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As Closure of Rafah Blocks Life-Saving Treatment//Half of Gaza Dialysis Patients Lost Amid Rafah Shutdown The continued closure of Rafah land crossing by Israeli occupation forces has caused a severe crisis in the Gaza Strip, preventing the entry of humanitarian and medical aid during and after the war. Kidney failure patients are among the most directly affected, as they struggle to survive while awaiting the reopening of the crossing to travel for treatment. Medical sources indicate that the disease has claimed the lives of nearly 50% of kidney patients in Gaza. At Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, 15-year-old Rawaa al-Dahma undergoes regular dialysis sessions, which have become part of her daily routine since being diagnosed with kidney failure. Her condition has worsened significantly due to the lack of adequate treatment and her inability to travel outside Gaza during the war. Rawaa’s mother, Sabreen, told QNA that her daughter has suffered from a chronic kidney condition since birth and previously underwent surgery. However, her health deteriorated sharply following the outbreak of the war, the interruption of treatment, and the closure of the Rafah crossing, forcing her to begin dialysis approximately five months ago. She explained that Rawaa now undergoes three to four dialysis sessions per week and endures severe fatigue and continuous suffering. Sabreen said that daily life is confined between home and hospital, noting that her daughter’s health continues to decline and that the physical and emotional toll affects the entire family. She stressed that the family is seeking only access to treatment, calling for the reopening of crossings to allow patients to travel and receive lifesaving care, particularly as children and chronically ill patients in Gaza face increasingly limited time. Sabreen said she is ready to donate one of her kidneys to her daughter after completing the necessary medical examinations, but the continued closure of Rafah crossing prevents travel and completion of treatment. She emphasised that kidney transplantation represents the only viable option to save her daughter’s life and enable her to live normally, adding that hundreds of patients in Gaza remain on waiting lists for treatment abroad. She warned that prolonged closure would lead to further health deterioration and additional loss of life. Head of Nephrology Department at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Dr Ghazi al-Yazji, said the closure of crossings, particularly Rafah, poses a direct and serious threat to kidney patients. He noted that many patients are awaiting referrals to undergo kidney transplants outside Gaza, which constitute the most effective treatment, but continued restrictions prevent travel and worsen health conditions. In remarks to QNA, al-Yazji said some patients suffer from autoimmune kidney diseases requiring diagnostic biopsies unavailable in Gaza, necessitating treatment abroad. Delays in such procedures, he warned, often result in progression to kidney failure and dependence on dialysis. He added that some dialysis patients are awaiting the reopening of the Rafah crossing to complete transplant procedures, stressing that continued closure not only threatens lives but also places additional strain on dialysis units already operating under severe shortages. According to al-Yazji, the dialysis department at Al-Shifa currently serves around 210 patients with end-stage kidney disease, each requiring three weekly sessions lasting four hours, under extremely difficult medical and humanitarian conditions. He pointed to acute shortages in dialysis machines, medical consumables, and essential medications due to the Israeli blockade and restrictions on medical supplies. The lack of certain medications has forced medical teams to rely on blood transfusions, which carry health risks and may delay or prevent future transplants. Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, told QNA that approximately 50% of dialysis patients in Gaza died while awaiting treatment abroad or the arrival of essential medical supplies during the two years of war, amid daily fatalities and the absence of more than 70% of required medications. He noted that the complex operates only 34 dialysis machines serving about 750 kidney failure patients, an insufficient capacity that worsened after Israeli attacks destroyed hospitals providing specialised renal services, including the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza. Abu Salmiya warned that continued delays in reopening the Rafah crossing, or severe restrictions on patient travel, would further deepen the crisis and pose grave risks to patients requiring transplants or specialised care unavailable in Gaza. He called for facilitating patient travel and expanding medical evacuation.The prolonged closure of Rafah land crossing has severely impacted Gaza’s population, with Israeli occupation authorities preventing the entry of humanitarian and medical aid. According to the Ministry of Health, the closure has led to the deaths of more than 1,000 patients and wounded individuals awaiting treatment abroad, while nearly 20,000 others remain in urgent need of medical evacuation. Source link
