0
0
Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s attack on southern Israel one week ago have resulted in a tragic toll. According to the Palestinian territory’s health ministry under Hamas control, these strikes have claimed the lives of at least 2,215 people, including 724 children, as of Saturday.
Among the victims, 458 were women, and the ministry also reported that 8,714 individuals have been wounded. An earlier statement indicated that at least 324 people lost their lives in the past 24 hours alone.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has characterized the bombardment as just the initial phase, as Israel aims to respond to Hamas’s actions, which claimed the lives of over 1,300 individuals a week ago.
As of Saturday, the United Nations has reported the destruction of over 1,300 buildings in the Gaza Strip. The UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, has noted that “5,540 housing units” within these buildings were destroyed, and almost 3,750 additional homes sustained such severe damage that they are no longer habitable.
OCHA further reported that, according to the Gaza Ministry of Public Works, a total of 1,324 residential and non-residential buildings, comprising 5,540 housing units, have been demolished.
“Another 3,743 housing units have been damaged beyond repair and rendered uninhabitable.”
A further 55,000 housing units have been partially damaged, said OCHA.
The United Nations has been closely monitoring the displacement of individuals from their residences in the Gaza Strip. By the end of Thursday, the number had exceeded 423,000.
Subsequently, Israel issued a warning, urging approximately 1.1 million people in the northern part of the enclave to promptly relocate to the southern area in anticipation of an imminent ground offensive.
As of 1800 GMT Friday, “it is estimated that tens of thousands have fled”, OCHA said.
“Currently, the precise scope of internally displaced persons in the Gaza Strip is unknown,” it said.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, it was reported that more than 40 individuals were killed, and 150 others sustained injuries when the vehicles of those evacuating the northern areas were struck.
These incidents led to a significant number of people abandoning their evacuation efforts and returning to their homes.
Initially, there were no safe corridors provided for people to comply safely with the orders to move southward. This forced hundreds of individuals, including families, to embark on a perilous journey on foot.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has highlighted that the majority of people in the Gaza Strip are currently without access to clean drinking water. As a last resort, individuals are resorting to consuming brackish water from agricultural wells, raising grave concerns about the potential spread of waterborne diseases.
OCHA has also reported that, since the commencement of hostilities, air strikes have damaged six water wells, three water pumping stations, one water reservoir, and one desalination plant that served over 1,100,000 people.
The complete electricity blackout has pushed essential health, water, and sanitation services to the brink of collapse, further exacerbating food insecurity.
