Latest updates on the 17th day of the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza

UPDATES from the Gaza Strip on the 17th day of the Israeli aggression: 23rd October 2023

• The Israeli occupation expanded the scope of targeting and affected citizens’ gatherings in markets, places of worship, bakeries, and restaurants.
• The Israeli occupation has entered the stage of targeting civilian gatherings in a dangerous shift that heralds the commission of major massacres with hundreds of victims.
• The Israeli occupation committed 24 massacres in the past hours, claiming the lives of 266 martyrs, including 117 children, the majority of whom were from the south of the Gaza Strip.
• The massacres committed by the Israeli occupation against families amounted to 574 massacres, claiming the lives of 3,600 martyrs who arrived at hospitals, and many times that number is still under the rubble.
• The total number of victims of the Israeli aggression since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza reached 5,087 martyrs, including 2,055 children, 1,119 women, and 217 elderly people, in addition to 15,273 citizens suffering various injuries.
• 40% of the martyrs are children
• 70% of the victims are children, women and the elderly
• Medical teams monitored the Israeli occupation’s use of unusual weapons to target citizens, causing major burns on the bodies of the martyrs and the wounded.
• Medical teams inflict injuries with severe burns and skin melting that have never been seen before on the bodies of the wounded and are difficult to deal with.
• We received 1,500 reports of missing persons still under the rubble, including 830 children.

The total number of victims of the Israeli aggression since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza reached 5,087 martyrs, including 2,055 children, 1,119 women, and 217 elderly people, in addition to 15,273 citizens suffering various injuries.

    Israeli violations against the health system:

• Israeli violations against the health system led to the death of 54 health personnel and the injury of 90 others, in addition to the damage to 35 health institutions and the destruction of 23 ambulances.
• 10 hospitals and 29 health centers were evacuated due to targeting and running out of fuel
• We lost clinical capacity in Gaza Strip hospitals despite doubling their capacity.
• Hospitals set up multiple tents to accommodate the large volume of wounded and sick.
• Hospitals have truly collapsed and lack any health requirements, especially fuel.
• The displacement of tens of thousands of citizens to hospitals creates great pressure in departments, corridors, and squares and threatens a health and humanitarian catastrophe due to the scarcity of water and electricity.
• Medical teams monitored the spread of infectious and skin diseases and a significant increase in the incidence of chickenpox among the displaced.
• Medical aid in its current state will not change the painful health reality and will not be of value unless it is consistent with our medical priorities and in the required quantities.
• Excluding the introduction of fuel into the collapsed Gaza Strip hospitals portends a dire health disaster.
• We deplore the international behavior that is waiting for the Israeli killer to allow medical aid to enter the collapsed hospitals of the Gaza Strip.
• 12 hospitals and 32 health centers were out of service due to targeting and running out of fuel
• Hospitals have lost their treatment and capacity, and medical teams are treating the wounded with very limited capabilities.

Claims:

• We call on the Arab Republic of Egypt to open the Rafah land crossing and ensure the flow of medical aid and fuel and the exit of the wounded and sick.
• We call on the international community to work on the flow of medical aid according to our priorities and needs sent to international humanitarian institutions.
• We call on all parties to bring fuel to hospitals and ambulances, a number of which have been stopped
• We launch an urgent appeal for retirees and volunteers in all health specialties to work in hospitals and ambulance units.
• We call on citizens to go immediately to donate blood in hospitals and branches of the Blood Bank Association, especially from type O, both positive and negative, to save the wounded.
• We call on international institutions to reveal the nature of the weapon used to melt the skin of the wounded and to urgently bring the necessary treatments for them.

(A statement issued by the Ministry of Health on the health repercussions of the Israeli aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip)