Condemnation mounts as Israeli strike forces Gaza City's last functional hospital to cease operations

Palestinians in Gaza have condemned Israel for repeatedly striking medical facilities in the territory since October 2023, after Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, the last fully functional hospital in Gaza City, was forced to shut down as its key infrastructure had been damaged in an Israeli airstrike early on Sunday.

The hospital buildings sustained severe damage in the Israeli airstrike. While local medical and civil defense personnel are working to clear the debris and perform emergency repairs, it remains difficult for the hospital to resume operations in the short term.

This marks the third time the hospital has been targeted. In the early weeks of the Israeli military operations, the hospital was hit massively, leading to the death of almost 500 displaced Palestinians.

"Israel's direct attack on the hospital completely violated international law and ethical standards. This hospital is world-renowned, with doctors, refugees, journalists, and even foreign delegations stationed here, yet the Israeli army insisted on bombing this area," said Munir Al-Barsh, director general of the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

After the airstrike, 50 patients from the hospital were transferred to other facilities, but 40 others who are critically ill cannot be transferred. Muhammad Abu Nasser, who was injured in an explosion shortly after the outbreak of the latest round of the Palestine-Israel conflict in October 2023, had steel nails implanted in both of his legs.

He requires to undergo numerous surgeries, and he is still unable to walk now. Following the airstrike, he was temporarily placed near the hospital, awaiting transfer to another facility.

"I was in the surgical ward when the attack occurred. The blast left patients, doctors, and everyone in the hospital terrified. The hospital should have been a safe haven, but now almost no hospital in Gaza is fully operational. Where can we go now?" Nasser said.

The health authorities in Gaza reported on Tuesday that the Palestinian death toll since the start of the conflict on October 7, 2023 had reached 51,000, with 116,343 wounded.

Condemnation mounts as Israeli strike forces Gaza City's last functional hospital to cease operations

Condemnation mounts as Israeli strike forces Gaza City's last functional hospital to cease operations

Gaza’s last fully functional hospital forced to cease operations after Israeli airstrike

Colombian President Gustavo Petro mobilized a large-scale march in the capital Bogota on International Workers' Day, urging legislators to approve a national referendum on labor reforms.

Petro mobilized Colombians to march in support of the referendum after his initiatives faced legislative setbacks in Congress. The reforms, central to his administration's social transformation agenda, were recently defeated in the Senate amid strong opposition.

Seizing the symbolic timing of International Workers' Day, Petro reignited efforts to fulfill long-delayed campaign promises.

"(I come to this march to support) the labor reforms, the pension reforms, the health reforms," said Carlos, a citizen.

"The march has been peaceful. People are happy, and their passion is running high," said Rocio Duzant, another citizen.

Petro asked citizens to march all the way to Congress to pressure legislators into approving the national referendum, known in Colombia as a popular consultation. The proposed referendum would ask voters whether they agree or disagree with reforms to Colombia's labor laws.

"Since congress did not approve, the people are the ones who should decide, they should approve, they should be the ones to say yes to these labor reforms, through a popular consultation," said Sandra Jaimes, a Colombian senator.

The labor reforms aim to provide workers with increased access to health benefits and overtime pay.

"(In Colombia,) there are more workers without rights than workers with rights. Many don't get paid health benefits, pension, security. What we are looking for is labor stability, so that those thousands of workers can feel it," said Jaime Dussan, a former Colombian senator.

Colombians rally in capital on Int’l Workers' Day, urging labor reforms