MORE than 5,795 Palestinians have been killed and 18,000 others wounded from the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since Oct 7.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 5,700 deaths and 16,000 injuries were recorded in the Gaza Strip while 95 deaths and 1,836 injuries were recorded in the West Bank.
“70% percent of the dead were children (2,360), women (1,292), and the elderly (295),” Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted the ministry as saying.
The ministry pointed out that 10 out of 35 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were now out of service as a result of the bombing or the shortage of fuel.
It estimated the number of displaced people in the Gaza Strip at about 1.4 million, with many seeking shelter in schools affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees, mosques, churches, public places and public schools.
It stressed that the shelter centres are overloaded by 250%, posing a risk of disease outbreaks.
According to Wafa, the Health Ministry also reported 250 attacks against health personnel, health facilities and ambulances.
The attacks left 42 health personnel killed and more than 34 injured, while 50 ambulances were damaged, 23 of which were out of service.
Some 69 attacks were also recorded on health facilities, of which seven were put out of service.
They are Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, Beit Hanoun Hospital, Al-Durrah Children’s Hospital, the Red Crescent Society’s First Aid Centre, Mohammad Rehabilitation Centre, Al-Karama Hospital, and Al-Wafa Hospital for Medical Rehabilitation and Specialised Surgery.
Another 24 hospitals also faced threats of eviction.
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip said that they had received 1,450 reports of missing persons still under rubble, including 800 children, Wafa added. – Oct 25, 2023
Main photo credit: AFP
