansour said. Israel has rebuffed mounting international pressure for a ceasefire, saying hostages taken by Hamas militants during their rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7 should be released.

Persons: Mohammed Al, Masri, Volker Turk, Tedros Adhanom, Martin Griffiths, It's, Griffiths, United Nations Riyad Mansour, Mansour, Israel, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Emma Farge, Janet Lawrence Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Human Rights, World Health Organization, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza City, Gaza

☆ IOC's ban on Russia cannot be compared with Israel situation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Karolos Grohmann | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach gestures while speaking during the second day of the 141st IOC session in Mumbai, India, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Niharika Kulkarni/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Russia's attempt to compare the country's Olympic Committee suspension with the situation of Israeli athletes following the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas was out of place, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday. The IOC did not ban the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until last month after it recognised regional organisations from four territories annexed from Ukraine. The IOC said on Oct. 12 the ROC would be banned with immediate effect after it recognised Olympic Councils from the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. "Once again we see an example of the bias and failure of the International Olympic Committee, which time after time proves its political bias."

Persons: Thomas Bach, Niharika Kulkarni, Sergei Lavrov, Lavrov, Karolos Grohmann, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Ed Osmond Organizations: Olympic Committee, 141st IOC, REUTERS, Rights, International Olympic, Russian, IOC, Olympics, Olympic, Winter Games, Russian Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committee of, International Olympic Committee, Paris Olympics, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, Israel, Ukraine, Russian, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, United States, Paris

☆ UN cites 'alarming' rise in Israeli army operations in West Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Palestinian woman checks the damage after an Israeli raid, in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The United Nations rights office on Friday described "alarming" conditions in the occupied West Bank, saying Israeli forces were increasingly using military tactics and weapons in law enforcement operations there. The Israeli military has reported a sharp increase in operations against militants in the West Bank since the Oct. 7 attack, making some 1,260 arrests, of whom it said some 760 were affiliated with Hamas. While Hamas and the smaller Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad militant group are mainly based in Gaza, over recent years they have also expanded their presence across the West Bank, notably in volatile cities including Jenin and Nablus. "We have documented that in many of these incidents, settlers were accompanied by members of the Israeli forces, or the settlers were wearing uniforms and carrying army rifles," she said.

Persons: Raneen, Liz Throssell, Throssell, Ammar Al, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Emma Farge, Rachel More, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: West Bank, REUTERS, Rights, United, Human Rights, Hamas, Jihad, Independent Commission of Human, Thomson Locations: Jenin, United Nations, Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Nablus, Palestine, Ramallah, Geneva, videolink

☆ Iran's appointment to chair UN rights meeting draws condemnation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The United States and rights groups complained on Thursday that it was "insulting" to allow Iran's envoy to chair a U.N. human rights council meeting in Geneva, citing violations by Iranian authorities, especially those against women. "Any discussion led by representatives of a regime that continually, and with impunity, infringes upon its own citizens’ human rights is not just fruitless, but an insult to our shared ideals," she added. The two-day meeting called the "social forum" is an annual meeting that aims to improve dialogue between governments and civil society groups, with this year's theme devoted to technology and human rights. Farideh Karimi, an Iranian woman who is president of Women's Human Rights International Association, said her organisation wrote to democratic countries asking them not to attend. Some non-governmental organisations took part, with Justice for Iran criticising Iran's ban on U.S. and UK COVID-19 vaccines.

Persons: Geneva Ali Bahreini, Michèle Taylor, Bahreini, Farideh, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters, Rights International Association, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, United States, Geneva, Islamic Republic, Iran, Asia, Pacific, China, Cuba, Venezuela, Iranian

GENEVA, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever put up for auction could sell for up to $50 million at a Christie's sale of rare jewels in Geneva on Nov. 7, the auctioneer said on Thursday. Known as "Bleu Royal," this vivid blue diamond - which is set in a ring - is among the rarest ever to be unearthed. "What makes Bleu Royal so rare and special is its size. In 2016, Christie's sold a rare, 14.6-carat blue diamond known as the "Oppenheimer Blue" for more than $57 million. Two years ago the watch, now valued at between 1 million and 2 million Swiss francs, sold at auction for $2 million Swiss francs ($2.2 million).

