Israel-Hamas War: Hamas-run Health Ministry says 700 Killed in 24 Hours, Situation at al-Wafa Hospital very, very sad- Details Here
Israel-Hamas War: Hamas-run Health Ministry says 700 Killed in 24 Hours, Situation at al-Wafa Hospital very, very sad
Latest updates on Israel-Gaza war
Situation at al-Wafa hospital ‘very, very sad’, medical director says
Dr Hassan Khalaf, medical director of al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza, says the situation there is “very, very sad” due to the lack of medication, water, food, and electricity.
“All hospitals are depending on electric generators which is not ideal,” Khalaf told Al Jazeera.
At least 30 wounded people were moved from al-Shifa Hospital to al-Wafa Hospital, he said, “just to give them space for new injured people”.
“In my hospital, we are treating the elderly and bedridden cases with chronic diseases,” he said, however doctors are only able to provide care that is “minimal”.
“Even food – we don’t have food. We depend on bean cans and jam and cheese, so dry food,” Khalaf said.
While a small solar power system helps with some lighting, Khalaf says a feeling of uncertainty and fear lingers around when “disaster” will strike – and when “all [the] people here will die on the spot”.
More than 700 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli air strikes
More than 700 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry says. Israel’s military said it struck 400 “terror targets” and killed several Hamas commanders over the same period. It also declared that it would not reduce its attacks despite Hamas’s release of another two hostages.
Israel launched its bombing campaign against Hamas – which Israel, the UK, US and other powers class as a terrorist organisation – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October in which at least 1,400 people were killed and 222 others were taken hostage. Nearly 5,800 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry.
Netanyahu tells troops ‘we stand before the next stage’
The Israeli prime minister was speaking to members of Yahalom Unit, of the combat engineers corps, positioned near Gaza.
“We stand before the next stage, it is coming,” he said. “We have only one mission – to smash Hamas. We will not stop until we complete it.”
Netanyahu added that Israeli strikes on Gaza have delivered the “harshest blow they have taken in a single day”.
More from the Saudi foreign minister
Asked to respond to the argument that a ceasefire is only possible when captives held by Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza are released, the Saudi foreign minister replied:
“A ceasefire is a humanitarian imperative.
“We are facing a desperate situation in Gaza right now. We are facing an impending humanitarian catastrophe. Every hour we speak, more civilians in Gaza are dying. More people are getting injured. The situation is getting worse.
“A ceasefire is an absolute necessity – immediately. That will allow us to address all of the other issues. We have called quite clearly for a release of hostages, and that is absolutely necessary. But the protection of civilian lives, the protection of infrastructure, especially hospitals … is also an imperative that must be met immediately.”
Saudi foreign minister calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza, lifting of blockade
The Saudi foreign minister says Arab leaders at the UN headquarters in New York have gathered with “a unified message – that more violence is not the answer, that all civilian life is deserving of protection and that includes the lives of the Palestinian civilians in Gaza”.
“And that is why we are all here standing together, calling for an immediate ceasefire, for an immediate lifting of the blockade on Gaza and for a return to a peace process and for a return to a true, serious approach to resolving the existing grievances of the Palestinian people,” Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said.
Gaza hospitals can no longer accept patients: Palestinian ministry
Dr May Al Kaila, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) minister of health, has said that hospitals in the Gaza Strip can no longer receive any new patients.
In a news conference, she said:
- 12 hospitals are currently not operating due to Israeli air strikes or lack of fuel
- Remaining hospitals can no longer accept any patients due to overcrowding (even floors and hallways are being used to treat the injured)
- Al-Shifa Hospital alone is sheltering 50,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
- Doctors are operating in hospital hallways using cellphones for light
- The collapse of the health system means cancer and dialysis patients will not receive treatment
- At least 65 medical staff – including nurses and doctors – have been killed since October 7
Latest updates on Israel-Gaza war
- UN chief’s statement that, “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder: Israel Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan
- It is important to recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation: Guterres had said.
“But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” he added.
- UN chief Antonio Guterres should resign immediately: Israel
The @UN Secretary-General, who shows understanding for the campaign of mass murder of children, women, and the elderly, is not fit to lead the UN.
I call on him to resign immediately.
There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most…
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) October 24, 2023
- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Tuesday he was “deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza.”
- The Israeli military has begun offering cash and protection for anyone who shares accurate information on the whereabouts of hostages held by militant group Hamas.
- The United States remains committed to the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and to self-determination: President Joe Biden
- The World Health Organisation says nearly two-thirds of Gaza’s health facilities have ceased functioning, reports AP
(With inputs from agencies)