GAZA CITY – The number of people killed in Israeli air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has risen to 14,532, including over 6,000 children and 4,000 women, the media office in the besieged enclave said on Wednesday.
The number of deaths among medical personnel reached 205, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics, Anadolu Agency reported in a statement.
As many as 25 members of the civil defence teams and 64 journalists were also among those killed.
The office put the number of injuries at more than 35,000, saying more than 75% of them are children and women.
At least 7,000 people have been reported missing in the Gaza Strip since October 7, either under rubble, their bodies lying on streets, or their fate is unknown, the media office said.
Critical infrastructure and properties reduced to rubble
The number of destroyed government buildings reached 102, along with 266 schools, of which 67 are no longer in service.
As many as 85 mosques have been completely destroyed, while 174 are damaged. Three churches were also targeted, it reported.
On residential units, 45,000 houses are completely demolished, while 233,000 face partial destruction.
At least 26 hospitals and 55 health centres have also gone out of service.
Israeli forces targeted 56 ambulances, with many others being rendered inoperative due to fuel shortages.
Markets and commercial stores are suffering from a shortage of essential goods and various food items, whereas bakeries have completely shut all operations.
Nearly 1.7 million residents are displaced in Gaza, with nearly 770,000 internally displaced persons, sheltering in 99 UNRWA facilities in “extremely overcrowded conditions,” according to UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
Opening of Kerem Shalom crossing
The UN said Wednesday it continues to push for the opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel and that not only humanitarian aid but the entry of commercial goods into Gaza needs to resume.
“At this point, we continue to use the Rafah crossing,” Haq told reporters.
“The capacity of the Rafah crossing to handle the sort of volume of aid we need to get in is limited. So that’s why we are continuing to push for the opening of Kerem Shalom,” he said.
He noted statements by Lynn Hastings, UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinians, and said the UN and its humanitarian partners are ready to “seize” the opportunity of a humanitarian pause to “increase humanitarian operations”.
“The entry of commercial goods needs to resume, especially through the Kerem Shalom crossing, which has the capacity for it,” he added.
The Kerem Shalom crossing was used to carry more than 60% of truckloads of cargo into Gaza before the conflict, Martin Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said last week.
Between October 21 and November 21, at least 1,399 truckloads of humanitarian supplies, excluding fuel, have entered Gaza through the Egyptian border, compared to a monthly average of nearly 10,000 trucks of commercial and humanitarian commodities, excluding fuel, entering before October 7, he said. – November 23, 2023