The Ministry of Health announced today that more than 17,975 people were killed and about 51,300 were injured since the start of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on October 7.
The majority of the victims are children, women, the elderly, the ministry added in a report.
The ministry said that between October 7 and yesterday evening, at least 17,700 people were killed in the Gaza Strip, and more than 48,000 were injured, 70 percent of whom were children and women, while the number of people killed in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, rose to 275 and 3,300 wounded.
According to the report, thousands are still missing in Gaza.
Violent Israeli air, land and sea bombing continues throughout the Gaza Strip, with continued ground aggression in the eastern parts of Gaza City, Jabalia, the Nuseirat refugee camp, and the eastern areas of Khan Yunis Governorate.
The ministry pointed out that aid distribution has stopped in most parts of the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing Isr
aeli aggression, with Rafah remaining the main area for limited distribution operations.
The Gaza European Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip suffers from a severe shortage of medicines, blood products, and medical supplies, with strict fuel rationing, the ministry said, adding that the hospital has treated about 1,000 patients, and shelters around 70,000 civilians amidst difficult conditions.
The occupation forces also continued to besiege Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia for the third day in a row. Two health workers were killed by the forces’ bullets.
The ministry revealed that diseases that are prevalent in Gaza include diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, skin infections, and outbreaks of diseases such as hepatitis A.
It added that there have also been significant increases in infectious diseases reported in UNRWA shelters in the south, including diarrhea, and acute respiratory and skin infections, affirming that vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, the wounded, and pregnant women live
in difficult conditions in shelter centers there.
The ministry stressed that efforts are continuing to vaccinate children, noting that only 12,000 children have received vaccinations in UNRWA centers since November 4.
It said estimates show that approximately 1.9 million people in Gaza (approximately 85 percent of the population), are internally displaced, with approximately 1.2 million registered in 151 UNRWA facilities, including approximately one million in 94 UNRWA shelters in the south.
The ministry affirmed that the latest updates indicate that more than 60 percent (nearly 280,000) of housing units have been destroyed, which leads to exacerbation of health vulnerabilities.
According to the ministry’s report, Israeli colonists’ attacks continued in the West Bank, where 308 incidents resulting in injuries and damage to the property of Palestinians have been recorded since October 7, adding that at least 143 Palestinian families, including 1,014 people, have been displaced, including 388 children, amid
the violence of colonists and access restrictions.
The ministry demanded an immediate cessation of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and health institutions, appealing to the United Nations, and international and human rights institutions, to immediately implement international humanitarian laws that prohibit attacks on hospitals, health centers, ambulances, health teams, and paramedics immediately.
It also called for urgently allowing sufficient humanitarian and health supplies to enter the Strip, especially medicines, medical supplies, food, dairy, and fuel for electric generators in hospitals, stressing the need for an immediate halt to the displacement of people and immediate support to enhance search and rescue operations.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA