Cancer patients and children evacuated from ‘catastrophic’ Gaza war zone on mercy mission flight to UAE
The gleaming Etihad Boeing 777 they stepped into could not have made for a more stark contrast from the apocalyptic scene they’ve left behind in Gaza.
And they emerged into the cabin lights looking mostly dazed. One elderly woman hugged the first female cabin crew member she saw.
She had plenty of reason to be both grateful and immensely relieved.
She – like the nearly 200 people slowly boarding with her – was on one of the few flights out of the hell that is Gaza right now – and they had just got a ticket offering their first real chance of survival.
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The flight was one of the first few out of Gaza organised by the UAE
Some seats were removed for those who needed to lie on stretchers
The Sky News team joined them on the flight: one of the first mercy missions organised by the United Arab Emirates to airlift wounded, sick or vulnerable children and families out of the war zone.
So far they’ve taken out two very small groups of eight. This emergency airlift outstripped the others by quite a big margin – nearly 200 patients and accompanying dependants or relatives in what turned into the largest organised so far.
Some of the elderly and sick were pushed in wheelchairs to the foot of the plane and then half carried, half helped up the steps.
Others cradled their babies or held their toddlers close.
Those in wheelchairs were lifted onto the flight
The flight was part of a pledged relief effort by the UAE
Young children were also on the flight
One young girl, aged about 11, was tightly strapped to a stretcher and taken into the body of the aircraft via a hydraulic lift.
We were told she was accompanied by her sixteen-year-old sister.
“She’s very ill,” one of the medics told us, “she was severely dehydrated. We struggled to get a drip inside her and she’s got multiple trauma injuries.”
They said she had a severe brain injury which they believed was caused when the building she was in collapse on top of her. She looked in a very bad way indeed and medics have been waiting to have her airlifted to safety for a few weeks now, we were told.
Many of the passengers are cancer patients – about ninety per cent of the patients admitted onto the plane. Many are thought to have been forced to leave the Turkish cancer hospital after it was bombed.
One orthopaedic surgeon, who herself is suffering from lung cancer, described the humanitarian situation inside Gaza as “catastrophic”.
“There are about 7,000-9,000 badly injured or sick people who urgently need to be taken out of Gaza for medical treatment,” Dr Hanan Azghbi estimated.
She said her own hospital – the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital was overwhelmed with patients lying on floors and filled with people who’d sought refuge there.
It is now one of more than 20 hospitals completely out of action leaving only a fraction still functioning.
The UAE has pledged to aid 1,000 children
“I saw babies with double amputations,” she told us, “There are many, many people who’ve lost limbs. It is a catastrophe,” she repeated.
The medical team of 29 doctors, paramedics and emergency workers had flown into the Egypt-Gaza border unsure of who they were picking up, what the injuries or illnesses were and the extent of them.
So, they filled the plane with a range of medical equipment and medicines designed to help them cope with most eventualities.
Emergency workers had flown into the Egypt-Gaza border unsure of who they were picking up
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They set up a mini-ICU towards the rear of the plane and erected at least ten stretchers positioned over rows of folded aeroplane seats, with resuscitation equipment and drips at the ready.
In the event they needed to use only one of their makeshift stretchers positioned expertly over a series of folded airline seats.
Although later in the flight, they helped a young woman who’d had one of her legs amputated into another.
The doctors and nurses spent some time during the course of the flight administering a variety of medicines to them both including intravenous morphine and anti-dehydration nutrients.
Most of the passengers were able to be helped into their seats with a number receiving the first painkillers they’ve had access to in days or weeks.
Many of the children and babies were exhausted and appeared seriously traumatised with dark shadows under their young eyes.
We saw one very young baby who we were told was a haemophiliac; another had a brain tumour – all the young appeared to be very thin and under weight. Many of them repeatedly asked for water and food.
Most seemed very weak.
The process to this point had been a long and exhausting one – first crossing the war zone to get to the Gaza border then going through extensive security checks which had to pass both Egypt and Israeli measures.
