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A narrow escape for Dr. Tedros, the last hospitals in north Gaza forced to close, a hospital in Jordan heals wounds, a look back at Mostar, the first aid shipments reached beseiged areas south of Khartoum, and UNICEF appeals for governments to treat orphaned victims of boats lost in the Mediterranean with compassion and according to international accords.
Bosnia
A look back at the war in Bosnia & Herzegovina - War Child and the bakery it helped establish in Mostar and the impact it made in one child's life. Article shared by Viviane Sakkal (The Guardian, "It was a light in the dark' )
Gaza
The arrest of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, during an Israeli raid has left the region without its last major functioning hospital. The World Health Organization declared the facility out of service after patients and staff were forcibly evacuated under claims that the hospital was being used by militants, which officials deny. Abu Safiya, reportedly injured and held in a notorious detention center, is among hundreds of detained healthcare workers, amid accusations of torture and rights violations. Humanitarian groups have condemned the targeting of medical personnel and facilities, calling for urgent action to protect Gaza’s collapsing healthcare system.(The Guardian, "Gaza hospital director being held at notorious Israeli prison, say family") (AP News, "Israel detains the director of one of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals during a raid"
Following forced evacuation and destruction last week of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, Israeli forces have surrounded and ordered evacuation of the Indonesian Hospital and Al Awda Hospital. Taken toghether, these are the last three functioning hospitals in northern Gaza. These continue the series of attacks by Israeli forces on health services in Gaza. ( Al Jazeera, "Israel orders evacutaion of Gaza's critical Indonesia and al-Awda hospitals.")
In "Requiem for a Refugee Camp," Mosab Abu Toha reflects on the destruction of Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, once a vibrant community and now devastated by relentless Israeli airstrikes after October 7, 2023. He recounts personal losses, including relatives killed and homes destroyed, and contrasts Gaza’s former resilience with the overwhelming despair of 2024, as displacement and devastation reach historic levels. Reflecting on generational trauma, he writes: “If they bring back to you the old cafés, who will bring back to you the old friends?” (The New Yorker, "Requiem for a Refugee Camp")
Jordan
Putting lives together again after the bullets stopped - The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Mowasah hospital in Amman, Jordan, specializes in reconstructive surgery, physiotherapy, and psychological care for war-wounded patients from conflicts across the Middle East and beyond. The hospital treats victims of bullets, bombs, and burns, with a focus on restoring quality of life after acute trauma. Staff combine medical innovation, such as 3D printing prosthetics, with comprehensive mental health support to help patients recover physically and emotionally. The stories of patients, like a 12-year-old girl preparing for amputation and a Yemeni cameraman who endured years of untreated injuries, reflect both the devastation of war and the hospital’s life-changing care. (The Guardian, "‘Bullets can make a real mess of bones’: the hospital where the war wounded have their lives put together again")
Putting lives together again after the bullets stopped - The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Mowasah hospital in Amman, Jordan, specializes in reconstructive surgery, physiotherapy, and psychological care for war-wounded patients from conflicts across the Middle East and beyond. The hospital treats victims of bullets, bombs, and burns, with a focus on restoring quality of life after acute trauma. Staff combine medical innovation, such as 3D printing prosthetics, with comprehensive mental health support to help patients recover physically and emotionally. The stories of patients, like a 12-year-old girl preparing for amputation and a Yemeni cameraman who endured years of untreated injuries, reflect both the devastation of war and the hospital’s life-changing care. (The Guardian, "‘Bullets can make a real mess of bones’: the hospital where the war wounded have their lives put together again")
Mediterranean
UNICEF urges nations to prioritize migrant children after parents were lost at sea. Over 20 people, including women and children were missing at sea after their boat capsized as they approached Lampeedusa. An 8 year old child was among the survivors. The death toll and number of missing persons in the Mediterranean in 2024 have now surpassed 2,200, with nearly 1,700 lives lost on the central Mediterranean route alone. This includes hundreds of children. UNICEF calls on governments to use the Migration and Asylum Pact to prioritize safeguarding children. This includes ensuring safe, legal pathways for protection and family reunification, as well as coordinated search and rescue operations, safe disembarkation, community-based reception, and access to asylum services. (UNICEF Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe, Regina De Dominicis, "Over 20 people missing in the latest shipwreck")
Sudan
First aid shipment reaches long beseiged Jebel Aulia and southern Khartoum. Sheldon Yett, Unicef’s Sudan representative, said: “Access to the area has been essentially cut off due the conflict dynamics. It took three months of often daily negotiations with government authorities at all levels and with other parties who controlled the access. Article shared by Viviane Sakkal. (The Guardian "First aid convoy reaches besieged area of Khartoum"). Unicef sent five trucks with medicines and malnutrition kits for children, while Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) contributed one truck of medical supplies, according to the Khartoum State Emergency Response Room (ERR), a grassroots aid group that is helping to coordinate the distribution.