Persons: Rahul Kadakia, Christie's, Oppenheimer, Kadakia, we've, Carola Chiadini, Denis Balibouse, Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Remi Guillemin, Guillemin, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Cécile, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Geneva, Asia, Europe, Switzerland, Christie's

☆ Switzerland lifts extra restrictions against gay men giving blood
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Nurse Agnes Besancon check on Gabriel Delabays during a blood donation on the first day gay men in the country could give blood after Switzerland lifted long-standing restrictions, at the transfusion center CRS in Epalinges near Lausanne, Switzerland, November 1, 2023. Switzerland amended blood donation criteria for men who have sexual relations with other men, making ineligibility criteria the same for homosexuals and heterosexuals. Until 2017, gay men were systematically barred from giving blood in Switzerland, a policy dating to the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. Some other European countries, including Spain and Italy, have no restrictions preventing men who have sexual relations with men from giving blood. France removed additional restrictions on gay blood donors last year.

Persons: Agnes Besancon, Gabriel Delabays, Denis Balibouse, I'm, Gaé, SwissMedic, Donor Delabays, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Swiss Liberal Free Democratic Party, Swiss Transfusion SRC, Thomson Locations: Switzerland, Epalinges, Lausanne, EPALINGES, Swiss, Ecublens, Pink, Spain, Italy, France

Israel is blockading Gaza and refuses to allow in fuel, saying it could be used by the Hamas militant group for their military goals. The U.S. was "working on a mechanism that can get fuel to where it's needed" in Gaza, he said. Medical authorities in Hamas-run Gaza said on Tuesday that 8,525 people including 3,542 minors had been killed. Distribution is particularly hard in northern Gaza, the main focus of Israel's military operation, aid officials say, and some have halted all deliveries. World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said on Tuesday it had sent no further aid to northern Gaza hospitals since Oct. 24, citing a lack of security guarantees.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Gazans, Juliette Touma, Jonathan Crickx, Antony Blinken, Washington, Blinken, Christian Lindmeier, Rick Brennan, David Satterfield, UNRWA's Touma, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Michelle Nichols, Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis, Nidal, William Maclean, Gareth Jones Organizations: UNRWA, International Federation of Red, Red Crescent Societies, UNICEF Palestine, UNICEF, Palestinian, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Handout, REUTERS, White House, Health Organization, WHO, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gaza, U.N, Palestinian, Rafah, Egypt, Israel, Ukraine, The U.S, Palestine, Deir al, Cairo , U.S

☆ Gazans break into aid centres, taking flour and supplies, UN says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Palestinians carry food supplies near a United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) run warehouse in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip October 28, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa Acquire Licensing RightsJERUSALEM, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Thousands of Gaza residents broke into warehouses and distribution centres of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) grabbing flour and "basic survival items", the organisation said on Sunday. One of the warehouses, located in Deir al-Balah, is where UNRWA stores supplies from the humanitarian convoys crossing into Gaza from Egypt. Aid supplies to Gaza have been choked since Israel began bombarding the densely-populated Palestinian enclave in response to a deadly attack by its ruling militant group Hamas on Oct. 7. Established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli war, UNRWA provides public services including schools, primary healthcare and humanitarian aid in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Persons: Khan Younis, Abu Mustafa, John Davison, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Alison Williams, Alexander Smith Organizations: United Nations Palestinian, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Hamas, UNRWA, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Khan, Gaza, East, Deir al, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Jerusalem, Geneva

☆ SNB vice-chairman says further rate hikes may be needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The building of the Swiss National Bank is seen in Zurich, September 22, 2022. SNB last month held its policy interest rate unchanged at 1.75%, noting that inflation - at 1.6% in August and within the central bank's target range of 0-2% - had eased. The vast majority of economists polled by Reuters last month, however, said that the SNB was done with interest rate hikes. He also said that AT1 bonds, which were written off as part of UBS' (UBSG.S) takeover of Credit Suisse, should have been loss-making at an earlier stage. "Despite ongoing losses, Credit Suisse did not suspend interest payments on these instruments," Schlegel said.

