Gaza 'Is Living In A Disaster Situation'

By Katie Stallard, Sky News Correspondent, in Gaza

The first ambulance came in at speed, tyres squealing.

Inside, was a 10-year-old boy.

They rushed him to the emergency ward, but there was nothing they could do to save his life.

We saw other children being brought in - a little girl, maybe five years old, carried in a paramedic's arms.

An ambulance brings a child to Gaza's Shifa Hospital

She looked absolutely terrified.

The doctors told us they treated a six-month-old baby for shrapnel wounds to the head.

We saw an 80-year-old woman, clearly very frail and confused and clearly seriously injured.

"Gaza is living in a disaster situation," said Dr Sobhi Skaik at Shifa Hospital.

"Again the war is coming to kill and kill and kill.

"Today is the 33rd day of this massacre in Gaza. This is inhuman and it has to be stopped."

Dr Sobhu Skaik tends to an injured 80-year-old woman

He said they need basic supplies now - surgical instruments, drugs, medication, and expertise - specifically vascular, orthopaedic and neurosurgeons.

One of the ambulances pulling up outside had blast damage to the windscreen and a bullet hole in the side.

Six medics have been killed in Gaza so far.

Paramedic Ahmed Abu-Ali said: "We feel we are targeted in any minute.

"All medical teams are now afraid they are targeted, it's very hard now.

"We wake up every day and we don't know if we are coming back to our homes or not."

We saw outgoing rockets too.

Although Hamas has not admitted firing any rockets since the ceasefire ended, Islamic Jihad and other smaller militant groups have said they fired on Israel.

But Israel says Hamas violated the ceasefire, and therefore Hamas is responsible for any resulting harm to the residents Gaza, who, it says, are being used as human shields.

But it's difficult to explain that argument to a parent carrying their child into the emergency ward.

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US Planes Bomb Jihadists As Food Aid Dropped

US warplanes have bombed Islamist fighters in northern Iraq for a second time - as 30,000 meals were dropped for refugees.

Aircraft  launched a second round of strikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in northern Iraq after President Barack Obama said Washington must act to prevent "genocide".

Islamic State fighters, who have beheaded and crucified captives, have advanced to within a half an hour of Irbil, Iraq's Kurdish capital and a hub for US oil companies.

Water bundles loaded onto a plane for a humanitarian drop to refugees

They have also seized control of Iraq's biggest dam, which could allow them to flood cities and cut off vital water and electricity supplies.

Iraq's government says hundreds of women from the Yazidi religious minority have been taken captive by fighters for IS, formerly known as ISIS.

The Pentagon said two F/A-18 aircraft from an aircraft carrier in the Gulf had dropped laser-guided 500-pound bombs on the fighters' artillery.

The rough outline of the desired IS caliphate

Other airstrikes had targeted mortar positions and an Islamic State convoy.

For the second night, the US also dropped relief supplies to members of the ancient Yazidi sect.

Tens of thousands of them are massed on a desert mountaintop seeking shelter from fighters who have ordered them to convert or die.

Warplanes launched a second wave of airstrikes in northern Iraq overnight

Three cargo planes escorted by two F/A-18 combat jets dropped the supplies - including 72 bundles which contained 28,224 individually packaged meals.

Another 16 bundles contained 1,522 gallons of fresh drinking water.

Mr Obama has authorised the first US airstrikes on Iraq since he pulled all troops out in 2011.

Iraqi military personnel distribute water to Shiite Iraqi Kurds

The action is aimed at halting the Islamist advance, protecting hundreds of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities who have fled for their lives.

In Britain, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon expressed a willingness to help Americans in their efforts to provide humanitarian support.

Combat jets are trying to halt the march of jihadists towards Irbil

In the hours after the airstrikes, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banned all US civilian flights over Iraq.

British Airways also decided to stop flying over the war-torn region.

Other international airlines including Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines have halted their flights to Irbil until Monday.

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UK Sends NHS Staff To Gaza As Truce Stalls

'Again The War Is Coming To Kill And Kill'

Updated: 10:20pm UK, Friday 08 August 2014

By Katie Stallard, Sky News Correspondent, in Gaza

The first ambulance came in at speed, tyres squealing.

Inside, was a 10-year-old boy.

They rushed him to the emergency ward, but there was nothing they could do to save his life.

We saw other children being brought in - a little girl, maybe five years old, carried in a paramedic's arms.

She looked absolutely terrified.

