4,000 martyrs and missing in the northern Gaza since October 5: Basal
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The Civil Defense spokesman in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, has revealed that there have been 4,000 martyrs and missing Palestinians and 12,000 wounded since October 5.
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Palestinian men pray as they mourn over the victims following an Israeli bombardment at the morgue of al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip on December 8, 2024. (AP)
The Civil Defense spokesman in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, has revealed that there have been 4,000 martyrs and missing Palestinians and 12,000 wounded since October 5, coinciding with the aggression in the northern part of the Strip.
Basal pointed out that the Israeli occupation continues to commit massacres, especially in northern Gaza, warning of the imminent end of civil defense services in the Strip, due to the shortage of equipment and fuel.
In northern Gaza, "Israel" continues its suffocating siege on Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia, denying aid to Palestinians trapped there. Moreover, around 5,500 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from three schools in Beit Lahia to Gaza City, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In this context, Basal stated that the IOF destroyed 40 of 72 firefighting, rescue, and ambulance vehicles, while the remaining ones are dilapidated and unfit for use.
Basal also warned that more than two million people in the Gaza Strip are threatened with death if the Israeli genocide does not stop and service providers are not supported with the necessary resources, stressing that the catastrophic conditions "require urgent action to ensure the continuation of basic services."
He called on humanitarian organizations, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the World Health Organization to "pressure the occupation to bring in fuel, vehicles, and equipment necessary for civil defense, to ensure its continued work."
He also called for "an immediate ceasefire, ensuring rapid and safe access for humanitarian aid to children and families in need, and opening all crossings in order to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis."
75,000 Palestinians face catastrophic conditions amid siege on Gaza
The United Nations announced a significant disruption in humanitarian aid to northern Gaza for 66 days, leaving between 65,000 and 75,000 Palestinians without food, water, or healthcare.
In addition to the food crisis, OCHA reported that only four bakeries supported by the UN currently operate throughout Gaza, all located in Gaza City.
Sigrid Kaag, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Coordinator for the Gaza Reconstruction told reporters after her closed-door briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday that "civilians trying to survive in Gaza are facing a truly catastrophic situation."
She pointed to the "collapse of the legal system and the chaos have worsened the situation, making the UN and many humanitarian organizations unable to deliver food and other basic humanitarian supplies to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in need."
Kaag added that she and other UN officials continue to call on "Israel" to allow aid convoys into northern Gaza and other areas, permit the entry of commercial goods, and reopen the Rafah crossing.
Earlier, Al Mayadeen's correspondent noted that the famine in Gaza has reached its most dangerous stage due to the ongoing Israeli blockade.
