Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Will Rebuild Burned Down Baghdad Hospital as Gift to Iraq

King Salman of Saudi Arabia has ordered the rebuilding of Ibn Khatib Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, less than a month after it was destroyed in a fire, calling it a gift to Iraq. At least 82 people died and more than 100 were injured in the fire late last month at the hospital, which was taking care of COVID-19 patients, after an oxygen tank exploded. The conflagration spread quickly through the hospital, which did not have a fire protection system in place. The hospital rebuilding is to recognize the ties of brotherhood and good, neighborly and historic relations between the two countries and their people, according to a statement from the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Iraq, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The king also called for victims of the fire who remain in critical condition to be transferred to the kingdom for treatment at his expense. Iraq’s Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi resigned in the wake of the fire. In addition, the government ordered hospitals to put in place better health and safety procedures.