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Missiles target civilians and hospitals in Syria

Ma’arat al-Nu’man Central Hospital Targeted by Four Airstrikes. SAMS Alarmed by Heightened Attacks on Healthcare.

At 6.30 pm local time on Wednesday July 10, 2019, four aerial missiles were fired in the vicinity of SAMS-supported Ma’arat al-Nu’man Central Hospital, causing considerable material damage to the facility.

One missile struck the hospital directly, while the other three hit the park outside the entrance. At the time of the attack, there were approximately 250 people, including 70 in the patient rooms and 48 children and infants in the pediatric and neonatal department, in addition to their family members and staff. Within two hours, the medical personnel started to evacuate patients to other nearby hospitals, and further reduced functionality. Fortunately, no staff or patients were injured in the attack.

Today, the hospital had already received 34 injured patients from Kafroumah. The staff bravely continued to receive and treat these emergency cases, even though warplanes were flying overhead. They refused to leave their patients behind.

Hospitals and healthcare centers taregted by missiles in Syria. Photo couertesy of SAMS

Saraqib Primary Health Center, which is supported by SAMS, and Jisr al-Shughour Hospital were also targeted today. Saraqib Primary Health Center was hit 100 meters away from the entrance. Both Ma’arat al-Nu’man Central Hospital and Saraqib Primary Health Center participated in the UNOCHA-led deconflcition mechanism. Since April 26, there have been 34 attacks reported on health facilities, 12 of which participated in the deconfliction mechanism. Despite all of that, these indiscriminate and systematic attacks on healthcare continue with impunity.

SAMS strongly condemns these attacks on healthcare, and calls on the UN and broader international community to intervene immediately to investigate these attacks against humanity and provide the necessary protections.

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rayhanania

Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster at The Arab Daily News

RAY HANANIA — Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster

Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.

Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).

Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.

Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.

His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.

Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.

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