|
Almost six months into Israel's assault, Gaza's health sector has been completely decimated. Before October 7, Gaza had 36 hospitals. Now only two are minimally functional, and 10 are partially functional, according to the United Nations. The rest have shut down completely after either being shelled, besieged and raided by Israeli troops, or running out of fuel and medicine. Israel's assault has killed over 32,500 Palestinians, including over 14,000 children, and wounded nearly 75,000. We speak with Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care physician who just spent two weeks volunteering and living at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza, about what she witnessed and the conditions of healthcare in the beleaguered and devastated territory. "This is not a humanitarian crisis. This is the worst of what humanity is capable of, and it's entirely all man-made," says Haj-Hassan. "This is an utter and complete failure of humanity, and, to be frank, I feel ashamed to be an American citizen. I feel ashamed to be part of a society that has allowed this to continue."
|
|
Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik via ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin says his forces will shoot down any Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets given to Ukraine, claiming that the nuclear-capable aircraft wouldn't change the situation on the battlefield.
Speaking to Russian air force pilots late Wednesday, Putin said Moscow has no intention of attacking any countries in NATO but that F-16s could be targeted wherever they're located if they're being used against Russian forces. "Of course, if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us legitimate targets, wherever they might be located," Putin said, according to Reuters.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said F-16s were on schedule to be in the skies over Ukraine by mid-summer. He added that "pilot training is going well" but acknowledged that much more training for both pilots and engineers would be required "because the transition from Soviet-type aircraft to Western-type aircraft... requires major changes in everything."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
|
|