Rescuers and onlookers inspect the debris of Sheikh Radwan police station in Gaza City on January 31, 2026, following an Israeli air strike. Israeli air strikes…
One Palestinian was martyred and others were injured on Sunday morning as a result of an Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip.Medical sources reported that a Palestinian was killed and several others were wounded after Israeli aircraft targeted a group of civilians near Salah al-Din Road, north of Wadi Gaza.Occupation forces continued shelling and gunfire operations, with Israeli naval boats firing heavily toward the coast of Gaza City, while a military helicopter opened fire east of the city. As part of its ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement, the occupation army carried out on Saturday a series of airstrikes and violent attacks, including the bombardment of homes, tents, residential apartments, a police center, and displacement camps in various parts of the Gaza Strip. These attacks resulted in the killing of 31 Palestinians and the injury of dozens. The death toll from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip rose to 71,769 martyrs and 171,483 injured since Oct. 7, 2023. The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli entity entered into force on Oct.10 of last year, following the withdrawal of occupation forces from sites and populated areas in the Strip and the beginning of the return of displaced residents to the northern Gaza Strip, as part of the first phase of the initiative by US President Donald Trump to end the war on Gaza. Source link
An ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a bill to ban social media for children, as the world’s biggest market for Meta and YouTube joins a global debate on the impact of social media on young people’s health and safety. “Not only are our children becoming addicted to social media, but India is also one of the world’s largest producers of data for foreign platforms,” lawmaker L S K Devarayalu told Reuters on Friday. “Based on this data, these companies are creating advanced AI systems, effectively turning Indian users into unpaid data providers, while the strategic and economic benefits are reaped elsewhere,” he said. Australia last month became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking access in a move welcomed by many parents and child advocates but criticised by major technology companies and free-speech advocates. France’s National Assembly this week backed legislation to ban children under 15 from social media, while Britain, Denmark and Greece are studying the issue. Facebook operator Meta, YouTube-parent Alphabet and X did not respond yesterday to e-mails seeking comment. Meta has said it backs laws for parental oversight but that “governments considering bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites”. India’s information technology (IT) ministry did not respond to a request for comment. India, the world’s second-biggest smartphone market with 750mn devices and 1bn Internet users, is a key growth market for social media apps and does not set a minimum age for access. Devarayalu’s 15-page Social Media (Age Restrictions and Online Safety) Bill, which is not public but was seen by Reuters, says no one under 16 “shall be permitted to create, maintain, or hold” a social media account and those found to have one should have them disabled. “We are asking that the entire onus of ensuring users’ age be placed on the social media platforms,” Devarayalu said. The government’s chief economic adviser attracted attention on Thursday by saying that India should draft policies on age-based access limits to tackle “digital addiction”. Devarayalu’s legislation is a private member’s bill – not proposed to parliament by a federal minister – but such bills often trigger debates in parliament and influence lawmaking. He is from the Telugu Desam Party, which governs the southern state Andhra Pradesh and is vital to Modi’s coalition government. Source link
A trial operation of the Rafah border crossing began Sunday, marking its first reopening after more than a year and a half of near-total closure.According to Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA), media officer at the European Union office in Jerusalem Shadi Othman said the crossing is undergoing a trial operation on Sunday to facilitate the movement of Palestinians to and from the Gaza Strip. Othman affirmed that the primary objective at this stage is to ensure the crossing opens in both directions, allowing passengers to enter and exit smoothly. He stressed that the legal reference governing the European Unionâ€s role at the Rafah crossing is based on previous agreements, particularly the 2005 Agreement, noting that the EUâ€s role focuses on monitoring to ensure the implementation of agreed standards. Othman said that the European Union had been present during previous periods when the crossing was opened, especially during the first truce, which allowed a number of residents to leave the Gaza Strip. On May 7, 2024, the Israeli occupation army advanced into the Rafah land crossing and shut it down completely, leading to a halt in passenger movement and the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip. Source link
