The World Health Organization (WHO) says there has been an extermination of entire Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip as a result of the incessant Israeli air strikes against the besieged coastal enclave over the past few days.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Saturday appealed to the international community to open up Gaza border crossings and allow the entry of aid supplies into the territory.
Ghebreyesus added that the Israeli military’s call for the evacuation of hospitals in northern Gaza before the forces start bombing them would result in the death of many seriously ill patients.
Thirteen health facilities had been attacked in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, he noted, highlighting that the stock of medical supplies had run out.
The World Health Organization earlier described Israel’s order for hospitals in northern Gaza to be evacuated as a “death sentence” for the sick and injured.
“Forcing more than 2000 patients to relocate to southern Gaza, where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence.”
Israel strikes Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza
Meanwhile, the Ahli Arab hospital in northern Gaza was hit on Saturday evening by Israeli air strikes, the Anglican Archbishop of al-Quds Hosam Naoum wrote on Facebook.
“Two floors were damaged partially and 4 people were injured,” according to Naoum, who included pictures of the damage.
Israel raids killed more than 400 Palestinians in single day
Furthermore, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA says Israeli bombardment of Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 400 Palestinians and wounded 1,500 others in the past 24 hours alone.
This includes 260 deaths in Gaza City, 80 in Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip and 40 in the northern Jabalia refugee camp.
An additional 10 Palestinians were killed in the town of Beit Lahia, while 20 were killed in southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis.
Abbas stresses cessation of Israeli attacks in call with Biden
Additionally, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has emphasized that peace and security in the Middle East will only be achieved through the implementation of the so-called two-state solution based on international legitimacy resolutions.
During a phone call with his US counterpart Joe Biden, Abbas underlined the need for the cessation of all Israeli attacks and respect for international humanitarian law as regards unfolding developments in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian president also “stressed the necessity of allowing urgent humanitarian corridors to be opened in the Gaza Strip, providing basic materials and medical supplies, delivering water, electricity and fuel to the citizens there.”
Abbas “categorically rejected” the eviction of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, and demanded an immediate end to settler attacks in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian medical officials say the death toll from the ongoing Israeli military onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip has surpassed 2,200.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced in a statement on Saturday that 2,269 Palestinians have been killed and another 9,814 injured ever since the Israeli strikes began last Saturday. Over 700 children are among the fatalities.
This comes as more than 420,000 people are displaced within the Gaza Strip. A total of 270,374 out of 423,378 internally displaced people are located in UN shelters and schools.
