Middle East latest: An Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital kills a teen in a wheelchair

An Israeli drone strike on a hospital compound in northern Gaza on Thursday killed a 16-year-old boy in a wheelchair and wounded at least 12 other people, including medical staff, the Gaza Health Ministry and the hospital director said.

Kamal Adwan Hospital is one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza, where Israeli forces are pressing an offensive that has almost completely sealed off the area from humanitarian aid for two months.

Earlier Thursday, the human rights group Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid. Israel says it goes to great lengths to avoid harming civilians as it battles Hamas.

Israel's war against Hamas has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel in October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.

Israel’s blistering retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,500 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

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WASHINGTON -- Three U.S. service members were being evaluated for potential traumatic brain injuries following an attack near a base in eastern Syria this week, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday.

Ryder said U.S. Central Command is still evaluating who was behind the attack near Mission Support Site Euphrates, which prompted the U.S. to conduct counter strikes on Tuesday. At the time, the Pentagon said rockets and mortars had landed in the vicinity of the base.

The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria to conduct missions to counter the Islamic Stage group.

By Lolita Baldor

BEIRUT — Hezbollah chief Naim Kassem said in a televised speech on Friday that the Lebanese militant group will provide financial assistance to families whose homes were completely destroyed during the recent war with Israel.

In addition to being an armed group, Hezbollah is also a political party and provides extensive social services.

In his second speech since the ceasefire that ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel on Nov. 27, Kassem reiterated that the U.N. Resolution 1701 “is not a new agreement,” adding that it stipulates that “Israel must withdraw from all Lebanese territories.”

“The agreement is limited to the area south of the Litani River and nothing else,” Kassem said. He also accused Israel of committing over 60 violations of the ceasefire.

Seated against the backdrop of a banner reading “reconstruction campaign,” Kassem announced that Hezbollah, with support from Iran, will provide financial aid to families whose homes were completely destroyed during the war. Those in Beirut and its southern suburbs will receive $14,000, while families outside the capital will receive $12,000, covering annual rent and compensation for furniture, he said.

For partially damaged homes, specialized committees will assess the damages, Kassem said.

Commenting on Syria and the stunning offensive by jihadi insurgents in recent days, Kassem said Hezbollah “will stand alongside Syria to stop the aggression.”

“The aggression against Syria is sponsored by America and Israel,” Kassem said.

He did not specify whether Hezbollah would send fighters to Syria to join forces with the Syrian army.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration says it believes accusations by Amnesty International that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza are “unfounded” although it says human rights groups play a “vital role” in speaking to the consequences of the conflict.

Deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel declined to comment Thursday about specifics in the report, saying he would “let Amnesty International speak to the details about it.” But, he said the administration continues to disagree with its conclusion, as it has with previous similar reports from other organizations.

“As you’ve heard us say previously, we disagree with the conclusions of such a report,” Patel told reporters in Washington. “We have said previously and continue to find that the allegations of genocide are unfounded. But there continues to be a vital role that civil society organizations like Amnesty International and human rights groups and NGOs play in providing information and analysis as it relates to Gaza and what’s going on.”

At the same time, he said the administration’s concern about the situation in Gaza also remains unchanged and urged Israel to do more to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

“We continue to stress at every turn that there is a moral and strategic priority for Israel to comply with international humanitarian law and that is something we’re going to continue to raise with partners in the region and directly with Israel,” Patel said.

CAIRO — An Israeli drone strike on a hospital compound in northern Gaza killed a 16-year-old boy in a wheelchair and wounded at least 12 other people, including medical staff, the Gaza Health Ministry and the hospital director said.

Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said an Israeli drone deliberately targeted patients and staff at the entrance to the reception and emergency area of Kamal Adwan Hospital, killing Mahmoud Abu al-Aish, a patient being taken in a wheelchair to the radiology department.

Abu Safiya spoke in a video he posted on social media, standing inside the hospital as doctors operated on a wounded man behind him, calling it, “The injured treating the injured.”

