3,400 Palestinians martyred since the start of aggression on Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Oct 2023 20:47
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The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip that has been ongoing for nearly two weeks has harvested thousands of lives, with children and women taking the lion's share of deaths.

Palestinians rescue a child from under the rubble after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, occupied Palestine, October 18, 2023 (AP)

Over 70% of the victims of the Israeli aggression on Gaza have been women, children, and elderly, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Wednesday.

Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra said during a press conference in which he was addressing the repercussions of the Israeli aggression that the massacres being committed by the Israeli occupation amount to ethnic cleansing and pose an existential threat to the Palestinian people.

The Israeli occupation getting to a stage wherein it is starting to target hospitals and dare to commit an indescribable massacre in Al-Maamadani (Baptist) Hospital is "a grave threat to the health sector."

"The tally of the massacre committed by the criminal Israeli occupation in Al-Maamadani hospital rose up to 471 martyrs, with 314 others wounded, 28 of whom are in critical condition," the Ministry of Health official said.

Meanwhile, he revealed that the total number of casualties resulting from the Israeli aggression that has been ongoing for 12 consecutive days was 3,478 martyred and 12,065 others wounded.

The massacres committed by the Israeli occupation against families affected 433 families, of which 2,421 have been martyred, while hundreds of others are still under the rubble.

According to Al-Qudra, the Ministry of Health has received thus far received 1,300 reports of missing persons under the rubble, 600 of whom are children.

There are survivors among those missing under the rubble, he highlighted, confirming that the rescue effort was facing significant difficulties due to continuous targeting and limited resources.

Al-Qudra said the coming hours were critical for the future of providing healthcare services to patients, as hospitals have effectively begun collapsing.

However, despite its unspeakable crimes, since the beginning of the Israeli aggression against Gaza following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, "Israel" has been trying to influence public opinion.

They do so by spreading a narrative that its aggression came in response to the Palestinian Resistance operation, making it appear as though the Resistance violently attacked people, forgetting to mention that the Resistance conducted the operation in response to occupation, oppression, murder, ethnic cleansing, and the administrative detention of hundreds of Palestinians for merely standing up for their right to life, property, and freedom.

"Israel" has been deliberately justifying its massacres against civilians with claims of targeting the Hamas movement and is justifying its terrorism by giving civilians a 30-second to 1-minute warning before bombing residential buildings over their heads, and sometimes no warnings whatsoever were issued.

However, all the air raids have not yet been able to thwart Hamas or any other Palestinian Resistance group as they continue to launch rockets from the Strip toward occupied Palestine. This proves an Israeli failure in achieving any military goals in Gaza, despite having killed over 2,000 Palestinians and injured over 11,000.