Aid groups that visited a packed Gaza hospital described an “unimaginable” situation in which large open wounds were left untreated.
An emergency medical team organized by three aid groups spent two weeks carrying out surgeries and other care at the European Gaza Hospital near Khan Younis. The southern city has seen heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants since the start of the year.
In a statement released Monday, the team said healthcare workers had been forced to evacuate or were unable to access the hospital. It said Israeli restrictions had led to shortages of medical supplies, including basics like gauze and plates and screws used to stabilize broken bones.
The visiting surgeons “reported large infected open wounds on patients and having to administer emergency nutritional supplies to patients as the lack of food was jeopardizing patient treatment.”
International aid officials say the entire population of the Gaza Strip — 2.3 million people — is suffering from food insecurity and that famine is imminent in the hard-hit north.
More than 32,000 people have been killed in the territory, and more than 74,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its counts. It says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Some 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack out of Gaza, triggering the war, and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 Israelis hostage, as well as the remains of 30 others.
Currently:
— Palestinians describe bodies and ambulances crushed in Israel’s ongoing raid at Gaza’s main hospital
— UN to vote on resolution demanding a cease-fire in Gaza during current Muslim holy month of Ramadan
— Thousands of Christians attend Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem against a backdrop of war
— Israeli airstrike in northeastern Lebanon wounds 3, local official says
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s the latest:
ISRAELI STRIKES KILL AT LEAST 30 PALESTINIANS IN RAFAH IN PAST 24 HOURS, PALESTINIAN HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes have killed at least 30 Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah over the past 24 hours.
The Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital, which received the bodies, said Monday that 10 children and 11 women were among those killed.
Israel has vowed to expand its ground offensive to Rafah, which is now housing some 1.4 million people – more than half of Gaza’s population. Most have fled fighting elsewhere.
Israel ordered Palestinians to move south in the opening months of the war but has continued to carry out strikes in all parts of the territory, including Rafah.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has urged Israel against launching a major operation in Rafah, warning of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel says it cannot defeat Hamas without going into Rafah, where it says the group has four battalions composed of thousands of fighters.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 32,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and driven a third of Gaza’s population to the brink of starvation. It was launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel, which killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Hamas-led militants also took around 250 people hostage. It is still holding around 100 hostages, and the remains of around 30 others, after most of the rest were freed during a cease-fire last year in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE KILLS AT LEAST 21 IN CENTRAL GAZA, PALESTINIAN HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian health officials say an Israeli airstrike on an apartment block in central Gaza killed at least 21 Palestinians from two extended families.
The strike late Sunday killed 10 members of the Salman family and 11 members of the Buhesi family, according to hospital records. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at the hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah.
The Israeli military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames civilian casualties on Hamas because the militants fight in dense, residential neighborhoods. But the military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.
The war broke out on Oct. 7. when militants from Gaza stormed into southern Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 250 hostage.
In response, Israel launched one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history. Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 32,000 Palestinians have been killed. It does not differentiate between civilian and combatant casualties but says women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.
AID GROUPS DESCRIBE ‘UNIMAGINABLE’ SITUATION IN GAZA HOSPITAL
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Aid groups that visited a packed Gaza hospital described an “unimaginable” situation in which large open wounds were left untreated.
An emergency medical team organized by three aid groups spent two weeks carrying out surgeries and other care at the European Gaza Hospital near Khan Younis. The southern city has seen heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants since the start of the year.
The hospital has expanded to 1,000 beds from its original capacity of 200 to accommodate patients from Nasser Hospital, the main hospital in Khan Younis, which Israeli forces raided last month. There are also an estimated 22,000 people sheltering at the European Gaza Hospital.
The visiting surgeons “reported large infected open wounds on patients and having to administer emergency nutritional supplies to patients as the lack of food was jeopardizing patient treatment.”
In a statement released Monday, the team said healthcare workers had been forced to evacuate or were unable to access the hospital. It said Israeli restrictions had led to shortages of medical supplies, including basics like gauze and plates and screws used to stabilize broken bones.
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian facilities to shield its fighters and has raided a number of medical facilities since the start of the war. Most of Gaza’s hospitals have been forced to shut down, even as scores are killed and wounded each day in Israeli strikes.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 32,000 Palestinians, and experts warn that even more are at risk of dying from disease and starvation.
The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 people.
The emergency medical team was organized by Medical Aid for Palestinians, the International Rescue Committee and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.
UN SET TO VOTE ON RESOLUTION DEMANDING IMMEDIATE CEASE-FIRE
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Monday on a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The United States warned that the resolution to be voted on Monday morning could hurt negotiations to halt hostilities by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans.
The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, is backed by Russia and China and the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations.
THOUSANDS OF CHRISTIANS MARK PALM SUNDAY IN JERUSALEM
JERUSALEM — Thousands of Christian faithful attended Palm Sunday celebrations at Jerusalem’s sacred Mount of Olives, marking the first day of Holy Week as conflict surges across the region.
Pilgrims waved branches and fronds in the air, items that were placed before Jesus’ feet as he was greeted by cheering crowds during his entrance into Jerusalem, according to the Bible. Earlier Sunday, Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre — revered as the site of Jesus’s crucifixion — also held a service.
The annual celebration came as the Israel-Hamas war rages on in Gaza. However, the conflict appeared to have had little effect on the procession, which swelled to a similar size as last year.
The celebration marks the beginning of the most somber week in the Christian calendar, which marks Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter.
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE HITS LEBANON, WOUNDING AT LEAST 3 PEOPLE
BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike deep in northeastern Lebanon early Sunday wounded at least three people, a local official said.
The airstrike near the city of Baalbek, a stronghold of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group, was the latest to hit the area in recent weeks.
The strike occurred a few minutes after midnight and wounded three people according to Baalbek’s mayor, Bachir Khodr, who posted the news on X.
It was not immediately clear what was struck. The strike came hours after Hezbollah said it used two drones carrying explosives to attack an Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system in the northern Israeli town of Kfar Blum.
The Israeli military said warplanes attacked a workshop used by Hezbollah for military activities. It added that after the strike some 50 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Israel, saying some were shot down and others fell in open areas.
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