Gaza death toll climbs to 1,200, more than 338,000 flee homes

Gaza, The Gulf Observer: Health Ministry of Gaza has announced that the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks has climbed to around 1,200, with nearly 5,000 wounded.

Deputy Health Minister Yusuf Abu al-Reesh visited Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza to assess the state of health services.

Speaking at a press conference after the inspection, he said “the number of martyrs has approached 1,200 and there are approximately 5,000 injured.” He noted that most of the dead and wounded are women, children and the elderly.

In a previous statement, the Health Ministry said Gaza’s hospitals were operating at full capacity due to the increasing Israeli attacks.

Health Ministry spokesperson Esref al-Kudra said that due to overcrowding, patients and the wounded were being accommodated on the floors of hospitals and receiving treatment in this manner.

Al-Kudra warned that Israel continues to cut off electricity, water and fuel, which poses a “significant danger,” and “a severe environmental and health catastrophe could occur,” emphasising that the responsibility for this lies with the Israeli occupation.

More than 338,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in besieged Gaza, the United Nations said, as heavy Israeli bombardments continue to hit the Palestinian enclave.

The number of displaced in the densely populated territory of 2.3 million people had by late Wednesday “risen by an additional 75,000 people and reached 338,934,” the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said in a statement sent on Thursday.