A senior official with the World Health Organization described the current hospital situation in Gaza on Monday as “catastrophic,” stating that most hospitals in the area are no longer functioning and the facilities that remain are likely to be overwhelmed due to thousands of childbirths expected in the next month.
This news came following a deadly incident during which a shell struck a hospital in northern Gaza, killing 12 people. The Hamas-led Health Ministry and a medical worker have blamed Israel for the attack, although Israel has denied shelling the hospital. Heavy fighting was reported around the Indonesian Hospital, which has been providing shelter to thousands of patients and displaced people. The fighting occurred just one day after the World Health Organization evacuated 31 premature babies from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest hospital in the territory.
The United Nations has reported that over 12,700 Palestinians, including two-thirds women and minors, have been killed since the war began, according to Palestinian health authorities. Additionally, about 4,000 people are reportedly missing. On the Israeli side, about 1,200 individuals have been killed and around 240 people have been taken captive by militants. Concerns have been raised by critics who have accused Israel of imposing collective punishment on the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians, while others insist that Hamas uses civilians and hospitals as shields.
Currently, 31 premature babies have been evacuated from Gaza’s largest hospital, while Yemen’s Houthi rebels hijacked an Israeli-linked ship in the Red Sea. China has welcomed Arab and Islamic foreign ministers for talks on ending the war in Gaza, and attacks are on the rise in the West Bank, which faces its own war. Additionally, French performers led a silent Paris march for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, while tens of thousands rallied in Pakistan against Israel’s bombing in Gaza. There has also been dissent over U.S. policy in the Israel-Hamas war as unusual public protests from federal employees have ensued, and French Holocaust survivors are recoiling at new antisemitism while activists plead for peace. These current events are being covered by AP at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
