Türkiye ready to accept patients from Gaza; UN warns 'no safe place' in Gaza

The Turkish Health Ministry reiterated its readiness on Friday to transfer critically ill patients from the besieged Gaza Strip to Türkiye for treatment.

"We express once again that we are ready to transfer our Gazan brothers and sisters who are in critical condition to our country so that they can access treatment," Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Meanwhile, Koca described attacks on ambulances close to a major hospital in the Gaza Strip as "shameful and inhumane."

"We demand that the international community should take action to stop these indiscriminate attacks as soon as possible."

At least six Palestinians were killed on Friday after an Israeli warplane targeted ambulances in front of the main gate of the Shifa Medical Complex, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

The Israeli military said an ambulance it targeted was being used by Hamas fighters. According to the military, several Hamas fighters were killed in the operation, and they accused the group of using ambulances to transport militants and weapons.

Earlier in the day, the Turkish health minister said that his country is ready to provide full support for the continuation of the treatment of cancer patients at the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in the Gaza Strip, which had to cease operations due to Israeli air strikes.

Israeli air strikes severely damaged the Turkish-funded hospital, the only cancer hospital in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

'No place safe' in Gaza as schools, shelters hit

UN buildings in Gaza are no longer safe as shelters due to fighting by Israel and Hamas, a UN official warned Friday, with more than 50 buildings "impacted" by the conflict, including five "direct hits."

With hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in UN facilities, mostly schools, "we cannot even provide them safety under a UN flag," said Thomas White, an official with the body's Palestinian refugee agency the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Speaking in a video address from the besieged coastal territory, White said 38 people had died in UN facilities, without specifying which side was responsible.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Friday that Israeli warplanes bombed a school in northern Gaza City, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries. The ministry said that Israel bombed the Osama Bin Zaid School in the Al-Saftawi neighborhood, north of Gaza City, which houses displaced Palestinians.

More than 9,200 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and at least 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the conflict since October 7, according to official figures from both sides.

On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating Israeli territory, while Israel responded with air strikes, ground operations and punitive measures that included a siege on the Gaza Strip.

Jordan to host meeting between Arab FMs, Blinken over Gaza

The foreign ministers of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Amman on Saturday to look into a ceasefire in Gaza, according to a statement from the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.

The secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization will also attend the meeting, said the statement.

The top Arab diplomats will hold a coordination meeting before meeting with Blinken.

During their meeting with Blinken, the top Arab diplomats will reaffirm the Arab stance, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the urgent and immediate delivery of humanitarian assistance to the besieged strip.

The Arab foreign ministers will also discuss with Blinken how to contain the Israel-Hamas conflict and prevent it from spreading in the region.

(With input from agencies)