‘No guarantees’ of safety in Gaza City mass exodus
Thousands of people are trying to flee south under the escalating military pressure resulting from ground operations in Gaza City. Families are taking what little they can in order to quickly and easily move from Gaza City to the central and southern parts of Gaza.
But places they have arrived at are already saturated with families previously forced to flee their homes and villages after the expansion of Israel’s ground activities.
People were given a very short time to flee — especially those who refused initially under the extensive Israeli pressure, and now have no luxury of time, and no guarantees for their safety.
More than 10,000 children in Gaza have ‘life-changing’ injuries: WHO
- More than 167,000 Palestinians have been wounded in Gaza since October 2023.
- Nearly 42,000 people – representing nearly 2 percent of the population – have “life-changing” injuries. More than 10,000 children are among those injured, amounting to about one-quarter of all the injuries.
- Fewer than 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partly functional while less than one-third of rehabilitation services that existed before the war are still operating. Several face imminent closure.
- While pre-war Gaza had roughly 1,300 physiotherapists and 400 occupational therapists, many have been displaced and at least 42 have been killed.
Nearly 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza have sustained “life-changing” injuries, about one-quarter of whom are children, says Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative for the occupied Palestinian territory.
Peeperkorn told reporters during a UN briefing that the organisation has tallied a total of 167,000 injured people in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, consistent with previous WHO estimates.
More than 5,000 Palestinians have faced amputations, Peeperkorn said, with 22,000 injuries to arms and legs, more than 2,000 spinal cord injuries and 1,300 brain injuries also recorded.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s health system is teetering on the “brink of collapse”, the WHO representative said, with fewer than 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remaining “minimally” functional.
More than 90 percent of al-Shifa Hospital staff also have fled during Israel’s current offensive in Gaza City. “You cannot even call it a trauma ward,” Peeperkorn said.
What’s more, the WHO faces “fast-declining shortages for essential materials such as gauze” and materials for blood transfusions, including compounds and blood bags. “WHO has procured it, but we struggle to get it in currently because a lot of the entries are currently closed,” he said.
