ISTANBUL – At least 300 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting 180 United Nations facilities in the Gaza Strip, including some direct hits, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Sunday.
UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma said on X: “1.4 million people in Gaza sheltering in UNRWA facilities and many more in the vicinity, sleeping outside.”
In a separate statement on X, the UN agency said Sunday that “while the world is crowded with New Year’s celebrations, the streets of southern Gaza Strip are crowded with displacement,” reported Anadolu Agency.
While the world is crowded with New Year's celebrations, the streets of southern📍#GazaStrip are crowded with displacement. pic.twitter.com/YubraXxZmP
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 31, 2023
“The past year brought profound devastation and tragedy to Palestine Refugees facing war, extreme violence, displacement and poverty,” the agency said in another statement.
At least 21,822 Palestinians have been killed and 56,451 others injured since Oct 7, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine. – January 1, 2024