500 medical personnel martyred since beginning of Israeli aggression on Gaza

Ramallah: The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that about 500 healthcare workers have been martyred, and hundreds have been injured since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023.

In a statement, the ministry said that more than 310 others have been arrested, while 130 ambulances have been destroyed in the Gaza Strip. Health facilities and workers in the occupied West Bank have also been subjected to more than 340 attacks.

The ministry underlined that the deliberate targeting of medical infrastructure by the occupation has deprived Palestinian citizens of access to basic healthcare services.

It pointed out that poor water and sanitation conditions, along with overcrowding, have led to an increase in diseases and early deaths, noting that the Gaza Strip is facing a public health disaster due to unsafe water resources and a lack of basic hygiene necessities for over 1.7 million forcibly displaced people.

The ministry emphasised that the severe shortage of healthcare workers and medical supplies, including anesthesia and antibiotics, is making it difficult for healthcare workers to save lives.

The ministry called for the unconditional entry of humanitarian supplies to meet the acute shortages and assist in evacuating the injured to receive life-saving medical care abroad.

Israeli occupation forces have continued their genocide on the Gaza Strip by land, sea, and air since 7 October 2023, resulting in the martyrdom of nearly 40,000 citizens and the injury of 91,702 others, while thousands of victims remain trapped under the rubble and in the streets, with ambulance and civil defense teams unable to reach them.