Palestinian children wounded in Gaza strikes receive medical treatment in Lebanon
Beirut: A group of Palestinian children injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have been transferred to Lebanon for specialized medical care, according to health officials and aid agencies, as reported by Reuters.
Six-year-old Omar Abu Kuwaik lost his hand and suffered severe burns and leg injuries in a December 2023 airstrike. Omar arrived in Beirut earlier this month through an evacuation facilitated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The strike on his grandparents’ home killed his parents, sister and other relatives, making him the sole survivor. Doctors in Lebanon are evaluating him for reconstructive surgery and a prosthetic hand.
14-year-old Amir Hajjaj, sustained shrapnel injuries to his shoulders and legs. He also lost his fingers when his family home in northern Gaza was struck in 2023. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation in Beirut.
In a separate case, Aya Abdallah aged 7, lost her right leg in an airstrike. Her sister Mays aged 5, suffered fractures and nerve damage. Both girls are receiving treatment in Lebanon. Aya is expected to be fitted with a prosthetic limb and Mays will continue physiotherapy.
According to UNICEF records around 45,000 children have been wounded in Gaza since October 2023. Many sustained permanent disabilities, while more than 18,000 children have been killed.
Due to Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals and restricted exit routes, medical authorities in Beirut have noted that only a limited number of wounded children have been evacuated
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Separate nodal officer in all districts to prevent female foeticides in Karnataka: Minister
Belagavi (PTI): Accepting that the female foeticide has not stopped in the state, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday said that the government is taking strict measures to prevent it.
The minister said the government is appointing separate nodal officers in all districts and tightening measures to prevent foeticide, which he called a "social evil".
He also assured that the government will consider strengthening legislation to control such activities.
The minister was responding to a question by BJP MLC C T Ravi in the Legislative Council.
"Female foeticides have certainly not stopped. If you look at the sex ratio, there is a lot of difference. I accept that this is happening," Rao said.
"Foeticides are not happening under pressure; voluntarily, it is happening, for not wanting a girl child. These things are happening based on the sex determination of the foetus at some hospitals. Sex determination is illegal, but with the advancement in technology, portable ultrasound machines have been developed, which can be easily carried anywhere, and scans and tests can be done. This needs to be controlled. We will bring it to the notice of the central government," he said.
In some districts and in a few hospitals, a higher number of male child births is happening. It is found with the help of intelligence input, the minister said.
"Information is being gathered on the taluk in which the male-female ratio is worsening, what is happening in which hospital, and appropriate action is being taken to crack down on such a network, after proper evaluation."
Decoy operations have been done at seven places in the last two years, to identify those involved in illegal activities linked to female foeticides, and actions have been taken against officials and hospitals involved, he said, adding that more needs to be done on priority.
Responding to a question by Ravi about whether any stringent legislation is being brought, Rao said, the government will consider strengthening the legislation and making it stricter to control this.
"Some amendments have been made to the existing laws in the last two years....advanced technology and the internet is being used to carry out such things, also oral medicines for abortions are available over the counter.
We need to look into bringing legislation to control them. The Food and Drug Administration has issued instructions to pharmacists that the sale of such drugs should be documented."
The minister also said that measures are also being taken for the effective implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC & PNDT) Act, and awareness is being created against the identification of female foetuses and female foeticide.
