After 100 days of war, there was a catastrophe in Gaza
Gaza City, Rafah, and Daraj: Three Israeli Air Bombs and Two Palestinians Killed in a Night’s Work
A total of more than 30 Palestinians, including children, were killed in two Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip over the course of a single night, officials said. The video provided by the Gaza’s Civil Defense department shows rescue workers searching through the rubble of a home in Gaza City by flashlight after it was hit by an Israeli attack. At least two other children appeared dead, and a young girl with injuries to her face, was carried by them. The boy, covered in dust, cried as he was loaded into the ambulance. At least 20 people were killed when a home was attacked in the Daraj neighborhood. Another strike near the southern city of Rafah on the Egyptian border killed at least 13 people, including two children. The bodies of those killed, primarily from a displaced family from central Gaza, were taken to the city’s Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital where they were seen by an Associated Press reporter. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported that at least 135 Palestinians died in the last 24 hours. The count does not differentiate between combatants and civilians, but the ministry has said about two-thirds of the dead are women and children. The ministry said the total number of war-wounded surpassed 60,000.Israel has argued Hamas is responsible for the high civilian casualties, saying its fighters make use of civilian buildings and launch attacks from densely populated urban areas.
The stain on our collective conscience is the result of what we have seen. It will become an indelible mark on our humanity if we don’t act. A humanitarian chief says people will continue to suffer and die from the rockets, bombs, missiles, and the bullets.
The death toll, updated regularly by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. But about 70% of the dead are women and children, the ministry says. About 10,000 of the dead are children under the age of 18. Almost 8,000 people are thought to be dead under the rubble.
The ministry tracks injuries as well. Hospitals report catastrophic injuries from the bombardment, including amputations, burns, and crushed limbs. According to Save The Children, about 1,000 children have had one or both legs lost.
“An entire generation of children is traumatized and will take years to heal. Thousands have been killed, maimed, and orphaned. Hundreds of thousands are deprived of education. Their future is in jeopardy, with far-reaching and long-lasting consequences,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA, the U.N. agency in Gaza, in a statement Saturday.
In northern Gaza, where most of the territory’s residents lived before the war, researchers estimate up to 80% of buildings were damaged or destroyed.
Over the past month, Israel’s ground operations have refocused on cities in central and southern Gaza, including Khan Younis, forcing Palestinians to flee once again. The city closest to the Gaza Strip’s southern border with Egypt is home to an estimated 1.3 million people.
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We have no idea where to go or what to do. We’re going from spot to spot,” said a man who called himself Abu Ibrahim Sharran, as he rode a bicycle loaded with a sleeping mat and clothes on the streets of Khan Younis earlier this month.
His family had already evacuated twice, he said, and he was looking for yet another place to stay. May God make sure that people are able to return to their homes, so they don’t sit on the streets.
The scale of destruction is beyond a scale ever seen in Gaza, especially in Gaza City, which has drawn comparisons to the worst bombardments of world conflicts in recent history, including Mariupol in Ukraine and Aleppo in Syria.
“There are no beds available, so people are literally just on the ground, seeking treatment. There’s not really room or space for us to breathe or think,” said Dr. Seema Jilani, an American doctor who spoke to NPR after two weeks working at Gaza’s al-Aqsa Hospital as part of a team from the International Rescue Committee.
Over 600 healthcare workers have died in attacks and over 800 have been injured according to the WHO. The ambulances have been damaged.