Persons: Arnd, Martin Schlegel, SNB, Schlegel, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Swiss National Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Swiss, Credit Suisse, UBS, Thomson Locations: Zurich, Swiss, Switzerland

☆ Despite Biden's doubts, humanitarian agencies consider Gaza toll reliable
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

U.N. and other international agencies say there can be small discrepancies between the final casualty numbers and those reported by the Gaza health ministry straight after attacks, but that they broadly trust them. The figures are initially reported in Gaza, and updated in Ramallah after they have been checked, but discrepancies are generally minimal, he said. In a report published on its website on Nov. 3, 2015, the Palestinian health ministry said the number of people killed in the July-August 2014 conflict in Gaza was 2,322. ISRAELI CONCERNIsrael has been attacking Gaza since cross-border raids in which it said 1,400 people were killed by Hamas in southern Israel. An Israeli military spokesman said this week the Gaza health ministry "continuously inflates the number of civilian casualties" and "has been caught lying in the past".

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden, Mike Ryan, Omar Shakir, Khan Younis, Abu Mustafa, Israel, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, James Mackenzie, Edmund Blair, Washington newsroooms, Timothy Heritage, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Palestinian, Reuters, Humanitarian Affairs, Health, Rights Watch, Palestine, Human Rights, Health Organization, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Hamas, REUTERS, Fatah, Israeli Foreign Ministry, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Arabi, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Gaza, Israel, Geneva, York, Palestinian, Ramallah, Israeli, Al, Ahli, Jerusalem, Beirut, Washington

☆ Gaza needs billions in aid to reverse years of restrictions -UN trade body
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Trucks carrying aid wait to exit, on the Palestinian side of the border with Egypt, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, October 21, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Gaza needs billions of dollars in international economic aid to compensate for years of restrictions that have stifled its economy and curbed its development, according to a report published on Wednesday by the United Nations trade body. "Donors and the international community need to extend significant economic aid to repair the extensive damage Gaza has experienced under prolonged restrictions and closures and frequent military operations, which has stifled the economy and decimated infrastructure," the report said. Nearly half of Gaza's population is unemployed, and more than half lives in poverty, the report said. "Border closures and repeated military operations have set in motion a vicious circle of economic and institutional collapse that has rendered Gaza a case of 'development in reverse,'" the report said.

Persons: Abu Mustafa, Richard Kozul, Wright, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, United, United Nations Conference, Trade, Development, Thomson Locations: Egypt, Israel, Palestinian, Rafah, Gaza, United Nations, Palestinian Territory, Geneva

☆ UN organisations plead for unimpeded Gaza aid 'on our knees'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Displaced Palestinian kids, who fled their houses amid Israeli strikes, take shelter in a tent camp at a United Nations-run centre, after Israel's call for more than 1 million civilians in northern Gaza to move south, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Trucks of aid began moving into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday after intense diplomatic efforts, but the agencies say they are far from enough. Fuel, which has not been sent to the Gaza Strip along with the humanitarian aid, was crucial, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said. Brian Lander, deputy head of emergencies at the World Food Programme, said that some 465 trucks of humanitarian aid were needed per day to support the population in Gaza prior to the conflict. Brennan said one-third of hospitals in the Gaza Strip were now non-functional at a time when the medical burden is enormous, and that some two-thirds of clinics are not functioning.