Abu Safiya was wounded in his thigh and back by an Israeli drone strike on the hospital last month.

Israel says it goes to great lengths to avoid harming civilians as it battles Hamas.

Kamal Adwan Hospital has been struck multiple times over the past two months since Israel launched a fierce military operation in northern Gaza against Hamas militants. In October, Israeli forces raided the hospital, saying that militants were sheltering inside and arrested a number of people, including some staff. Hospital officials denied the claim.

The United Nations humanitarian office estimates up to 75,000 people remain in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and the Jabaliya refugee camp.

The area has been almost completely sealed off from humanitarian aid for two months and experts have warned that a famine may have set in.

A medical relief team from the U.N. World Health Organization was able to reach Kamal Adwan Hospital on Monday, delivering 10,000 liters of fuel (2,640 gallons), blood supplies, essential medical items and food. The U.N. press office also said

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian mothers in Gaza are struggling to secure baby formula for their newborn children and are forced to resort to alternatives that aren't the best options for infants.

The Health Ministry in Gaza reported Thursday a shortage in baby formula amid a lack of aid entering the besieged territory and high prices due to scarcity. If found in the market, one box of baby formula could cost up to $50, according to an Associated Press journalist.

Ahmed al-Farra, director of the child and maternity department at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, said in the video statement posted by the Health Ministry that Israeli forces have been denying the entry of baby formula to the Gaza Strip for around three months.

He explained that some women in Gaza can’t breastfeed their babies due to their own malnutrition or illness and must resort to giving infants starch or dissolved herbs instead, which pose a health risk.

One mother said in a video posted by the Health Ministry that she was feeding her baby crushed biscuits, ground rice, and Cerelac brand baby formula if available. Medical professionals often recommend waiting to feed a child solid foods until at least the age of six months.

The amount of aid entering Gaza plunged in October, and hunger is widespread across the territory, even in central Gaza where aid groups have more access. Humanitarian organizations say Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order make it difficult to deliver assistance. Israel has said it is working to increase the flow of aid.

JERUSALEM — Israeli rights groups are calling on the government to stop the “forcible transfer” of Palestinians out of northern Gaza and for the displaced to be allowed to return home.

A joint letter from five well-known groups says “this forcible transfer is being undertaken through direct attacks on the civilian population, threats of such attacks, and the creation of inhumane living conditions.”

The letter was issued by Gisha, Adalah, HaMoked, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, groups based in Israel that advocate for Palestinian rights.

Tens of thousands have fled Gaza’s northernmost governorate since Israel launched a military operation there in early October against Hamas militants. The United Nations humanitarian office estimates up to 75,000 people remain in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and the Jabaliya refugee camp.

The area has been almost completely sealed off from humanitarian aid for two months and experts have warned that a famine may have set in.

Israel has ordered repeated mass evacuations since the start of the war. Around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have fled, often several times. Hundreds of thousands are packed into sprawling tent camps along the coast, an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone where Israel has also carried out repeated strikes against what it says are militant targets.

Moshe Yaalon, a former top Israeli general and defense minister, said last week that Israel was engaged in “ethnic cleansing” and other war crimes in northern Gaza. Amnesty International on Wednesday said Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

Israel has adamantly denied the allegations, saying it goes to great lengths to avoid harming civilians as it battles Hamas, which ignited the war with its Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel.

CAIRO — Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.

The human rights group released a report Thursday in the Middle East that said such actions could not be justified by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, which ignited the war, or the presence of militants in civilian areas. Amnesty said the United States and other allies of Israel could be complicit in genocide, and called on them to halt arms shipments.

“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now,” Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said in the report.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.” It is challenging such allegations at the International Court of Justice, and it has rejected the International Criminal Court’s accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister committed war crimes in Gaza.

“The deplorable and fanatical organization Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated report that is entirely false and based on lies,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Israel accused Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate Israel, of carrying out a genocidal massacre in the attack that triggered the war, and said it is defending itself in accordance with international law.

