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The Palestinian Red Crescent on Friday accused Israel of firing at a hospital in Khan Younis as a major advance in the main city in the southern Gaza Strip threatened the few healthcare facilities still open, Reuters reported.
The Red Crescent said displaced people were injured due to intense gunfire from the Israeli drones targeting citizens at Al-Amal Hospital as well as the rescue agency’s base.
In the same city, Israeli tanks were also approaching Gaza’s biggest remaining functioning hospital, Nasser, where people reported hearing hellfire from the west. Residents also reported fierce gun battles to the south.
Israel claims that Khan Younis is currently the main base of the Hamas fighters who attacked Israeli towns on October 7, sparking a war that has destroyed the Gaza Strip. Israel has launched a significant new advance in Khan Younis this week to seize the city.
According to the Gaza health ministry, 142 Palestinians had been killed and 278 injured in Gaza in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll from more than three months of war there to 24,762.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the majority of the 36 hospitals in the enclave are no longer operational. As per the report, only 15 are only partially operational, and even those are only running at up to three times their maximum capacity without enough fuel or medical supplies.
Israeli officials have accused Hamas fighters of operating from hospitals, including Nasser, which staff deny.
UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) figures estimate that over 1.7 million people, or approximately 75% of Gaza’s population, are internally displaced, with many of them being forced to relocate repeatedly. Many people have taken shelter in tents, which offer minimal defense against the weather and illness.
Among them, Mohammed al-Ghandour yearned to give his bride a magnificent wedding, but they were forced to leave their homes in Gaza City. This week, the couple finally tied the knot in Rafah, a tent city close to the Egyptian border, where they currently reside.
“My happiness is maybe at 3% but will get myself ready for my wife. I want to make her happy,” Ghandour said as quoted by Reuters.
During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Israeli President Isaac Herzog framed the offensive as a step towards more peaceful relations with the Palestinians in the future and bolstering global security, while maintaining that he was not shying away from the “human tragedy” inflicted on Gaza civilians.
An Israeli strike on a house in Al-Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip killed five Palestinians, health officials said.
Israel said it will fight on until Hamas is eradicated, an aim Palestinians call unachievable because of the group’s structure and deep roots in an enclave it has run since 2007.
(With Reuters inputs)
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Published: 20 Jan 2024, 06:35 AM IST
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