Day 103: 24,448 Palestinians martyred, 61,504 injured
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The crimes of the Israeli occupation continue in Palestine with a rapidly increasing death toll, deliberate starvation, and the spread of highly contagious dangerous diseases.
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Palestinians walk through destruction by the Israeli bombardment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024 (AP)
In the past 24 hours, the Israeli occupation committed 16 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, killing 163 Palestinians and severely injuring 350 others. Several victims of the Israeli terror are still under the rubble and in the streets, knowing that ambulances and civil defense crews are unable to reach them.
The number of Palestinians killed so far in the Israeli aggression on Gaza has risen to 24,448, in addition to 61,504 injured, since October 7.
Infectious diseases ravaging Gaza
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Hepatitis A is spreading in Gaza due to overpopulation in refugee-full areas.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has previously warned against the spread of infectious diseases in the Gaza Strip.
Factors, deliberately induced by the Israeli occupation's aggression, have spurred the spread of infectious diseases in the besieged Gaza Strip. Israeli measures, such as the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from the northern Gaza Strip toward southern regions, have contributed to the proliferation of diseases, as thousands of people were clumped up in severely underequipped shelters, schools, and hospitals.
OCHA revealed on December 30 that about 180,000 people have been diagnosed with upper respiratory infections, while more than 136,000 cases of diarrhea were recorded among Gazans. This comes as Israeli authorities tighten their siege on the Strip, allowing measly amounts of water into the Strip, forcing Gazans to turn to salinated and untreated sources of water, which has had detrimental effects on their health.
On the other hand, overcrowding and the lack of sanitary products have led to at least 55,400 cases of lice and scabies, as well as 5,330 cases of chickenpox, in 12 weeks as of December 30.
Read more: Israeli occupation desecrates Gaza martyrs bodies, steals vital organs
A starvation war
In parallel, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza stated that, at Shaboura camp in Rafah, intense Israeli raids have led to the killing of two Palestinians and the wounding of several others.
He added that 25 Palestinians were martyred and dozens were wounded as a result of Israeli shelling of residential homes in al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City.
Our correspondent described the situation in northern Gaza as a "real war of starvation" stressing that no food aid has been able to reach Gaza and most wells are non-functional.
Moreover, the Israeli occupation has cut off means of communication and the Internet on a wide scale, especially in Khan Younis, in turn disrupting the mobility of ambulances, making navigation very difficult. This was confirmed by the Government Media Office in Gaza which emphasized further that this is the 7th time the occupation has committed this inhumane and illegal act since October 7.
The Office revealed that "this crime has been going on for 5 continuous days," stressing the fact that there are many martyrs and wounded Palestinians that no one will be able to reach due to this widespread interruption of communications.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor confirmed yesterday that the northern Gaza Strip is facing "a terrible tragedy resulting from the catastrophic scarcity of drinking water sources, and the prevention of its access, which represents an actual death sentence."
It added that thirst is drastically invading the areas of Gaza City and its north, due to the cutting off of water supplies to the Gaza Strip and the systematic and deliberate Israeli bombardment of water wells and sources, in addition to the lack of fuel essential for operating water transfer and distribution stations.
Related News: Occupation repeatedly cuts off telecoms, internet from Gaza
'The deadliest war in history'
Oxfam, the Britain-based charity, stated on January 12 that the daily death toll of Palestinians in the brutal Israeli war on Gaza surpasses that of any other major war in the 21st century, while survivors remain at high risk due to hunger, diseases, and cold, as well as ongoing Israeli bombings.
The occupation is "killing Palestinians at an average rate of 250 people a day, which massively exceeds the daily death toll of any other major conflict of recent years,” Oxfam said in a statement. It provided a list of average deaths per day in other cases of aggression since the turn of the century: 96.5 in Syria, 51.6 in Sudan, 50.8 in Iraq, 43.9 in Ukraine, 23.8 in Afghanistan, and 15.8 in Yemen.
According to Oxfam, Palestinians are at serious risk of starvation due to the occupation's restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza as only 10% of the weekly food aid that is needed gets in.
The war on Gaza is now considered one of the deadliest and most destructive wars in history, according to experts in mapping damage during wartime.
The war has killed more people than the US-led coalition did in its alleged three-year campaign against ISIL (also known as ISIS or Daesh), according to an analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data by the CUNY Graduate Center and Oregon State University.
In addition, according to a report by the Associated Press, researchers found that the aggression on Gaza has wreaked more destruction than the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II, to cite an example.