The doctors told us they treated a six-month-old baby for shrapnel wounds to the head.

We saw an 80-year-old woman, clearly very frail and confused and clearly seriously injured.

"Gaza is living in a disaster situation," said Dr Sobhi Skaik at Shifa Hospital.

"Again the war is coming to kill and kill and kill.

"Today is the 33rd day of this massacre in Gaza. This is inhuman and it has to be stopped."

He said they need basic supplies now - surgical instruments, drugs, medication, and expertise - specifically vascular, orthopaedic and neurosurgeons.

One of the ambulances pulling up outside had blast damage to the windscreen and a bullet hole in the side.

Six medics have been killed in Gaza so far.

Paramedic Ahmed Abu-Ali said: "We feel we are targeted in any minute.

"All medical teams are now afraid they are targeted, it's very hard now.

"We wake up every day and we don't know if we are coming back to our homes or not."

We saw outgoing rockets too.

Although Hamas has not admitted firing any rockets since the ceasefire ended, Islamic Jihad and other smaller militant groups have said they fired on Israel.

But Israel says Hamas violated the ceasefire, and therefore Hamas is responsible for any resulting harm to the residents Gaza, who, it says, are being used as human shields.

But it's difficult to explain that argument to a parent carrying their child into the emergency ward.

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WHO Under Pressure To Support New Ebola Drug

Ebola Cure 'A Long Way Off': Facts About Virus

Updated: 12:08am UK, Thursday 07 August 2014

A cure for the deadly ebola virus, which has killed hundreds of people in West Africa, is "a very long way off", an expert has told Sky News.

David Evans, a professor of virology at Warwick University, said ebola is the latest disease to be transmitted "very efficiently" because of international travel.

More than 670 people in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria have fallen victim to the viral illness, which has a fatality rate of up to 90%.

Those with ebola will often be overcome by a sudden onset of fever, as well as weakness, muscle pain and headaches.

The body is then gripped by vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes, kidney and liver problems and bleeding.

The time between infection and symptoms appearing is anything from two days to three weeks.

Ebola is spread through the direct contact with the blood, organs or other bodily fluids of those infected.

The liquid that bathes the eye and semen can transmit the disease, Prof Evans said.

Horseshoe bats are believed to be the natural host of the viral disease, he said.

"These bats transmit the virus between themselves, but periodically it then ends up in probably primates or other types of bushmeat which are then hunted by villagers and the virus is then transmitted from the sick animals to humans," he said.

Transmission has also been documented through the handling of chimpanzees, gorillas and porcupines.

One of the reasons for the disease's rapid spread is a tradition at burial ceremonies for mourners to have direct contact with the body of the deceased.

"Therefore barrier methods that prevent that direct contact, including things like washing of hands and things like that provide a reasonable level of protection," he said.

Healthcare workers treating patients are particularly at risk.

Public Health England said in a risk assessment published earlier this month said that the current outbreak could increase the risk for Britons working in humanitarian and healthcare delivery.

But the threat to tourists, visitors and expatriates is still considered "very low if elementary precautions are followed".

Prof Evans said there had been "periodic outbreaks" of ebola since the first recorded instances in 1976, but this is the deadliest so far.

There were two simultaneous outbreaks in Nzara, Sudan and Yambuku, a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo located near the Ebola River.

Data from the World Health Organisation shows the previous deadliest outbreak was the one in the DRC, when 280 out of 315 people infected died.

In the same country in 1995 another outbreak claimed 254 lives, with 315 patients infected.

In 2000, there were 425 cases in Uganda and 224 people died.

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Obama Approves Strikes To Stop Iraq 'Genocide'

President Barack Obama has authorised airstrikes against Islamist militants in northern Iraq and ordered airdrops of supplies to besieged religious minorities.

Three aircraft delivered food and water to thousands of Iraqis trapped on a mountain, and left the drop zone after 15 minutes, according to the Pentagon.

In a late-night televised address, Mr Obama said targeted strikes would be launched - if needed - to stop the advance on Irbil by the Islamic State - the group previously known as ISIS or ISIL.

The President said the action would be aimed at defending Americans and protect civilians under siege, preventing a "potential act of genocide".

Thousands of Yazidis have fled their homes

"Earlier this week, one Iraqi in the area cried to the world, 'There is no one coming to help,'" said Mr Obama.

"Well, today America is coming to help."

However, he stressed there was no intention of sending in any troops.

