Conflicts & War

Over 260 Gaza residents killed in 24 hours of Israeli airstrikes

Gaza, Oct 22 (EFE).- In a span of just over 24 hours, at least 266 people have been killed in the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza amid a growing humanitarian crisis as hospitals in the war-torn region face critical electricity shortages due to a lack of fuel.

According to the Gaza government press office controlled by Hamas, Israel was responsible for “24 massacres” in as many hours, resulting in the deaths of 266 people, including 117 children.

The majority of the deaths occurred in the southern region of the strip, which has endured relentless bombing for the past 16 days and is subject to a crippling blockade.

Since Saturday afternoon, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, located in the central part of the strip, received 143 dead.

The hospital treated over 260 injured patients within a matter of hours.

The southern half of the enclave has been particularly hard-hit, even as Israel has ordered the civilian population to relocate from the north to the south.

On Saturday, the Israeli Army reiterated its call for the Gazans in the northern part to move to the south in anticipation of a planned ground offensive to dismantle the military infrastructure of the Islamist Hamas group.

The area has seen the highest number of Palestinian casualties and has been a focal point of Israeli attacks.

Leaflets dropped from planes urged hundreds of thousands of civilians to leave the north for their own safety, warning that failure to do so might result in being considered “terrorists accomplices.”

However, Israeli airstrikes have continued in the southern areas of the enclave throughout the offensive that began on Oct. 7 when hundreds of Hamas militants launched an audacious multi-pronged attack, resulting in the deaths of 1,400 Israelis inside Israeli territory.

Hamas militants have taken more than 210 Israelis as hostages in Gaza, while around 100 Israelis are reported missing.

As the war between Israel and Hamas continued into its 16th day, Israeli forces intensified their aerial strikes on Gaza.

Devastation looms over the strip, and healthcare facilities are on the brink of collapse without electricity due to the lack of fuel.

The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA, has warned that without fuel and humanitarian aid, health assistance will be ineffective because hospitals cannot function without electricity.

So far, Israeli airstrikes have damaged 25 medical centers, and 49 healthcare workers have lost their lives since the start of the war.

The Palestinian Red Crescent’s medical services reported that the Israeli Army had demanded the immediate evacuation of Al Quds Hospital in Gaza City, threatening to bomb it.

They called on the international community to take immediate action to prevent the impending catastrophe.

The hospital is currently housing over 400 patients and approximately 12,000 displaced civilians.

Similarly, Al Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital issued a distress call for fuel to power its generator, as the lack of electricity posed a severe threat to the lives of patients, including 30 people who were injured in the attacks.

In the 16 days of the war, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 4,650 Palestinians, including nearly 1,900 children, over 1,000 women, and some 187 elderly individuals, according to the health ministry.

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