Syria
A long conflict has given way to an edgy, uncertain peace. Images taken just after the precipitous end of the civil war reveal a secret legacy that is just becoming visible.(The New Yorker, "Syria Faces its Past and its Future")
UNJSPF
The Fifth Committee of the 79th United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus a draft Resolution on managing the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) after nearly three months of negotiations at its plenary session on December 24 in New York. (Vietnam+ "Vietnamese-coordinated resolution on UN Joint Staff Pension Fund approved")
Yemen
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and a U.N. delegation narrowly escaped harm during an Israeli airstrike on Yemen's Sanaa airport. Tedros described the chaotic scene as people fled in disarray, noting that his team was "completely exposed" and survived by sheer luck. The attack injured a U.N. crew member and killed at least three others. ""It was a matter of luck, otherwise if the missile deviated just slightly it could have been on our heads." – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
(NPR "WHO chief recounts narrow escape at Yemen airport hit by Israeli missile")
UNICEF urges nations to prioritize migrant children after parents were lost at sea. Over 20 people, including women and children were missing at sea after their boat capsized as they approached Lampeedusa. An 8 year old child was among the survivors. The death toll and number of missing persons in the Mediterranean in 2024 have now surpassed 2,200, with nearly 1,700 lives lost on the central Mediterranean route alone. This includes hundreds of children. UNICEF calls on governments to use the Migration and Asylum Pact to prioritize safeguarding children. This includes ensuring safe, legal pathways for protection and family reunification, as well as coordinated search and rescue operations, safe disembarkation, community-based reception, and access to asylum services. (UNICEF Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe, Regina De Dominicis, "Over 20 people missing in the latest shipwreck")
Sudan
First aid shipment reaches long beseiged Jebel Aulia and southern Khartoum. Sheldon Yett, Unicef’s Sudan representative, said: “Access to the area has been essentially cut off due the conflict dynamics. It took three months of often daily negotiations with government authorities at all levels and with other parties who controlled the access. Article shared by Viviane Sakkal. (The Guardian "First aid convoy reaches besieged area of Khartoum"). Unicef sent five trucks with medicines and malnutrition kits for children, while Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) contributed one truck of medical supplies, according to the Khartoum State Emergency Response Room (ERR), a grassroots aid group that is helping to coordinate the distribution.
Syria
A long conflict has given way to an edgy, uncertain peace. Images taken just after the precipitous end of the civil war reveal a secret legacy that is just becoming visible.(The New Yorker, "Syria Faces its Past and its Future")
UNJSPF
The Fifth Committee of the 79th United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus a draft Resolution on managing the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) after nearly three months of negotiations at its plenary session on December 24 in New York. (Vietnam+ "Vietnamese-coordinated resolution on UN Joint Staff Pension Fund approved")
Yemen
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and a U.N. delegation narrowly escaped harm during an Israeli airstrike on Yemen's Sanaa airport. Tedros described the chaotic scene as people fled in disarray, noting that his team was "completely exposed" and survived by sheer luck. The attack injured a U.N. crew member and killed at least three others. ""It was a matter of luck, otherwise if the missile deviated just slightly it could have been on our heads." – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
(NPR "WHO chief recounts narrow escape at Yemen airport hit by Israeli missile")
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