Many Palestinian doctors are either dead, jailed or displaced, US doctors tell UN
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(LONDON and NEW YORK) — Many Palestinian doctors who worked in the Gaza Strip are either dead, have fled the territory or are in prison, U.S. doctors told the United Nations.
Four U.S. medical doctors who have worked in the Gaza Strip for periods throughout the past 15 months spoke about their concerns and the priorities for bringing critical care needed in Gaza during a press conference at the U.N. in New York last week.
Drs. Thaer Ahmad, Ayesha Khan, Feroze Sidhwa and Mahmooda Syed met with the U.N. secretary-general and spoke last week with the press about the future of Gaza.
All four said they agreed they had never seen anything like what they saw during their time working in Gaza.
U.N. officials and nongovernmental organizations have repeatedly warned that the health care system in Gaza has collapsed and is lacking the critical resources needed to meet an overwhelming demand of injured and sick Palestinians.
With the fragile ceasefire in place between Israel and Hamas that is allowing aid to flow at much higher levels than it has in the past few months, and medical evacuations set to increase, the doctors said there needs to be a plan for the immediate needs of Palestinians.
Sidhwa said rebuilding hospitals is a priority.
Only 16 of 36 hospitals in Gaza remain partially functional, the U.N. said in January, before the latest ceasefire agreement to pause fighting was reached. Most of the functioning hospitals aren’t able to treat complex injuries or chronic diseases, the U.N. said.
Israel targeted and raided multiple health facilities in Gaza, most recently the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north, in what the Israeli military said were anti-terrorism operations aimed at Hamas.
As a result, much of the infrastructure has been damaged, as shown in an ABC News visual analysis of the state of several hospitals after a year of war.
But it is not just the infrastructure that needs to be replaced, Sidhwa said, but all the machines and equipment, too. “There is extreme need with minimal capacity,” he said.
While this process takes place, the immediate priority should be evacuations, the doctors said. But even those come with many complications, especially for children, who, in the words of spokesperson Tess Ingram of UNICEF, are “disproportionately wearing the scars of the war.”
Many families are worried, for example, that they will not be allowed back inside Gaza, Ahmad said, urging for the evacuated children to be relocated to the West Bank or Jerusalem instead of Egypt or the U.S.
Syed said Israel only allows one adult to accompany each child evacuated from Gaza, while many parents have more children who require their presence.
These bureaucratic hurdles slow down what the doctors say is an urgent race against time.
Khan held up a photograph of a little girl’s foot, which was badly burned. When the patient came in, the doctor said he thought the wounds were fresh, but it turned out they were months old, and she might need an amputation.
Like that girl, many children and adults in Gaza sustained wounds months ago, increasing the chances of infections and long-term disabilities, the doctors said.
A senior U.N. official told the Security Council in October 2024 that Gaza has the largest number of amputee children in modern history.
The doctors also spoke about their personal challenges and the indescribable struggles of their colleagues in Gaza.
The four doctors said they faced many obstacles and now fear retaliation for sharing the details of what they say are violations of international humanitarian law, which Israel denies.
“The white coat does not protect you,” said Ahmad, conveying what he says is a shared belief among many Palestinian doctors.
Ahmad worked at Kamal Adwan Hospital, where the director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, was detained in December by Israel. He has not been heard from since, but Israeli forces have confirmed he is in their custody as a suspected Hamas operative.
Safiya is one of more than 365 health care workers being held in Israeli prison, the head of information for the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry, Zaher Al Wahidi, told ABC News in January. ABC News has reached out to Israel for comment.
“This was the hospital that he built. Those were the departments that he helped develop. And he refused to leave,” Ahmad said of the Kamal Adwan director.
“Then he watched the military raid the hospital, destroy it, getting injured in the process,” he added. “Then he had to walk up to the tank, in his white coat, and shake the hand of the military that killed his son and injured him.”
As the U.N. panel concluded, Secretary-General António Guterres posted on X: “I was deeply moved by the testimonies and impressed by the dedication of 4 American doctors that have worked in Gaza. 2,500 children must be immediately evacuated with the guarantee that they will be able to return to their families and communities.”
This combination of pictures created on Feb. 25, 2025 shows President Donald Trump on Feb. 24, 2025, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb 23, 2025. (Jim Watsontetiana Dzhafarova/AFP via Getty Images)
(KYIV) — A Ukrainian official described to ABC News details of a potential U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal, sharing points that appear to suggest Kyiv has succeeded in significantly improving the terms, perhaps staring down some of the Trump administration’s more onerous demands.
The $500 billion demanded by Trump no longer features in the draft, a Ukrainian official told ABC News. The fund that Ukraine will pay into is also no longer going to be 100% U.S. owned, the official said.