Unexploded ammunition fired from Lebanon lies on a road in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A man waits in his car as an Israeli tank is moved by a truck in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Tourists from Jerusalem observe destroyed buildings in Odaisseh, a village in southern Lebanon near the Israeli-Lebanese border, from northern Israel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

An Israeli soldier gives instruction to a platoon in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Palestinians survey the aftermath of an Israeli army airstrike on Wednesday at the Muwassi camp for displaced people near Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. Palestinian health officials reported that at least 21 people were killed in the strike. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A body recovered earlier lies on the ground at the Muwassi camp near Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. Israeli airstrikes hit the camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, according to the head of a nearby hospital. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A body is recovered from the debris in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike at the Muwassi camp near Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. Israeli airstrikes struck the camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, according to the head of a nearby hospital. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A displaced Palestinian woman bakes biscuits and breads on a makeshift oven as she sits on a tent set up on an area in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinian Yusuf Sobuh, 60, left, cooks noodles as her husband sits next, in their tent set up on an area in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Displaced Palestinians sit next to a makeshift oven on a tent set up on an area in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An Israeli armored vehicle transits around the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

A body is recovered from the debris in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike at the Muwasi camp near Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Displaced Palestinians children play next to tents set up on an area in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A doll lies among plastic debris and clothes in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike at the Muwassi camp near Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. Israeli airstrikes struck the camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, according to the head of a nearby hospital. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The body 18-month-old Sham Shurrab is carried by her uncle for burial in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike at the Muwassi camp, outside the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. Israeli airstrikes struck the camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, according to the head of a nearby hospital. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in Kazakhstan after being diverted, killing 38 of 67 people on board. Some experts alleged that the plane went down after being hit by Russian air defense systems.

Some things to know about the crash and the speculation about a possible cause:

Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons that aren't fully clear yet. It crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau, Kazakhstan, after flying east across the Caspian Sea.

The plane went down near the coast about 3 kilometers (around 2 miles) from Aktau. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before hitting the ground and exploding in a fireball.

Rescuers have rushed 29 people who survived the crash to hospitals.

Azerbaijan observed a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday. National flags were lowered across the country, traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course.

Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities say they are investigating the crash. Embraer told The Associated Press in a statement that the company is “ready to assist all relevant authorities.”

Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that preliminary information indicated that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.

Some experts alleged that the holes seen in the plane’s tail section pictured after the crash possibly indicate that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.

Mark Zee of OPSGroup, which monitors the world’s airspace and airports for risks, said that the analysis of the fragments of the crashed plane indicate with a 90-99% probability that it was hit by a surface-to-air missile

Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm based in the United Kingdom, warned its clients that the “Azerbaijan Airlines flight was likely shot down by a Russian military air-defense system.”

Osprey CEO Andrew Nicholson said that the company had issued more than 200 alerts regarding drone attacks and air defense systems in Russia during the war.

In Azerbaijan, Caliber online newpspaper claimed that the airliner was fired upon by a Russian Pantsyr-S air defense system as it was approaching Grozny. It questioned why Russian authorities failed to close the airport despite the drone attack in the area on Wednesday, and why they didn’t allow the plane to land in Grozny or other Russian airports nearby after it was hit.

Asked Thursday about the claims that the plane had been fired upon by air defense assets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it would be wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict.”

Officials in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have similarly avoided comment on a possible cause of the crash, saying it will be up to investigators to determine it.

Flowers and portraits are placed at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

In this image taken from video released by the Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers transport wounded passengers from a medical plane after the Azerbaijani Airline crashed, near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, upon their arrival at the Zhukovsky airport outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)

St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov lays a bunch of flowers at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Azerbaijan's national flag at half-mast in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, is seen in front of a Government's building in the center of Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aziz Karimov)

The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Azamat Sarsenbayev)

Azerbaijan's national flag at half-mast in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, is seen in the center of Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aziz Karimov)

In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers work at the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, Members of an investigation committee and local officials walk past the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lying on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)

In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, a part of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)