KUWAIT: Kuwaitis protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people yesterday. - Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

By B Izzak and Agencies

GAZA/KUWAIT: The administration of the Kuwait Specialized Hospital in Gaza City said yesterday the hospital's facilities were damaged by Zionist raids on Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. At dawn, some facilities were damaged at Kuwait Specialized Hospital in Rafah governorate, administrative supervisor at the hospital Talaat Barhoum said in a press statement.

The hospital was damaged after the Zionist occupation forces targeted a charity near the hospital, which provides aid to the people of Rafah, he said. The recovery room at the operations department, dental clinics, the men's department and the vascular clinic were damaged, Barhoum explained, adding that pictures will be provided.

In Kuwait, the interior ministry yesterday again prevented a gathering called by political groups to declare support and solidarity with the Palestinian people currently under attack by the Zionist entity. The interior ministry had insisted that public meetings and gatherings are not allowed in these times because of the coronavirus pandemic. It reminded the public of the decisions taken by the Cabinet on Tuesday regarding banning gatherings to stop the spread of the disease.

But the ministry later allowed the gathering to take place. The ministry had banned another gathering a few days ago, which prompted three opposition lawmakers to announce their intention to grill Interior Minister Sheikh Thamer Al-Sabah. The grilling has not yet been filed. The National Assembly will hold a special session next Sunday to debate grillings against three ministers over allegations of mismanagement and failure to respect questions sent by lawmakers.

Ten opposition MPs had requested the special session in order to avoid discussing the issue in a regular session, which the opposition is not allowing to take place unless the prime minister accepts to be grilled. Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem and a number of MPs claim that the Assembly on March 30 took a decision to delay the grillings against the prime minister until the end of 2022, but the opposition insists that the decision is illegitimate and against the constitution. As a result, the opposition is not allowing regular sessions to proceed without the grilling of the prime minister.

In Sunday's session, opposition MPs have filed to grill Health Minister Sheikh Basel Al-Sabah for allegedly failing to manage the coronavirus pandemic. The Assembly will also debate grillings against Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah and Finance Minister Khalifa Hamada for failing to answer questions sent by MPs. The opposition has enough numbers to vote the three ministers out of office if lawmakers decide to submit no-confidence motions against them.

Opposition MP Marzouq Al-Khalifa yesterday asked the finance minister about a media report claiming that Kuwait deposited $20 billion in Qatari banks to support the banking sector in the Gulf state following sanctions by neighboring states in June 2017. The lawmaker asked the minister if the report is true. He also asked if Kuwait has withdrawn the deposit, and if not, why?