The Gaza Health Ministry announced on Monday that the number of Palestinian martyrs resulting from the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza since October 7 has exceeded 18,000, while the number of injuries is nearly 50,000.
The Ministry, in a press statement delivered by its spokesperson, Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra, mentioned that the occupation continues to besiege Kamal Adwan Hospital and carry out raids on schools sheltering displaced civilians, forcefully evicting them.
Dr. Al-Qudra added that the casualty toll of the aggression has “risen to 18,205 martyrs and 49,645 injuries.” He emphasized that in recent hours, the occupation committed 19 horrific massacres and acts of genocide in residential areas and shelters across all regions, including those falsely claimed by the occupation to be safe.
The recent updates on the Gaza war reveal a rapidly deteriorating situation. United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has expressed grave concerns about the living conditions, stating that Gaza is “not a place for humans,” with approximately 1.3 million Palestinians trapped in overcrowded and unprotected shelters.
The Israeli strikes in Gaza have resulted in the death of more than 700 Palestinians over the last 24 hours. This escalation follows the breakdown of talks between Israel and Hamas. The director-general of the Government Media Office in Gaza reported the casualties, and Hamas has indicated that captive-prisoner swap talks will not resume until the Israeli onslaught ends.
Many Palestinians in Gaza have expressed reluctance to leave, fearing permanent displacement similar to that of 1948. The scale of the conflict and the humanitarian crisis are escalating, with shortages of food, water, and medical facilities. Arab states and the U.N. have voiced concerns about a mass displacement, which they believe would further undermine the prospects for a two-state solution. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned about the potential breakdown of public order and the possibility of epidemic diseases, increasing the pressure for mass displacement into Egypt.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced from their homes, and the fighting has spread across the territory, making it nearly impossible to find refuge. The U.S. has supported humanitarian pauses in the fighting but has not joined international calls for a ceasefire. Israel maintains that it is providing information on safe areas and blames Hamas for civilian harm, an accusation Hamas denies. Reports of intense clashes, heavy casualties, and overwhelming medical facilities with the injured are widespread. The World Food Programme has indicated challenges in delivering food supplies to people in Gaza.
