In its latest update on the death and injury toll from the 32-day-long Israeli brutal and barbaric bombardment of the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Health said that 10,305 Palestinians were killed, including 4237 children, 2,719 women, and 631 elderly people, and more than 25,000 were injured, in addition to 2,350 people, including more than 1,300 children, still missing.
It said that in the West Bank, Israeli occupation forces killed 163 Palestinians and injured about 2,300 since October 7.
The Ministry said 18 hospitals out of 35 have stopped working, and 71% of all primary care facilities throughout the Gaza Strip have been closed due to damage or lack of fuel, explaining that doctors are still forced to perform surgeries without anesthesia, including those who were injured as a result of the bombing and women who give birth by cesarean section.
The ministry added that 117,000 displaced people, in addition to medical and health personnel and thousands of patients, are staying in health facilities and that there are 1.5 million people internally displaced in Gaza, equivalent to more than 70% of the Strip’s population, with about 690,400 staying in 149 emergency shelters designated for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
There are also 121,750 persons staying in hospitals, churches and other public buildings, and about 99,150 in 82 non-UNRWA schools. The remaining 600,000 displaced people are staying with host families, with 150,000 citizens moving to shelter centers in the past few days in search of food and basic services.
The Ministry said that 15% of the forcibly displaced suffer from various disabilities, and most shelter centers are not adequately equipped to meet their needs, warning a public health catastrophe is looming on the horizon in light of the mass displacement and overcrowding of shelters.
Source: WAFA
