As the Israeli assault on Gaza enters its 33rd day, the devastation is mounting with the government’s media office in Gaza reporting approximately 40,000 Palestinian victims, encompassing fatalities, injuries, and missing persons.
Salama Marouf, head of the Gaza government media office, highlighted in a press conference that since the onset of hostilities on October 7, the death toll has risen to 10,328, including 4,237 children, 2,719 women and girls, and 631 elderly individuals. Additionally, there have been reports of over 3,000 missing persons and injuries to 26,000 citizens.
In a heartbreaking testament to the conflict’s reach, Marouf noted that 1,021 residents of Gaza City and the northern sector, who fled to areas the occupying forces declared ‘safe’ in the south, were among those killed. The media community has also suffered with 49 journalists killed since the beginning of the aggression.
The medical and healthcare sector has been severely hit, with 192 healthcare workers killed, 40 ambulances destroyed, and substantial damage inflicted on 113 health institutions. The functioning capacity of 18 hospitals and 40 health centers has been compromised.
Marouf also stated that to date, the occupation has committed 1,071 massacres against Palestinian families, claiming thousands of lives, primarily women and children. The conflict has displaced 1.5 million citizens from their homes to shelters, group assemblies, or relatives’ homes.
The relentless campaign by Israeli forces has leveled entire residential blocks to the ground over 32 days of warfare. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has reported that Israel has dropped over 25,000 tons of explosives on Gaza since October 7, equating to the force of a 30-kiloton nuclear bomb.
The unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to escalate, with international observers calling for urgent measures to address the growing number of casualties and the widespread destruction in the region.
