Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza rises to 2,670
16 Oct 2023 11:27am
A Palestinian boy looks at the damage as he stands on the rubble following an Israeli military strike on the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern of Gaza Strip on Oct 15, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas - AFP
The number of wounded has risen to 9,600, Anadolu Agency quoted the ministry's statement.
Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila said 50 Palestinian families have been completely removed from the civil registry due to the ongoing Israeli airstrikes.
She described the situation in Gaza as "grave and catastrophic on all levels.”
More than 470,000 people have also been displaced as a result of the airstrikes, worsening the overall suffering.
Overcrowding, a lack of electricity and water shortages have led to the spread of infectious diseases, Alkaila added.
She also stressed the need for urgent and decisive international action to end the conflict.
Meanwhile, the Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics in Gaza announced late Sunday that it was severely damaged as a result of Israeli airstrikes on the enclave.
The hospital "was subjected to significant damage as a result of the violent and continuous Israeli bombardment on its surroundings,” the Qatar-built hospital said in a statement.
The hospital was established in 2016 under the directive of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to build a facility specialised in installing prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation in the Gaza Strip.
"This attack is not the first,” the statement said. "The hospital building was damaged in 2021 as a result of Israeli bombardment at the time."
"These massacres, collective punishment, retaliatory attacks and attacks on civilians and infrastructure constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes," the hospital added.
The hospital is a significant medical facility in Gaza, offering patient empowerment, rehabilitation services, including prosthetics, physical and occupational therapy, as well as departments for speech, hearing, and psychological rehabilitation - BERNAMA
