Israel expanding offensive in southern and central Gaza
In the last few hours, the Israeli military attacks have intensified in Khan Younis city, with 11 Palestinians reported killed since the early hours of this morning. And in the last hour, Israeli drones have opened fire at Palestinian residents and evacuees at Nasser hospital in the western part of Khan Younis. Also during the last hour, attacks continued on the middle governorates, where Israeli forces are using excessive power to destroy residential houses.
Gaza hospital reports dozens of deaths and injuries following overnight strikes
A hospital in central Gaza reports receiving dozens of casualties from several parts of central Gaza due to heavy overnight air strikes. Video shot for CNN shows multiple casualties in the yard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza. The hospital says 57 people were killed and nearly 70 injured. At least 10 of those killed were children, the hospital said.
2023: ‘Year of genocide’ against Palestinian children
Defence for Children International says at least 8,000 Palestinian children were killed in the Gaza Strip and 121 in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem in 2023, calling it the “year of genocide” committed by Israeli forces. The rights group said the rate of killings of Palestinian children at the hands of Israeli forces during the past year is unprecedented, which indicates Palestinian children are major targets.
It also noted the number of children killed is expected to rise significantly as thousands are still missing in Gaza, trapped under the rubble of their bombed homes and presumed dead. Furthermore, the cutting off of food, water, electricity, medical supplies and fuel and continuing indiscriminate attacks against hospitals, schools, bakeries, water stations and farmland will inevitably result in more child deaths.
‘Never seen so many amputees in my life’
Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, says in addition to the 23,210 people killed, 59,100 have been wounded in Israeli attacks, many who will require long-term healthcare. He cited multiple trauma cases: “spinal trauma, crush injuries, severe burns, amputees – I’ve never seen so many amputees in my life, including among children.”
“This will have such a long-term impact for everything,” said Peeperkorn.
WHO: Gaza’s health system rapidly ‘collapsing’
Sean Casey, an emergency medical teams coordinator in Gaza, warned the enclave’s entire health system is rapidly breaking down as medical staff and patients flee facilities in southern Gaza. “What we’re seeing is really worrying around a lot of the hospitals and an intensification of hostilities, very close to the European Gaza Hospital,” he said. “We are seeing the health system collapse at a very rapid pace.”
Since October 7, there have been about 600 attacks on hospitals and vital medical infrastructure in Gaza, according to the WHO, killing 606 people within the healthcare facilities. Israeli attacks have also forced all but nine of Gaza’s hospitals out of service. Those that remain open are severely understaffed and lack resources to treat the influx of wounded arriving daily.
Patients flee Al-Aqsa Hospital as Israeli forces attack
As fighting rages, fears grow for the largest hospital in central Gaza. The area around Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, which was usually busy before the war, is emptying out as fighting intensifies.
Mohammed Abu-Ali, a nurse at the hospital, told Al Jazeera since most doctors fled – and given the risk of bombardment – patients are also leaving. Those who come in injured are unlikely to receive proper treatment. The intensive cardiac care unit has been closed.
Israel has targeted hospitals throughout the war, ignoring international pleas to protect medical facilities. Israeli drones have shot at people near the hospital in recent days.
Gaza hospital "beyond worst thing" ever seen, doctor says
A British surgeon who led an emergency medical team in central Gaza says the situation at Al-Aqsa hospital has been “beyond any doubt the worst thing” he’s seen in his career, as Jordan’s monarch warned Israel’s bombardment was creating an “entire generation of orphans.”
“There’s been multiple traumatic amputations of children … horrific burns, the likes of which I’ve never seen before,” Dr. Nick Maynard told CNN’s Isa Soares on Monday after his team found themselves with no choice but to withdraw from the hospital, following increased Israeli military activity.
He said that often “there is no pain relief to give to these patients at all,” underscoring the dire humanitarian situation and lack of medical supplies in the Palestinian enclave following more than three months of Israeli bombardment.
“I think it’s fair to say I’ve never seen anything like this. And I never expect that in my life I would see such an appalling situation,” said Maynard, who was speaking from the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Monday after leaving Gaza.
MSF shelter targeted in southern Gaza
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, said that a shell hit their shelter in Khan Younis, where more than 100 employees and their families were taking shelter. “Four people were injured, including the five-year-old daughter of one of our employee who is in critical condition,” the organisation said in a post on X.
MSF said it had previously informed the Israeli forces about the shelter and had not received orders to evacuate it.
In Gaza, one tent for 15 people
The Sphere standards are a set of principles and minimum humanitarian standards in four areas of humanitarian response: Water, sanitation and hygiene, food, shelter and health. “This exposes IDPs [internally displaced people] to unhygienic conditions and communicable diseases,” the agency said.
It also said, “The self-built makeshift shelters are constructed from salvaged materials inadequate to withstand current weather conditions.” In the south, OCHA said, rental apartments cost more than 800 percent the normal price due to lack of availability of units in the south, according to a survey it conducted.
