Hundreds of Palestinian civilians have been killed and dozens injured in fresh airstrikes and ground attacks across multiple locations on the 73rd day of Israel’s non-stop, genocidal war on Gaza.
Airstrikes and ground shelling have in the last day targeted multiple refugee camps, hospitals and other medical facilities, with latest reports stating that the number of casualties from across Gaza in just 24 hours is well over 200. Israel has also intensified its raids against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, killing several over the weekend. The Israeli assault on Palestine continues even as the United Nations Security Council is set to convene once again to vote on a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and an end to the Israeli bombardment.
Airstrikes and ground attacks in the last 24 hours targeted vital civilian infrastructure across the Northern, Central and Southern parts of Gaza, including Shujaiya, Tuffah and Darah neighborhoods in Gaza city, Jabalya and Nuseirat refugee camps, the Al-Shifa, Kamal Adwan and Nasser hospitals, among other areas. The broad targeting of all three regions of Gaza underscores what many Palestinian and international human rights group have declared, which is that “nowhere is safe in Gaza”.
At least 110 people are estimated to have been killed in Jabalya, along with at least 25 in the Nuseirat refugee camp, including a journalist, identified as Haneen Ali al-Qutshan, who was killed along with other members of her family. At least 26 civilians were also killed at the Al-Shifa hospital, and along with a 13-year old Palestinian girl at Nasser hospital. Hundreds of other civilians, a majority of them women and children, are reported to have been injured in these latest attacks, with at least 65 reported missing and feared to be trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
According to the latest statistics from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israel has already killed more than 19,000 Palestinians in its war on Gaza. Additionally, 52,000 Palestinians have been injured, with more than 8,000 reported missing, feared dead or trapped under the rubble. Humanitarian agencies and rights groups have continued to sound the alarm of the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza, especially in the makeshift refugee camps attempting to provide temporary shelter to the over 1.8 million internally displaced people.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned today that the entire sanitation system in the Palestinian territory is near collapse and could “in the long run, be as dangerous as the bombings, and kill as many people”. Ricardo Martinez, MSF logistics coordinator said, ” The water system isn’t working anymore – it has completely collapsed. People are being pushed to the limit, having to fight for their survival. At most, people have one liter of water per day – that’s for drinking, washing and cooking.”
The World Health Organization has called the targeting of hospitals “appalling” and a “complete horror scene.”
.@WHO is appalled by the effective destruction of Kamal Adwan hospital in northern #Gaza over the last several days, rendering it non-functional and resulting in the death of at least 8 patients.
Many health workers were reportedly detained, and WHO and partners are urgently…— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 17, 2023
Israeli security forces have also continued to carry out violent military raids across the occupied West Bank, with latest reports noting that in the past 24 hours, raids were carried out in and around Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem, Qalqiliya, Jericho, Ramallah, Tubas, among other areas. At least four Palestinians were killed in these raids, including two children, with dozens of others reported injured. Over the weekend, an Israeli drone strike also killed five Palestinians in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the town of Tulkarm, while another Palestinian who was shot and injured in the raid in Jenin died of his injuries. So far, Israeli forces have killed over 300 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7, when they launched their invasion of Gaza, with close to 4,000 others injured and 3,500 others arrested in the daily, intensifying raids and military operations across the Palestinian territory.
