Warning: the following story contains details of violence and injuries

This week we’ve reported how one of Gaza’s largest functioning hospitals has been badly overwhelmed since the now infamous Gaza Humanitarian Foundation set up its food distribution sites in May.

Before May, mass casualty events – when a hospital’s resources are overwhelmed by a sudden surge of patients – occurred roughly every two weeks at Nasser Medical Complex, according to three doctors who have worked at the hospital in that time.

Now they happen daily, they told us, sometimes even twice a day, overloading a system already on the brink.

If you look up Nasser, which is in the western part of Khan Younis, the older images show a well-maintained and orderly five-storey complex. Now, makeshift wards spill into corridors, courtyards and tents. With each mass casualty event, dozens of patients arrive at once, bearing abdominal penetrations, open fractures, skin damage, missing limbs and head wounds.

With so many open wounds all around each other, hospital staff are battling against uncontrollable outbreaks of infections.

Between 27 May and 13 August, the UN Human Rights Office recorded that at least 1,760 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid, 994 in the vicinity of aid sites. A recent Guardian investigation and a report by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) both suggest that Israeli forces are targeting people at these sites. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said “following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted” and “the incidents are under review”.

Doctors at Nasser are working flat-out to keep people alive, but still found the time to share what they’re going through with our reporter Misbah Khan. Last year, we reported on the battle against infectious diseases in Gaza. It’s become so much worse.

“The increasing number of injuries and unavailability of beds for patients mean they are waiting on the ground for treatment for days,” Abdelkareem Alsalqawi, an orthopaedic doctor at Nasser, said. “Shortage of wound dressings makes it difficult to dress the wound and clean them properly. These are just some of the factors leading to the high infection rates.”

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The co-founder of defence tech company Anduril rose to prominence when he founded Oculus VR, which made pioneering virtual reality headsets, aged 19.

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Founded just eight years ago, Anduril supplies the US government with AI-powered weapons and autonomous sentry towers used to police the country’s borders. Now it’s turned its attention to a European expansion and reportedly plans to build a factory in the UK to serve as its European base.

Read more here. 

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Final whistle blows for Vitesse Arnhem

Welcome to another football season… and the death of a football club. Vitesse Arnhem had it all. More than 130 years of rich history, a strong and loyal local fanbase, a place in European football leagues and rich backers. Well, that last point proved their downfall. I’m sorry to say we had a hand in it.

Roman Abramovich secretly gave Vitesse €117m via a network of offshore companies, putting the club in breach of football regulations. The Russian billionaire already owned Chelsea and the two clubs could have ended up playing each other in a European match, so that is against the rules.

I live just down the road from Crystal Palace, which my son worships. For the first time ever they were going to play in the Europa League, only to be disqualified because of the same co-ownership rules. It’s devastating for such a likeable club with amazing local roots. But it’s also how it should be if we don’t want big (and often dirty) money taking over football.

This week Vitesse was kicked out of Dutch football after a court upheld a decision to revoke its professional licence. It was a steep fall for the storied club.

Just four years ago it was playing in the Europa Conference League against Roma and Spurs. But Abramovich’s links to Vitesse had been rumoured for a long time; the Dutch football association (KNVB) had even investigated them twice. When we pieced together the financial trail between the oligarch and the club it became uncontestable. The KNVB investigated once more and initially docked the club 18 points, effectively relegating the top-flight team.

More financial irregularities followed, and ultimately the club’s license was revoked.

The KNVB showed sympathy, saying: “Losing a professional football club's license is a devastating blow, not only for the club itself, but also for the fans, sponsors, partners, employees, and everyone else directly or indirectly involved with Vitesse. We fully understand that this is painful and a very difficult time for them.”

A tremendously sad story (and cautionary tale) for any football fan. Our work on Vitesse and Abramovich has picked up several awards and really left a mark. But it’s grim when fans are the victims of financial mismanagement and dodgy deals far from their control.