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. – AFP Britain and Japan agreed to strengthen defence and economic ties, visiting Prime Minister Keir Starmer said yesterday, after his bid to forge closer links with China drew warnings from US President Donald Trump. Starmer noted that Japan and Britain were the leading economies in a trans-Pacific that includes fellow G7 member Canada, as well as other international trade and defence pacts. “We set out a clear priority to build an even deeper partnership in the years to come,” Starmer said as he stood beside Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after a bilateral meeting in Tokyo. “That includes working together to strengthen our collective security, across the Euro-Atlantic and in the Indo-Pacific.” Takaichi said they agreed to hold a meeting of British and Japanese foreign and defence ministers this year. She said she also wanted to discuss “co-operation towards realising a free and open Indo-Pacific, the Middle East situation and Ukraine situation” at a dinner with Starmer later. Starmer arrived on a one-day Tokyo stop after a four-day visit in China, where he followed in the footsteps of other Western leaders looking to counter an increasingly volatile United States. Leaders from France, Canada and Finland have all travelled to Beijing in recent weeks, recoiling from Trump’s bid to seize Greenland and tariff threats against North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) allies. Trump warned on Thursday that it was “very dangerous” for its close ally Britain to be dealing with China, although Starmer brushed off those comments. Tokyo’s ties with Beijing have deteriorated since Takaichi suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily during a potential attack on Taiwan. China regards the self-ruled democratic island as its territory. Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday, with both sides highlighting the need for closer ties. He also signed a series of agreements there, with Downing Street announcing Beijing had agreed to visa-free travel for British citizens visiting China for under 30 days. No start date for that arrangement has been given yet. Takaich said the two leaders agreed during discussions on economic security that a strengthening of supply chains “including important minerals is urgently needed”. There is concern that Beijing could choke off exports of the rare earths crucial for making everything from electric cars to missiles. China, the world’s leading producer of such minerals, announced new export controls in October on rare earths and associated technologies. They have also been a major sticking point in trade negotiations between China and the United States. Britain, Japan and Italy are also developing a new fighter jet after Tokyo relied for decades on the United States for military hardware. Source link
The World Bank has approved USD 200 million in funding to implement a project aimed at strengthening the social safety net and building systems in Lebanon.A statement issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs indicated that this funding reflects the Lebanese government’s commitment to protecting the poorest and most vulnerable groups, enhancing the sustainability of the national social protection system, and supporting the economic inclusion of women, youth, and the most needy groups, given the delicate economic and social conditions Lebanon is experiencing. Source link
Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres celebrates after scoring their third goal during the Premier League match against Leeds United at Elland Road in Leeds yesterday. (AFP) Arsenal settled any fears of a collapse in their pursuit of a first Premier League title in 22 years by thrashing Leeds 4-0 yesterday as Chelsea came from two goals down to beat West Ham 3-2. The Gunners’ advantage over Manchester City and Aston Villa, who are both in action today, stretches to seven points as Mikel Arteta’s men took another step towards the title at Elland Road. A first home defeat of the season last weekend to Manchester United capped a run of just two points from a possible nine in Arsenal’s previous three league games. After finishing runners-up for the past three seasons, questions were raised over the mentality of Arteta’s men and their ability to get over the line in a title race. The visitors were dealt another blow before kick-off as Bukayo Saka was injured in the warm-up. But his replacement Noni Madueke played a major part in inflicting just a second defeat in 12 games on Leeds. “A very impressive performance, a very impressive result, especially in the context that we’ve done it,” said Arteta. Madueke’s cross was headed in by Martin Zubimendi to open the scoring. Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow could then only parry another dangerous delivery from the England winger into his own goal before half-time. Despite a fine run of form, Leeds remain only six points above the relegation zone. Their first defeat at home since November was confirmed when the much-criticised Viktor Gyokeres latched onto Gabriel Martinelli’s cross to blast in his 11th goal since joining Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon.Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to round off the scoring with a blistering strike four minutes from time. Arsenal will be hoping local rivals Tottenham can do them a favour when City visit north London, while Villa host Brentford today.Rosenior inspires Chelsea comeback Chelsea’s fine start under Liam Rosenior continued but they climbed into the top four the hard way after being outplayed by relegation-threatened West Ham for 45 minutes at Stamford Bridge.The Blues were booed off at half-time by their own fans after goals from Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville gave the visitors a deserved lead. A third consecutive league win would have taken Nuno Espirito Santo’s side to within two points of safety. But they wilted under the weight of Chelsea pressure after Rosenior’s triple half-time substitution inspired a transformed second-half performance.Two of those introduced at the break, Joao Pedro and Marc Cucurella, brought Chelsea level before Enzo Fernandez fired in the winner in stoppage time. Chelsea move above Manchester United into fourth and open up a four-point lead over Liverpool, who host Newcastle later, in the battle for a place in next season’s Champions League. Everton snatched a 1-1 draw at Brighton thanks to Beto’s 97th-minute equaliser in a result that does little for either side’s aspirations of European football next season. Pascal Gross’ first goal since returning to the Seagulls from Borussia Dortmund put Brighton in front.Bournemouth ended any remaining worries of being dragged into a relegation fight as goals from Eli Kroupi and Alex Scott earned a 2-0 win at bottom-of-the-table Wolves.The Cherries climb up to 12th and 13 points clear of the relegation zone. Source…
More than 70 people were killed Saturday in Balochistan Province, southwestern Pakistan, in coordinated armed attacks carried out by militants affiliated with the so-called Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). A Pakistani security source reported that the attacks targeted more than 12 locations across the province, resulting so far in the deaths of at least 10 police and security personnel and injuries to others, while over 50 militants were killed in clashes with security forces. These attacks come a day after the Pakistan military announced the killing of 41 militants in Balochistan, the impoverished Pakistani province often in flux due to ongoing violence. The source explained that the attacks, which included widespread gunfire and suicide operations, occurred in several areas, including Quetta, coastal Gwadar, Pasni, Mastung, and Nushki, prompting the army, police, and counter-terrorism units to respond with intensive operations to contain the situation and secure the targeted areas. The source noted that security forces thwarted several attacks thanks to a rapid and effective response, but the violence left widespread devastation, causing rail service suspensions, disruption of mobile phone services, and traffic in some areas. According to security sources, at least five civilians were also killed during the clashes, including three women and three children from a single family in coastal Gwadar. Meanwhile, militants freed 30 prisoners in Mastung after attacking a police station and seizing weapons and ammunition, and a local official was abducted in Nushki, according to official sources. In a statement, the Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attacks, asserting that it targeted military and police installations and blocked highways to delay the army's response. Earlier today, the Pakistan military announced the elimination of 58 militants during two security operations in different areas of southwestern Pakistan, after tracking militant movements in Balochistan. Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is the largest province in terms of area, rich in hydrocarbons and minerals, yet simultaneously the poorest, with about 70% of its population living under the poverty line.Pakistan has faced a longstanding insurgency in the province, but attacks have escalated in western border areas with Afghanistan in recent years.2024 was one of the deadliest years in the province, with more than 1,600 people killed, nearly half of them members of the army and police, according to data from the Islamabad Center for Security Research and Studies. Source link
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, discussed developments in the Iranian nuclear issue in a phone call on Saturday.In a press release, the Egyptian presidency stated that El-Sisi expressed Egypt’s deep concern regarding the escalating tensions in the region, emphasizing the need to avoid further escalation and rejecting military solutions. He stressed that diplomatic solutions are the only and best way to resolve the crisis, thus sparing the Middle East region further tension and instability. For his part, the Iranian President affirmed his country’s commitment to strengthening political consultation and coordination with Egypt in order to support regional stability. Source link