Israeli airstrikes killed 28 Palestinians on Wednesday, pushing Gaza’s health system closer to collapse amid warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe.
Medical sources have reported that 28 Palestinians were killed in a series of relentless Israeli airstrikes across Gaza since dawn on Wednesday, Al-Jazeera reported.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza has issued yet another urgent warning about an imminent catastrophe engulfing the already crippled health system in the besieged Palestinian Strip.
Al-Jazeera reported that the bodies of four victims, including an infant, were recovered from the rubble of a house targeted in an Israeli bombing in Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza. Several others were injured in the same attack.
Dua gadis kecil asal Jabalia Al Balad, Gaza: Samaa dan Talia, syahid akibat rumahnya dibom teroris Zionis. 😭
Pergilah yang tenang, wahai adik! 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/J9FmJq50q1— Mas Gres (@erlanishere) January 8, 2025
In Sheikh Radwan, west of Gaza City, a Palestinian was killed and others injured when Israeli forces bombed a house. Heavy airstrikes also targeted the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the last remaining health facilities in northern Gaza.
In the Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, five Palestinians were killed, and several others were injured in another Israeli raid.
Meanwhile, in Khan Yunis, a Palestinian woman was killed, and others were injured when Israeli forces targeted a tent housing displaced families in the Al-Mawasi area.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza has repeatedly warned of a “real disaster” threatening hospitals across the Strip. Oxygen stations, medicine storage facilities, and incubators for newborns are at risk of complete failure as fuel supplies run critically low.
The director of field hospitals in Gaza told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces are systematically working to dismantle the health system in both the northern and southern parts of the Strip.
He added that aid convoys are being forced onto dangerous routes plagued by theft and that Israeli forces continue to bomb areas they have declared “safe zones” for civilians.
Palestinian little girl with her guts hanging out following her fatal injury sustained in an lsraeli air attack on Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/cRqYRVPueD
— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) January 8, 2025
The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the situation as a “death sentence” for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of medical care.
The UN agency also condemned Israel’s storming and partial destruction of Kamal Adwan Hospital, which has left northern Gaza without a single functioning health facility.
Since Israel’s large-scale invasion of the northern Gaza Strip on October 6, 2024, the destruction has been staggering.
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,936 Palestinians have been killed, and 109,274 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
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The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,139 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(PC, AJA)