About 100 Palestinian civilians have been killed and 158 wounded in new Israeli military attacks on central Gaza.
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| Hamas-Israel conflict: About 100 Palestinian civilians killed; UN warns of spread of infectious disease. (Source: AFP) |
A health official in the Gaza Strip said on December 30 that about 100 Palestinian civilians were killed and 158 injured in new Israeli military attacks on central Gaza in the past 24 hours.
Witnesses said Israeli tanks advanced deep into districts in the central and southern Gaza Strip on the night of December 29, accompanied by heavy airstrikes and artillery fire.
The fighting on the night of December 29 and the morning of December 30 focused on al-Bureij, Nuseirat and Khan Younis. Gaza hospitals are packed with wounded people. The Palestinian Red Crescent posted pictures on the Internet of ambulances speeding through the streets, carrying many wounded children.
Nearly all of the 2.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been forced to flee their homes in 12 weeks of Israeli military retaliation since the Islamist Hamas movement launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 240 hostage.
Israel's military campaign has so far killed at least 21,500 Palestinians and injured nearly 56,000.
The Israeli military said it was working to establish “operational control” over the Khuza’a area. Israeli troops also struck several Hamas assets, including tunnel networks and anti-tank missile launch sites.
Also on December 29, the Israeli army said it had attacked Hezbollah sites in the Hamoul area (southern Lebanon). The sites attacked included rocket launch sites, a military site and other Hezbollah infrastructure.
According to Al Jazeera TV channel, speaking at the UN Security Council, Israel's Permanent Representative to the UN Gilad Erdan warned of the risk of all-out war if the attacks by Hezbollah forces in Lebanon against the country continue.
On the same day, December 30, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that infectious diseases are spreading increasingly strongly in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict.
The OCHA statement stressed that the spread of the disease in Gaza has increased, mainly due to the recent mass displacement in the southern Gaza Strip. This situation has increased pressure on the already overburdened Palestinian health system while most of Gaza's hospitals are no longer functional.
OCHA said nearly 180,000 people suffered from upper respiratory infections, 136,400 cases of diarrhea, half of them children under 5 years old. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people suffered from skin diseases and 126 people suffered from meningitis.
Millions of people in Gaza have been displaced within the territory, including those forced to move frequently to find shelter. Shortages of basic necessities and poor sanitation exacerbate the already difficult living conditions of the displaced, and contribute to the spread of disease.
Meanwhile, due to major security incidents in the vicinity of the Kerem Shalom crossing, humanitarian aid through this crossing between Israel and Gaza has been suspended for the past four days.
According to OCHA, only 81 trucks carrying food and medicine entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on December 29. However, aid convoys may face many challenges during transportation.
The World Food Programme (FAO) warns that Gaza is facing severe food insecurity and the risk of famine is increasing daily amid escalating conflict and limited humanitarian access.
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