By Necva Tastan
ISTANBUL (AA): Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 have killed 21,822 Palestinians, including 9,000 children, 6,450 women, wounded 56,451 others, and 7,000 missing, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said Sunday.
The figures include 150 Palestinians killed and 286 wounded in the past 24 hours, it added.
Civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks as homes, public facilities, schools and hospitals have been persistently targeted.
They include 65,000 residences, 117 mosques and 92 schools and universities that have been demolished.
In addition, 290,000 residences, 285 educational institutions, 208 mosques and three churches had sustained severe damage.
The targeted attacks have also left a mark on essential infrastructure, with 25 hospitals and 53 health centers rendered inoperable.
Among the casualties are 312 health care professionals and 40 civilian defense personnel, along with 106 journalists who lost their lives while reporting on the unfolding crisis.
Another 7,000 people remain trapped beneath the rubble.
International concern has escalated, prompting calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and intensified humanitarian aid efforts to address the growing crisis in the region.
Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.
Accoerding to Israeli authorities, round 1,200 Israelis believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack in south Israel. 129 Israelis are still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers and Israeli settlers have killed 319 Palestinians and detained 4,800 Palestinians in occupied West Bank.
At least 300 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting 180 UN facilities in the Gaza Strip, including some direct hits, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Sunday.
UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma said on X: “1.4 million people in Gaza sheltering in UNRWA facilities and many more in the vicinity, sleeping outside.”
In a separate statement on X, the UN agency said Sunday that “while the world is crowded with New Year’s celebrations, the streets of southern Gaza Strip are crowded with displacement.”
“The past year brought profound devastation and tragedy to Palestine Refugees facing war, extreme violence, displacement and poverty,” the agency said in another statement.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Ankara
[Photo: Palestinian child injured by Israeli bombing being treated by Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza on 31 12 23. Photojournalist: Belal Khaled/ AA]
