Gaza doctors set up street tents as hospitals close to breaking point

Published

2 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Doctors in Gaza have told Sky News that the situation is “catastrophic”, and disease is spreading through refugee camps, particularly among children.

So many of the hospitals in Gaza are now either closed or close to breaking point, that doctors have set up treatment tents on streets, with the little supplies they can get their hands on.

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Dr Rajaa Okashah is a paediatrician from northern Gaza, forced by the fighting to leave his home and move south to Rafah.

It’s only a professional dedication to medicine and a sense of duty to his fellow Gazans that keeps him going. His surgery is now a tent – a street clinic in a refugee camp.

“I decided to open this medical tent to provide them with medicines and treatment for free, especially as the health system in Gaza now lacks hospitals, lacks health centres,” Dr Okashah told Sky News.

“The situation in the camp is nearly catastrophic. Food is not clean, people drink salty water because there is no fresh water, and viruses and bacteria are alarmingly widespread among children because of their weak immunity.

“There are epidemics such as hepatitis A. The situation is so bad here in this camp.”

More than 20,000 babies have been born in Gaza since the war started.

Dr Okashah said: “The most difficult conditions I treat are respiratory problems. Oxygen is important for the children. Respiratory problems are widespread among children, especially newborn babies, three months old, and less than one month old.

“We receive babies who are unable to breathe. Such conditions need to be admitted to hospital [but] sadly hospitals here are full.

“In the only paediatric hospital in Gaza, there are three to four children per bed. Now children sleep on the floor, so the most difficult conditions are respiratory problems, and chest infections among babies less than three months old.

Medicine has to be rationed for the patients who need it most. Hospital is only an option for the most urgent cases. There has been a dramatic increase in post-natal depression among new mothers.

Dr Muhammad al Raqeb, a young gynaecologist from Khan Yunis, sees between 50 and 70 expectant mothers in his tent every day.

“The cases that I need to transfer like severe bleeding cases, or the cases when their lives are threatened by cause or by disease. Then I handle the primary care, and I transfer them by ambulance.

“They suffer a lot, you know, their conditions are not suitable for them during pregnancy or after delivery. They need good clean water available all the time. They need clean bathrooms, and these things are not available. That’s why a lot suffer from urinary tract infections, pneumonia and skin diseases.”

Dr al Raqeb added: “They come in extreme or bad conditions. In many, many cases, they die because they don’t get proper management during their pregnancies and that’s why they deteriorate. Sometimes they even lose their wombs.

“You know, maybe they are saying Gaza is a place for death, but for me, I know that Gaza is a place for life. Gaza will never lose hope. And, the [medical[ tent is just one place to spread hope and just spread the smile to spread health.”

Without the dedication of doctors in Gaza, the death toll would be, without doubt, so much higher. They’re fighting their own war: a war for medicine, clean water, and space to work safely. The line between life and death in Gaza is desperately thin.

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Health warning issued as heatwave grips South and Southeast Asia

Published

17 hours ago

May 4, 2024

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Health warning issued as heatwave grips South and Southeast Asia

Countries in South and Southeast Asia have been coping with a weeks-long heatwave which has seen record temperatures sweep parts of the region.

Pupils in the Philippines, India and Bangladesh have been told to stay at home and learn remotely due to a severe health risk.

Schools in Cambodia have also cut back on their hours.

Cambodia faces its hottest temperature in 170 years, according to meteorologists – as high as 43C (109F).

Bangkok in Thailand has reached 40C (104 F), but the heat index is said to have topped 50 C (122 F) due to the heat being trapped among the mass of buildings.

The United Nations Children’s Fund warned in April that the heat could put the lives of millions of children at risk and asked people who care for them to take extra precautions.

A spokesperson for UNICEF said around 243 million children were exposed to hotter and longer heatwaves.

They said the increased heat was “putting them at risk of a multitude of heat-related illnesses, and even death”.

Thirty people in Thailand have died from heatstroke in the past month, according to data from the country’s health ministry.

People are being advised to avoid outdoor activities and to stay hydrated.

Several towns in Myanmar were included on lists of the hottest spots globally last month, with temperatures reaching 48.2C (118F) in at least one case.

Parts of eastern India also experienced their hottest April on record.

Kerala, on India’s west coast, this week instructed all schools and colleges to close until Monday, while influencers in Bangladesh have encouraging people to plant trees in response to the record heat.

Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said there were three factors for heatwaves: a naturally-occurring climate phenomenon known as El Nino, an increase in global temperatures, and human-induced climate change.

Brazil is currently experiencing another climate phenomenon – La Nina – with 39 dead and 68 missing in floods across the country.

More than 24,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to the flooding.

Scientists believe the naturally-occurring phenomenon has intensified due to the impact of climate change.

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Philippine coastguard hits out at China’s ‘brute force’ after water cannon attack

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

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Philippine coastguard hits out at China's 'brute force' after water cannon attack

China has been branded “a bully” and an international lawbreaker after its ships blasted Philippine vessels with water cannon in the South China Sea.

Sky News was on board the BRP Bagacay when a Chinese vessel fired water at it, causing significant damage.

Philippine coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela told Sky News that this week’s confrontation was the first time China had used “such aggression” against their ships.

“The metal parts and the railing were bent. The canopy was also destroyed. So this came as a surprise for us that China never hesitated to use brute force,” he said.

“It completely justifies us calling The People’s Republic of China a bully country.”

The Philippine coastguard was on a resupply mission to the Scarborough Shoal to deliver food and fuel to Philippine fishermen when they were struck.

The submerged reef lies in disputed waters. China claims sovereignty over the reef but it is much closer to the Philippines and lies within its legally recognised exclusive economic zone.

The vessel Sky News was on board was the closest the coastguard had ever been to the shoal – just 600 metres away from it.

Asked if the mission to the shoal was a provocative move by the Philippine coastguard, Commodore Tarriela denied they were “poking the bear” but rather “driving the bear out of our own territory”.

The Philippines has been stepping up its patrols in the area under the instruction of President Bongbong Marcos, and reasserting its claim to the shoal in recent months.

It has raised the spectre of open conflict. While neither side currently wants that, there is now a greater threat of open conflict.

Asked what the end game was for the Philippines, Commodore Tarriela said their priority was to “tell the world” about China’s aggression.

He said their secondary goal was to ensure “like-minded states” also made China “fall in line and respect international law”.

“Otherwise, it’s everybody’s loss,” he added.

Philippine government policy is not to resist using water cannon against Chinese vessels – and Commodore Tarriela insisted that policy remains in place after the confrontation.

The government also remains intensely determined to protect the waters it believes it has every right to operate in.

“We’re not going to yield and we’re not going to surrender a square inch of our territory,” Commodore Tarriela insisted.

Beijing has called the action its own coastguard took as “necessary”.

Speaking at the Chinese foreign ministry’s daily news conference, spokesperson Lin Jian described the coastguard’s conduct as “professional, proper, and lawful”.

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Three charged over killing of Sikh separatist leader in Canada – in incident which sparked diplomatic spat with India

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

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Three charged over killing of Sikh separatist leader in Canada - in incident which sparked diplomatic spat with India

Three suspects have been charged by Canadian police over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Vancouver last June, in an incident that sparked a diplomatic spat between Ottawa and New Delhi.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a temple by masked gunmen in Surrey, outside Vancouver, on 18 June 2023.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner David Teboul said police could not comment on the nature of the evidence or the motive.

“This matter is very much under active investigation,” Teboul said.

The three suspects – Indian nationals Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar and Karampreet Singh – were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

Superintendent Mandeep Mooker said: “This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide and we remain dedicated to finding and arresting each one of these individuals.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked a diplomatic feud with India when he said in September that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing. India angrily denied involvement.

Mr Nijjar, an Indian-born citizen of Canada, was a leader in what remains of the Khalistan movement – a once-strong group calling for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland.

He was organising an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death and had denied allegations of ties to terrorism.

The Khalistan movement has lost much of its power but is still supported by some in the Punjab state in northwestern India and in the Sikh diaspora overseas.

A violent, decade-long Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, and was ultimately crushed in a government crackdown which saw thousands of people killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.

In June 1984, Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar, where separatists had taken refuge.

In more recent years, the Indian government has repeatedly warned that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.

Read more: What is the Khalistan movement?

The diplomatic row saw diplomats expelled by both India and Canada.

The Indian government said it “completely rejected” Mr Trudeau’s allegations and added: “We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to rule of law.”

The dispute derailed trade talks between the two countries and ultimately saw Canada withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats in India.

At the time, Canada did not provide public evidence to back up Mr Trudeau’s allegations. However, it did reveal the claims were based on intelligence provided by a major ally and surveillance of Indian diplomats in the country.