The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that 51 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and many more wounded in an Israeli bombardment of Maghazi refugee camp, located in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, reported Al Ahram. AP notes that the camp, a built-up residential area, is located in the evacuation zone where Israel’s military had urged Palestinian civilians in Gaza to seek refuge as it focuses its military offensive on the north.
Israel also targeted a UN school-turned-shelter near Gaza City, killing at least 20, including those inside the school building and in tents within the schoolyard. Additionally, strikes near Nasr Psychiatric Hospital and Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City further exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.
In Ramallah, Palestinian Minister of Health Mai Alkaila issued a grim warning this morning about an impending disaster in Gaza, reported the WAFA news agency. Alkaila said many wounded individuals are at imminent risk of death due to the severe shortage of medical supplies and fuel necessary to keep hospitals operating. Israeli attacks on the healthcare sector throughout Gaza have resulted in destruction of healthcare capacity and the deaths of over 150 medical personnel, she said, and added that further Israeli bombardment around hospitals in Gaza, especially in the northern areas, aims to force medical personnel to abandon their patients and leave the hospitals.