The two countries have agreed to a deal relating to critical minerals and other resources, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump did not confirm the U.S. had agreed, instead saying he had heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington, D.C., to finalize the deal on Friday and that “it’s OK with me if he’d like to.”
The terms of a final agreement haven’t yet been disclosed.
The Ukrainian official said the resources that the agreement will apply to are only those not currently contributing to the Ukrainian budget, which means no oil and gas, or likely the majority of the country’s mineral resources.
If the final deal remains close to those terms, the deal may actually be quite restricted in real economic terms.
Carl Bildt, the former Swedish prime minister and co-chair of the European council on foreign relations, told BBC News that the mineral seems like a “sideshow” and was mostly designed to “keep Mr Trump happy.”
“But it is not going to give a lot of money to the U.S., and I don’t see it having any materially economic effect for very many years,” Bildt told the BBC.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Will Gretsky contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip around several Palestinian hospitals.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
77 killed in Gaza in past 24 hours: Health ministry
Approximately 77 people were killed and 145 injured over the past 24 hours in Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Friday.
Israeli air forces struck “approximately 40 Hamas terrorist gathering points” throughout the Gaza Strip over the past day, the Israel Defense Forces said in a release Friday.
“Prior to the strike, numerous measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the release stated.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Sami Zyara
Amnesty ‘extremely alarmed’ by Gaza doctor’s detention
Agnes Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said on Thursday that the organization is “extremely alarmed” by the detention of Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya — the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
“He should now be considered as victim of enforced disappeared and as such at great risk of torture and ill-treatment,” Callamard wrote in a post to X. Israeli authorities “must urgently disclose” his location, she added.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Thursday that Abu Safiya was in the custody of Israeli authorities and is currently being interrogated “for suspected involvement in terrorist activities and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization.”
The IDF has alleged that Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were hiding inside the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. Abu Safiya was initially detained on Dec. 27 during an IDF raid on the medical facility, which has been besieged multiple times by Israeli forces.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd, Bruna Nota, Dana Savir and Joe Simonetti
New round of Gaza ceasefire talks to begin in Qatar
A senior Hamas official announced the renewal of cease-fire talks in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, following a visit to Cairo by a Hamas delegation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later confirmed that an Israeli delegation will travel to Doha. Among those attending will be representatives from Mossad, Shin Bet and the Israel Defense Forces, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Bruno Note and Joe Simonetti
Israel intercepts missile and drone from Yemen
The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it intercepted one missile and one drone launched from Yemen, as Iran-aligned Houthi rebels there continue long-range attacks.
The incoming missile set off warning sirens, the IDF said, and was intercepted over Israeli territory. The IDF reported that shrapnel from the interception fell in the area of Modi’in in central Israel.
Some hours later, a drone was intercepted before reaching Israeli territory and thus did not set off any air alerts, the IDF said.
The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks on Israel and on shipping in nearby waters until the IDF withdraws from Gaza.
Israel has launched several rounds of airstrikes on targets in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks.
In the most recent, Israel attacked Yemen’s main airport — and destroyed its control tower — in the capital Sanaa. The bombs fell while the United Nations’ coordinator for Yemen and the head of the World Health Organization were on site waiting to depart the airport.
The U.S. and U.K. — supported by other allies — began bombing Houthi targets in Yemen in January in response to attacks on regional commercial and military shipping.
Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Israeli custody: IDF
Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, is in the custody of Israeli authorities, according to a statement to ABC News from the Israeli Defense Forces.
Abu Safiya was “apprehended for suspected involvement in terrorist activities and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization,” the Israeli military said in the statement. The doctor is “currently being investigated by Israeli security forces,” the statement said.
The IDF has said Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were hiding inside Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Abu Safiya was allegedly arrested by IDF forces on Dec. 27 when Israeli forces conducted a raid on the hospital, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard said in a post on X Tuesday.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Anna Burd and Dana Savir
At least 85 killed in strikes across Gaza Strip
On the second day of the New Year, at least 85 people were killed in various attacks across the Gaza Strip, Gaza medical sources told ABC News.
Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike in “the humanitarian area in Khan Yunis,” and killed “the head of Hamas Internal Security Forces in the southern Gaza Strip,” Hassam Shahwan in the strike, the IDF said in a release Thursday.
The IDF also conducted an airstrike “on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a control and command center,” in the humanitarian area in Khan Yunis, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Sami Zyara and Diaa Ostaz
Israel intercepts missile from Yemen, threatens Houthi leaders
A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by Israeli air forces, the Israel Defense Forces said in a Monday night statement, amid continued Israeli and Houthi long-range attacks.
Sirens sounded “due to the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception,” the IDF said.
The latest missile launch came shortly after Danny Danon — Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations — said Israelis “have had enough” of attacks from the Houthis in Yemen, ongoing since October 2023 in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza.
