UAE opens prosthetic limb centre at Gaza field hospital


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The UAE has launched a centre for amputees at its field hospital in the Gaza Strip to provide prosthetic limbs to Palestinians wounded during the war with Israel.

The Prosthetic Limb Centre opened on Wednesday as part of the Gallant Knight 3 humanitarian operation, directed by President Sheikh Mohamed.

Measurements were taken of 36 patients on the centre's opening day for the manufacture of the prosthetics.

The number of people supported by the initiative is expected to exceed 100 within days, state news agency Wam reported.

Staff at the centre will deliver physical therapy and rehabilitation to those receiving artificial limbs.

Healthcare workers with a young patient at the new centre. Photo: Wam
Healthcare workers with a young patient at the new centre. Photo: Wam

Comprehensive care

The 150-bed field hospital was established in December to help ease the significant pressure placed on Gaza's health service by a conflict now in its fifth month.

More than 3,500 patients have been treated at the hospital, which is used for general surgery and orthopaedics, while also offering anaesthetic services and intensive care for children and adults. It also offers internal medicine, dentistry, family medicine and psychiatric treatment.

It is being operated with the support of the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation and the Emirates Red Crescent.

Last week, the UAE announced plans to introduce SpaceX's Starlink internet service at the field hospital, to enable live video medical consultations to patients in the besieged enclave.

The use of Elon Musk's satellite system will help healthcare workers deliver care in Gaza, which has been hit by communication cuts since Israeli attacks began on October 7.

Frequent power cuts have also hampered efforts to co-ordinate aid to the Palestinian people facing a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Earlier this month, a 100-bed floating hospital set sail from the UAE to provide medical support to Palestinian patients affected by the war in Gaza.

The repurposed vessel – which has 100 medical and administrative staff on board – will remain docked off the coast of the Egyptian city of Al Arish to support relief efforts for Gaza.

The hospital has operating rooms, intensive care facilities, a laboratory, a pharmacy and medical warehouses.

The vast ship, which sailed from Khalifa Port, also has an evacuation plane and boat, as well as fully equipped ambulances.

The additional medical support provides a vital lifeline as war rages on.

The death toll in Gaza has risen to 29,313 with 69,333, latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry show.

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Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission Seven-speed automatic

Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km

TOUR DE FRANCE INFO

Dates: July 1-23
Distance: 3,540km
Stages: 21
Number of teams: 22
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The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:

Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.

Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.

Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.

Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.

Saraya Al Khorasani:  The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.

(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)

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THE TWIN BIO

Their favourite city: Dubai

Their favourite food: Khaleeji

Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach

Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E666hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E850Nm%20at%202%2C300-4%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQ1%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh1.15%20million%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Sector: Generative AI
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Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
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Updated: February 22, 2024, 8:08 AM