'Israel' commits 16 massacres in 24hrs., martyrs toll surpasses 21,000

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
27 Dec 2023 17:15
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The head of the Palestinian Health Ministry warns that the Israeli occupation is intensifying its strikes in the vicinity of the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza.

Staff from Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza standing in a maternity ward room destroyed by Israeli shelling in December 2023 (Social media)

The Israeli occupation committed 16 massacres in the past 24 hours, which targeted entire families, resulting in 195 martyrs and 325 injuries, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qudra, said on Wednesday.

The new massacres bring the total number of Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza to 21,110 martyrs and 55,243 injuries since October 7, mostly children and women.

Al-Qudra pointed out that the Israeli occupation is intensifying its strikes in the vicinity of the Nasser Medical Complex and expressed concern that the tragedy committed by the entity against Al-Shifa Hospital will be repeated.

The Ministry spokesperson called upon international organizations to take effective and urgent measures to ensure the protection of the Nasser complex, its staff, the wounded, patients, and the thousands of displaced people sheltered inside. Furthermore, he called on the organizations to make immediate interventions to reopen the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

Director of Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, Marwan al-Hams, warned that the situation is catastrophic, and infectious diseases have spread among the displaced.

According to the Director, there is a lack of medications to cover the health needs of all patients, especially those with heart and kidney diseases.

Al-Hams also called for the urgent provision of all types of medications and medical equipment to the besieged Strip, revealing that what has entered through the Rafah crossing has been exhausted almost entirely.

Furthermore, he noted that 1.2 million displaced people are living on canned food, which contains spoiled substances that may lead to diseases.

في انتهاك صارخ لحقوق الأطفال في غزة، وفي ظل استمرار العدوان، ألف طفل في غزة بترت أطرافهم من دون تخدير #غزة_تستغيث #الميادين_Go pic.twitter.com/AvmIOtzhMo
— Almayadeen Go الميادين (@almayadeengo) December 27, 2023

Gazans face danger of starvation and thirst

The Israeli aggression on Gaza has been ongoing for 82 days, and a correspondent for Almayadeen reported that the aggression has turned hospitals in Gaza into small health centers incapable of providing services, operating at a capacity not exceeding 30%.

Children in Gaza are facing the danger of starvation and thirst, especially in the areas of Gaza City and its northern parts, where the chances of obtaining one meal a day are almost nonexistent for most families.

The World Health Organization (WHO) disclosed over the weekend that it conducted missions to poorly functioning hospitals in northern Gaza.

The UN health agency, along with its partners, delivered aid, including fuel, to Al-Shifa Hospital, which was once Gaza's largest and most advanced medical facility, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Describing the observations during the December 23 mission, Tedros highlighted in a post on X the growing fear of starvation.

“Partners demand immediate scale-up of food and water to ensure population health and stability,” he said.

Ghebreyesus added in his post that devastation in Gaza continues to escalate, with hospitals like Al-Shifa facing critical challenges in the aftermath of the aggression.