The flight after landing in Abu Dhabi
By the time the patients were being transported to the emergency flying hospital, the plane had been sitting on the tarmac at Arish airport for more than five hours.
The procedure to load these very seriously ill passengers was slow and careful because of their vulnerable conditions.
So much so, the cabin crew went over their maximum flying security limit of sixteen hours and on leaving Arish, the plane had to be diverted to Cairo.
A fresh flying crew was brought in to take over and two hours or so after landing in Cairo, the plane took off again, this time bound for Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
Over the next week or so, the UAE will build a field hospital in Gaza with 150 beds. Compared to the huge numbers needing help right now, it is likely to be extremely busy.
When they landed in Abu Dhabi, there was much hesitation as they made their way down the plane steps. We saw one young woman with tears running down her cheeks.
Others kissed the heads of the waiting volunteers. Even more allowed themselves a smile for the first time since leaving Gaza.
The sick will be placed in a number of hospitals able to receive their specialist care. Most have come with at least one family member accompanying them and these relatives will be accommodated nearby.
It was noticeable what few possessions the passengers arrived with.
Many came away from Gaza carrying just small plastic bags. That is all they’ve been left with.
Many have seen relatives killed and lost their homes, their jobs, their future.
And many left behind whole families in the middle o the warzone. They left Gaza not knowing if they’ll ever be back – and if they do return, just what exactly they’ll return to.
World
Tanks gather near Israeli-Lebanon border – as defence minister hold talks over ‘expansion’ of IDF activity
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant has held talks over the possibility of expanding Israel’s military offensive – as tanks were pictured on the country’s border with Lebanon.
In a statement on Saturday, Mr Gallant’s office said he was conducting “an operational situation assessment” regarding what it called “the expansion of IDF (Israel Defence Forces) activities in the northern arena”.
Israeli tanks and troops were later pictured near the border, in what Sky News’ security and defence editor Deborah Haynes said is the “clearest sign yet” that Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah is “about to expand even further”.
The military said it was mobilising three more battalions of reserve soldiers to serve across the country. It had already sent two brigades to northern Israel to prepare for a possible ground invasion.
The deployment comes after Hezbollah confirmed that its leader of more than three decades Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.
Yoav Gallant holds a meeting with senior IDF officers. Pic: Israeli defence ministry
The militant group – which is aligned with Iran – vowed to continue its fight against Israel even as attacks continued to bombard areas around Lebanon’s capital.
At least six people were killed in the strikes – not including Nasrallah – and 91 were wounded, according to preliminary figures from Lebanon’s health ministry.
Israeli military tanks gather by the Israeli-Lebanon border. Pic: AP
The United Nations high commissioner for refugees said that airstrikes led to the displacement of “well over 200,000” people inside Lebanon.
“More than 50,000 Lebanese people, and Syrians living in Lebanon, have crossed the border into Syria,” Filippo Grande wrote on X on Saturday.
‘Israel is on the move’
In his first public remarks since the killing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Nasrallah as a “terrorist” and said his killing would help bring displaced Israelis back to their homes in the north and would pressure Hamas to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
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Netanyahu: Nasrallah ‘was the terrorist’
But with the threat of retaliation high, he said the coming days would bring “significant challenges” and warned Iran against trying to strike.
“There is no place in Iran or the Middle East that the long arm of Israel will not reach, and today you already know how true this is,” Mr Netanyahu said.
Pic: AP
“We have great achievements, but the work is not yet complete. In the coming days we will face significant challenges, and we will face them together,” he added.
“We are determined to continue to strike at our enemies, return our residents to their homes, and return all our abductees. We do not forget them for a moment.
“Israel is on the move.”
Protesters chant during an anti-Israel demonstration in Tehran. Pic: Majid Asgaripour/WANA
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the killing and announced five days of mourning. He said Lebanon will make Israel “regret their actions” and Nasrallah’s blood “will not go unavenged”.
In a letter to the UN Security Council, Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani asked for an “emergency meeting” of the 15-member body, calling on it to “compel Israel” to cease all military action in both Gaza and Lebanon and “comply with relevant UNSC resolutions”.
Read more:
Is wider war in the Middle East now inevitable?
Hezbollah and Iran must now decide to fight or back down
Pic: Majid Asgaripour/WANA
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Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Tehran, waving Hezbollah flags and chanting “death to Israel” and “death to Netanyahu the murderer”.
People also gathered in the Lebanese city of Sidon and in Amman, Jordan, to mourn Nasrallah. The 64-year-old had countless followers across the Arab and Islamic world, but was viewed as an extremist in much of the West.
The pictures from Beirut are unnerving to say the least, the predictions for the immediate future even more so.
With the dust still settling from this game-changing assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, there are pressing questions crying out for answers.
Most of all, is the Middle East about to erupt into a regional conflict that threatens us all? That’s been the warning for almost a year, so is it about to happen?
Not if America and its allies can help it.
Follow latest: Iran warns Israel will ‘regret their actions’
Hezbollah is a designated terrorist organisation for the US, UK and other Western nations. It has killed hundreds of their citizens over the years.
There is no doubt President Joe Biden has felt what he called a “measure of justice” that Nasrallah has been killed.
But there is also a fear of what comes next. From the president down we are hearing urgent calls for de-escalation and a diplomatic solution. And the US has rushed military assets to ward off Hezbollah’s patrons in Iran doing their worst. But will that be enough?
Lebanese Red Cross workers inspect a destroyed building. Pic: AP
US-led diplomacy to contain the Middle East crisis has failed.
A senior Middle Eastern diplomat told Sky News the assassination is a kick in the teeth for the US president.
“For all the bombs and billions he has given the Israelis,” he said, “the least they could have done for him in the last weeks of his presidency was a ceasefire in the region”.
With diplomacy stalled, what happens next depends on both Iran and Israel.
For its part, Iran may feel it has no alternative but to weigh in. It may fear the massive missile arsenal it supplied is so jeopardised it must intervene and save Hezbollah.
Smoke rises as a building collapses in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Pic: AP
Iranians have long regarded Hezbollah as an insurance policy for the day Israel might attack Iran itself. If it sees its ally close to total collapse, might it then weigh in?
If it does, Israel’s allies led by America might feel compelled to come to its defence. The full scale war feared for almost a year could engulf the region.
But there are good reasons for Iran not to rush to action.
The Middle East seems a dangerous and unpredictable place but certain rules and assumptions apply, even in all its chaos.
For all their fanaticism, the ayatollahs of Tehran are pragmatic and seek the preservation of their grip on power above all. That has been a rule of the Middle Eastern jungle since they seized power 45 years ago.
Is it pragmatic or wise to up the ante and more directly support Hezbollah, when it is at its weakest? The Iranian regime is not that strong either, crippled economically by sanctions and mismanagement, and socially and politically by months of civil unrest, albeit now quashed.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
There are limits too to what Iran could achieve with direct military intervention anyway in a war that is 2,000km from its borders. The Iranians may conclude this round in the war against Israel is over. They think in long time spans, after all. Time to regroup and move on to fight another day?
There will no doubt be days more of sound and fury, like we have seldom seen before. The mourning and funerals of Nasrallah and his lieutenants are likely to be the focus of intense anger and will raise tensions. But what happens afterwards?
That also comes down to Israel.
People stand next to IDF tanks in northern Israel. Pic: Reuters
It may now feel it has the wind in its sails and seize the moment to invade Lebanon on the ground to push Hezbollah back from the border. That would be an extremely dangerous moment too, potentially drawing in supportive militia and Iranian forces based in Syria.
The hills of southern Lebanon are a treacherous country for a military like Israel’s that relies on infantry and tanks. They could be drawn into a lengthy and punishing campaign that could then destabilise the region.
