Health Ministry releases an updated list of Palestinians killed
The Palestinian Health Ministry has released an updated comprehensive list of Palestinians killed in Israel’s nine-month war. While the ministry releases a daily update to the overall death toll, this is the fifth time it has released a detailed list identifying the dead by name, age and gender.
The document, dated June 30, reported a total of 37,900 dead. That includes 28,185 names, and 9,715 others who remained unidentified.
The large numbers of unidentified deaths have drawn accusations from Israel that the ministry has inflated the death toll. But Palestinian health officials say it takes time to identify the dead because the health system has been overwhelmed by the war and some bodies are badly disfigured or not immediately claimed by their families.
They also say the true death toll is likely much higher because thousands of bodies are believed to be trapped under the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes.
WHO calls for more Gaza evacuations as 15 children arrive in Spain
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for more medical evacuations from Gaza after 16 people were transferred to Spain. Among them were 13 children with complex injuries, one child with a chronic heart condition and one suffering from cancer.
They crossed into Egypt before May 6, after which evacuations became almost impossible due to the closure of the Rafah Crossing, the organisation said. Only 23 people have been evacuated since then via the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing.
“These children are just the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of people of all ages still remain in Gaza who need to be medically evacuated and are at risk of dying if they are unable to quickly access the advanced medical care they need,” Hanan Balkhy, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said in a statement.
“Patients who need evacuation outside of the Gaza Strip must be able to exit, preferably to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, but also to Egypt or Jordan and then onwards.”