“Israel will not stand by waiting for the world to act,” Danon said.
Addressing the Houthi leadership, he added, “Let me remind you what happened to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to [former Syrian President Bashar] Assad and to all those who thought to destroy us.”
“This is not a threat, it is a promise,” Danon said. “You will share the same miserable fate.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Dana Savir and Ellie Kaufman
Ukraine foreign minister meets Syrian leader in Damascus
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Monday met with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa — also known by nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
Sybiha became the latest foreign representative to meet with Sharaa in Damascus, where the latter’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces and their allies are establishing a transitional government having toppled former President Bashar Assad.
Sybiha wrote on X that he “personally conveyed the message” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “We are with you and ready to assist in restoring normal life, stability and food security,” Sybiha said.
“We rely on the new Syria respecting international law, including Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added. “This will pave the way to fully restoring our diplomatic ties, political dialogue and diplomatic presence. We are ready to develop cooperation in a number of areas.”
The visit came days after Zelenskyy announced Kyiv’s dispatch of 500 tons of wheat flour to Syria as part of the “Grain from Ukraine” humanitarian program in cooperation with the World Food Program.
Gaza hospitals become ‘battlegrounds,’ WHO chief says
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said early Monday that Gaza’s beleaguered hospitals “have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat.”
Ghebreyesus said the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahia “is out of service,” following an Israeli raid which itself came after several weeks of encirclement and bombardment.
Israeli forces raided the compound on Friday, forcibly evacuating all remaining patients and staff. The Israel Defense Forces said it detained 240 alleged militants, among them hospital director Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya. The IDF said the hospital was a “command center” for Hamas “military operations” in the surrounding area.
Ghebreyesus said Safiya’s “whereabouts are unknown. We call for his immediate release.”
Kamal Adwan patients were transferred to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, both of which have also reported repeated Israeli attacks. The latter “is itself out of function,” Ghebreyesus said.
“Seven patients along with 15 caregivers and health workers remain at the severely damaged Indonesian Hospital, which has no ability to provide care,” he added.
Four patients were detained by the IDF during their transfer out of Kamal Adwan Hospital, the WHO chief said.
Two other facilities — the Al-Ahli Hospital and Al-Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City — were also attacked and sustained damage on Monday, Ghebreyesus said.
“We repeat: stop attacks on hospitals,” he wrote. “People in Gaza need access to health care. Humanitarians need access to provide health aid. Ceasefire!”
Family of Gaza hospital director asks international community to help find him
The family of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, is pleading with the international community to help learn his whereabouts, alleging he was detained by Israeli forces during a recent raid on the medical facility.
The family posted a message on Abu Safiya’s official Instagram page, on which the doctor had been posting updates about the hospital’s functioning, pleading, “We do not know the fate of our father.”
“We appeal to every compassionate individual and all international organizations and institutions to take action,” said the family, asking the international community to apply media pressure and make appeals to “help us push for his swift release from captivity.”
The message said Abu Safiya is still recovering from injuries he suffered a month ago while working at the hospital.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement released on Saturday that Abu Safiya is suspected of being a Hamas terrorist and is being held in Gaza.
Abu Safiya had not been arrested in previous IDF raids of the hospital.
-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini and Nadine Shubailat
IDF issues statement on Kamal Adwan Hospital raid
The IDF released a statement outlining their operations in and around Kamal Adwan Hospital in the last few days.
The Israel Defense Forces said the hospital was a “command center” for Hamas “military operations in Jabaliya,” although the statement and attached media do not provide corroborating evidence of this.
The statement says the IDF faced heavy fighting in areas near the hospital, and says the IDF detained 240 terrorists, including the director of the hospital, Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, whom it says is is “suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative.”
Abu Safiya was one of the only male staff members at the hospital not detained during the IDF’s raid of the hospital in October, and he would have helped coordinate numerous resupply and patient evacuations with Israel over the last several months.
Kamal Adwan is the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza and is operating at a limited capacity due to a lack of medical supplies and the repeated attacks on the hospital.
(NEW YORK) — A U.S.-flagged oil tanker has collided with a Portuguese container ship in the North Sea, north of England, with both ships catching on fire, according to officials.
“HM Coastguard is currently co-ordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire resulting in fires aboard both vessels,” the U.K. coast guard said in a statement.
The U.S. ship was identified as the Stena Immaculate, while the Portuguese-flagged container ship was identified as the Solong.
A coast guard helicopter has been sent, as well as a fixed-wing aircraft, several lifeboats and vessels with firefighting capabilities, the coast guard said.
“The incident remains ongoing and an assessment of the likely counter pollution response required is being enacted,” the coast guard said in a statement.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