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What does Nasrallah’s death mean for Hezbollah?
Read more:
Analysis: Hezbollah and Iran must decide to fight or back down
Who was Hassan Nasrallah?
Then there is Lebanon itself. An uneasy compromise between the warring factions of its civil war in the 1970s and 80s has held for decades but its always fragile status quo is now threatened. The chessboard of its multi-denominational politics has potentially been upended by the removal of its most powerful player.
If Lebanon descends back into factional fighting, regional stability will be undermined too.
The Middle East is in grave danger of further escalation. Western and regional diplomats are working round the clock to pull it back from the brink but recent efforts have all ended in failure and neither Israel nor Hezbollah seem to be listening.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been killed after airstrikes in Beirut, the Israeli army has said.
Recent weeks have seen Israel unleash a barrage of strikes against Lebanon after it turned its attention to the conflict at its northern border.
On Friday, Israel targeted the capital Beirut with a series of attacks claiming to have struck the headquarters of Hezbollah.
People stand near a picture of Nasrallah during the funeral of a Hezbollah member. Pic: Reuters
People watch Hassan Nasrallah delivering a televised address in Beirut. Pic: Reuters
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it carried out a “precise strike” on Hezbollah’s “central headquarters”, which it claimed was “embedded under residential buildings in the heart of the Dahieh in Beirut”.
The first wave of attacks shook windows across the city and sent thick clouds of smoke billowing into the air.
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Pic: AP
While Israel stressed it had been a “precise” strike, preliminary figures from Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed at least six other people were killed and 91 were wounded.
Israel said Nasrallah was the intended target and initially there were claims he had survived.
However, after several hours of confusion, his death was confirmed by Israel.
“Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorise the world,” the IDF said.
Hours later, a defiant Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah’s death but vowed their fight with Israel would continue after confirming they had fired upon sites in northern Israel.
“The leadership of Hezbollah pledges to the highest, holiest, and most precious martyr in our path full of sacrifices and martyrs to continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, supporting Gaza and Palestine, and defending Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people,” they said.
Recent days have seen Israel launch strikes in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and Bhamdoun
The Israeli strike that allegedly took Nasrallah’s life was on residential buildings in Dahieh, Beirut
Alongside claiming to have killed Nasrallah, the IDF said it had killed a number of other commanders, including Ali Karaki, the commander of the southern front.
The country’s military said the strike was carried out while Hezbollah leadership met at their underground headquarters in Dahieh.
In the aftermath of the most recent attacks, an Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment on whether US-made Mark 84 heavy bombs were used in the strike against Nasrallah.
“The strike was conducted while Hezbollah’s senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said in a media briefing.
He continued: “We hope this will change Hezbollah’s actions.”
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Hezbollah leader killed says IDF
He added the number of civilian casualties was unclear but blamed Hezbollah for positioning itself in residential areas.
“We’ve seen Hezbollah carry out attacks against us for a year. It’s safe to assume that they are going to continue carrying out their attacks against us or try to,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iran said it was in constant contact with Hezbollah and other allies to determine its “next step”, but Reuters reported the country’s supreme leader was transferred to a secure location in light of the latest attack.
Speaking after the attack, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Muslims “to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah” and said: “The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront,” state media reported.
Nasrallah’s death will be a blow to Hezbollah as it continues to reel from a campaign of escalating Israeli attacks.
Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Saturday. Pic: AP
Nasrallah is latest Hezbollah leader to fall
While Nasrallah’s death is certainly the most high-profile of recent attacks, it continues a trend of Israel targeting Hezbollah’s leadership structure.
Also on Saturday, in the early hours of the morning, the commander of the group’s missile unit and his deputy were killed in another Israeli attack in southern Lebanon.
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Then, in a separate strike overnight on Friday, the IDF said it killed the head of Hamas’s network in southern Syria.
This followed the deaths of other senior commanders, including Muhammad Qabisi, earlier in the month.
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