Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks rises to 11,500: Gaza-based government

By Abdel Salam Fayez

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The government media office in Gaza on Wednesday announced that the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 has risen to 11,500, including 4,710 children and 3,160 women.

“The number of deaths among medical personnel has reached 200,” the office said in a statement on Telegram.

It further said that 22 civil defense personnel and 51 journalists have also been killed, while the number of injured people has reached 29,800, with about 70% of them children and women.

The latest toll announced by the office on Tuesday was 11,320 fatalities, including 4,650 children and 3,145 women.

Wednesday’s statement said that 95 government buildings and 255 schools have been destroyed. Some 74 mosques were completely destroyed and 162 were partially damaged, in addition to three churches.

It said that the Israeli army targeted 52 health centers and 55 ambulances, while 25 hospitals have run out of service.

“Israeli soldiers attacked many patients, wounded individuals, and displaced people, as well as several medical and nursing staff inside Al-Shifa Medical Complex, forcing them to undress and subjecting them to insults,” the statement added.

After besieging it for days, the Israeli army on Wednesday raided the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City.

The government office held “the Israeli occupation (forces) and the international community, especially the United States, fully responsible for the organized war crimes committed by the occupation army against hospitals” and called for “the immediate opening of the Rafah crossing and the entry of aid.”

Earlier, the Palestinian telecommunication regulatory authority warned that communications services in Gaza will come to a total halt in the coming hours amid a severe fuel shortage.

In a separate statement, the government media office warned that the outage of communications services will “contribute to the complete concealment of all war crimes committed by the occupation army around the clock against hospitals, safe homes, and 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip.”

* Writing by Rania Abu Shamala