UNITED NATIONS(National Times): Following reports of Israeli strikes inside Iran near a nuclear power station Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a new appeal to all parties to \u201cstop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East\u201d.
\u201cThe Secretary-General condemns any act of retaliation and appeals to the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond,\u201d he said in a statement issued by his Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Echoing those concerns, UN atomic energy agency chief Rafael Grossi urged \u201cextreme restraint\u201d from all sides, after more than six and a half months of war in Gaza that have fuelled fears of a wider regional conflict. \u201cIAEA can confirm that there is no damage to Iran\u2019s nuclear sites\u201d and Director-General Grossi \u201ccontinues to call for extreme restraint from everybody and reiterates that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts\u201d, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a tweet following unconfirmed media reports that possible drone strikes had targeted the Iranian province of Isfahan, which is home to nuclear facilities and military garrisons.
In Geneva, too, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, urged all parties \u201cto take steps to de-escalate the situation\u201d rapidly. \u201c(We) call on third States, in particular those with influence, to do all in their power to ensure there is no further deterioration in an already extremely precarious situation,\u201d said OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence. In Gaza, aid teams offered new insight into the dangers faced by Palestinian civilians \u2013 particularly pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers \u2013 as a result of the \u201cwanton destruction\u201d of vital medical equipment and widespread \u201cdehydration, malnutrition and fear\u201d among Palestinians.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Dominic Allen, Representative for the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) for Palestine, said that there were indications that the number of complicated births is nearly twice what it was before war erupted. \u201cThere is absolutely an increase in the numbers,\u201d he said, adding that pre-war, around 15 per cent of births required some form of emergency obstetric care.
Today, some doctors have reported \u201ca doubling of what they previously had dealt with, and this is due to malnutrition, dehydration and fear, which impact the pregnant woman\u2019s ability to give birth safely and carry their baby to full term safely,\u201d the UNFPA official said. Allen described his latest mission to Gaza to assess the impact of Israeli attacks on healthcare at embattled hospitals in the north, central and southern governorates. It was clear that the last remaining hospitals in the enclave \u2013 including its second largest, Nasser Hospital \u2013 are \u201cclinging to life themselves whilst they are a lifeline for the pregnant women of Gaza\u201d, Allen said via video link from Jerusalem.
\u201cWhat I saw, it breaks my heart\u2026It\u2019s indescribable. What we see there is medical equipment, purposefully broken, ultrasounds \u2013 which you will know is a very important tool for helping ensure safe births \u2013 with cables that have been cut, screens of complex medical equipment like ultrasounds and other with the screens smashed. So, purposeful, wanton destruction in the maternity ward.\u201d Before intense Israeli bombardment began in response to Hamas-led terror attacks across southern Israel on 7 October, Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis had a maternity ward which UNFPA teams have supported and supplied for years.
In order to be fully functional again, the hospital will need reconditioned water and sanitation services and repairs to damaged electricity generators, at a bare minimum. \u201cBut, I stood beside the warehouse (where) we delivered supplies many months ago and it was literally burning; there\u2019s so much work to do in terms of trying to re-establish that lifeline,\u201d Allen said The UNFPA mission, which began on Monday 8 April and ended this Wednesday, was carried out in partnership with the UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
The objective was to visit around 10 hospitals in Gaza, among them Al Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, which was \u201coverwhelmed with trauma patients\u201d and not supporting maternity care. At Emirati Hospital in the south of the enclave, Mr. Allen recounted meeting the medical director of the facility who said that \u201che no longer sees normal-sized babies.\u201d Turning to Rafah and continuing fears of an Israeli incursion, the UNFPA officer underscored the \u201cgreat sense of fear\u201d hanging over the more than 1.2 million people sheltering there.
\u201cThere is a palpable fear from the Gazans who I spoke with \u2013 the midwives, doctors, pregnant women, my fellow colleagues, who are in Gaza\u2026Right now it\u2019s a haven for 1.2 million Gazans; it\u2019s not a safe haven, but it\u2019s a haven at least.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS(National Times): Following reports of Israeli strikes inside Iran near a nuclear power station Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a new appeal to all parties to \u201cstop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East\u201d.\u201cThe Secretary-General condemns any act of retaliation and appeals to the international community to work together to prevent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[617],"class_list":["post-80384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-un-chief","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n