Prime Minister David Cameron called the attacks by IS "barbaric" and said he was "extremely concerned by the appalling situation in Iraq and the desperate situation facing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis".

However, Downing Street said there would be no military action in Iraq.

Some 40,000 residents from the ancient Yazidi community have been forced to leave the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar after the Sunni fighters overwhelmed Kurdish forces.

Many Yazidis are trapped on Mount Sinjar without food or water and are at risk of starvation as the militants surround the base.

"Children are dying of thirst, meanwhile ISIL forces have called for the destruction of the entire Yazidi people, which would constitute genocide," Mr Obama said.

Obama in discussion with his national security team

"These innocent families are faced with a horrible choice: Descend the mountain and be slaughtered, or stay and slowly die of thirst and hunger."

Two F-18 fighter jets kept watch over the three cargo aircraft - one C-17 and two C-130s - during the Mount Sinjar aid mission.

The planes dropped 72 bundles, containing more than 20,000 litres of drinking water and 8,000 pre-packaged meals.

Militants have been surging across the north of Iraq towards Irbil, the capital of the Kurdish region.

The US has a consulate in the city, where civilian and military staff work.

Mr Obama said target would target IS convoys "should they move toward the city".

The announcement was Mr Obama's most significant response yet to the crisis. The President had been reluctant to deepen US military re-engagement in Iraq after the last troops left in 2011.

ISIS issued an ultimatum toYazidis to convert to Islam

But he said the strikes had been approved to help Iraqi forces and stop a "massacre" of the Yazidis.

IS has issued the Yazidi people an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a religious fine, flee their homes or face death.

The group sees the Yazidis, who are followers of a religion derived from Zoroastrianism, as "devil worshippers".

Attacks on minorities in Iraq could constitute a crime against humanity, said the UN Security Council at an emergency meeting on Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Christians, are fleeing from the jihadists who have swept through more than a dozen towns in recent days.

Militants have been surging across the north of Iraq towards Irbil

Among them, the militants captured Iraq's biggest Christian town, Qaraqosh, prompting many residents to leave, fearing for their lives.

The group has declared a caliphate - an Islamic state - across much of Iraq and Syria and wants to bring in a strict version of Islamic law.

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Ebola An International Health Emergency - WHO

Ebola Cure 'A Long Way Off': Facts About Virus

Updated: 12:08am UK, Thursday 07 August 2014

A cure for the deadly ebola virus, which has killed hundreds of people in West Africa, is "a very long way off", an expert has told Sky News.

David Evans, a professor of virology at Warwick University, said ebola is the latest disease to be transmitted "very efficiently" because of international travel.

More than 670 people in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria have fallen victim to the viral illness, which has a fatality rate of up to 90%.

Those with ebola will often be overcome by a sudden onset of fever, as well as weakness, muscle pain and headaches.

The body is then gripped by vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes, kidney and liver problems and bleeding.

The time between infection and symptoms appearing is anything from two days to three weeks.

Ebola is spread through the direct contact with the blood, organs or other bodily fluids of those infected.

The liquid that bathes the eye and semen can transmit the disease, Prof Evans said.

Horseshoe bats are believed to be the natural host of the viral disease, he said.

"These bats transmit the virus between themselves, but periodically it then ends up in probably primates or other types of bushmeat which are then hunted by villagers and the virus is then transmitted from the sick animals to humans," he said.

Transmission has also been documented through the handling of chimpanzees, gorillas and porcupines.

One of the reasons for the disease's rapid spread is a tradition at burial ceremonies for mourners to have direct contact with the body of the deceased.

"Therefore barrier methods that prevent that direct contact, including things like washing of hands and things like that provide a reasonable level of protection," he said.

Healthcare workers treating patients are particularly at risk.

Public Health England said in a risk assessment published earlier this month said that the current outbreak could increase the risk for Britons working in humanitarian and healthcare delivery.

But the threat to tourists, visitors and expatriates is still considered "very low if elementary precautions are followed".

Prof Evans said there had been "periodic outbreaks" of ebola since the first recorded instances in 1976, but this is the deadliest so far.

There were two simultaneous outbreaks in Nzara, Sudan and Yambuku, a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo located near the Ebola River.

Data from the World Health Organisation shows the previous deadliest outbreak was the one in the DRC, when 280 out of 315 people infected died.

In the same country in 1995 another outbreak claimed 254 lives, with 315 patients infected.

In 2000, there were 425 cases in Uganda and 224 people died.

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