Persons: Khan Younis, Abu Mustafa, Trucks, Jeremy Laurence, Tamara Alrifai, Brian Lander, Rick Brennan, Brennan, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Mohammed Benmansour, Yusri Mohamed, Rachel More, Janet Lawrence, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: United Nations, UN, Human Rights, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, WHO, WHO Regional, Eastern, Thomson Locations: Gaza, GENEVA, Israel, Egypt, East

☆ Bladder cancer studies suggest new ways to treat the disease and improve survival
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

This is one of several new studies exploring ways to improve how bladder cancer is treated. “Ever since I was in med school, a metastatic bladder cancer treatment was gemcitabine and platinum. Urothelial cancer is a type of bladder cancer that begins in the urothelial cells, which line the inside of the bladder. The drug became the first therapy targeting a genetic alteration to be approved by the FDA to treat patients with the most common type of bladder cancer, metastatic urothelial cancer. “These results support nivolumab plus cisplatin-based chemo as a new standard approach for the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer.”

Persons: vedotin, hadn’t, ”, Thomas Powles, ” Powles, we’ve, —, Powles, Toni Choueiri, Dana, “, enfortumab, ” Choueiri, drugmaker Janssen, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, nivolumab, Matthew Galsky Organizations: CNN, Society for Medical Oncology, University of London, Barts Cancer, US, Inc, Astellas Pharma, Merck, Co, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, EMA, Lank, Genitourinary Oncology, Farber Cancer Institute, ESMO, New England, of Medicine, University of Texas, Anderson Cancer Center, US Food and Drug Administration, National Library of Medicine, CNN Health, Bristol Myers Squibb, Ono Pharmaceutical Company, Cancer, The Tisch Cancer Institute Locations: Madrid, United Kingdom, United States, Europe, Mount Sinai

☆ Attack on Gaza hospital 'unprecedented' in scale, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People are assisted at Shifa Hospital after an Israeli air strike hit the nearby Al-Ahli Hospital, according to Gaza Health Ministry in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, October 17, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Masri Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The attack on the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip that killed hundreds was "unprecedented in scale," the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, condemning the blast. The strike was the bloodiest single incident in Gaza since Israel launched a bombing campaign against the densely populated Gaza Strip in retaliation for a deadly cross-border Hamas assault on Israeli communities on Oct. 7. "This attack is unprecedented in scale," said Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the West Bank and Gaza. "The hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military," he said.

Persons: Mohammed Al, Masri, Richard Peeperkorn, Ahmed Al, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Sandra Maler Organizations: Shifa Hospital, Gaza Health Ministry, REUTERS, Rights, Al, Arabi, World Health Organization, WHO, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Al, Ahli, Gaza, Gaza City, Israel

☆ Moving severely ill people in Gaza amounts to 'death sentence' - WHO
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians in the aftermath of Israeli strikes amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip October 13, 2023. "There are severely ill people whose injuries mean their only chances of survival is being on life support, such as mechanical ventilators," said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic. "So moving those people is a death sentence. Asking health workers to do so is beyond cruel." Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Khan Younis, Abu Mustafa, Tarik Jasarevic, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Rachel More Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, World Health Organization, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza

☆ UEFA president Ceferin offers condolences in letter to Israel FA
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has written to the head of Israel's Football Association to express his condolences over the "senseless acts of violence" after Palestinian militant group Hamas killed over 1,300 people in the country. On Saturday, Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip rampaged through parts of southern Israel, in the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel's history. But Slovenian Ceferin wrote a personal letter to Moshe Zuares, the president of the IFA. It is an unimaginable tragedy, and the pain and sorrow are profound and resonate across the entire football community. My friend, I pray for these deep wounds to heal and for a world where such senseless acts of violence have no place."

Persons: Aleksander Ceferin, Moshe Zuares, Ceferin, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Rohith Nair, Ken Ferris Organizations: Israel's Football Association, Hamas, IFA, UEFA, European, Switzerland, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Kosovo, Bengaluru

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