A Palestinian girl wounded during an Israeli airstrike is receiving medical treatment at al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on Sunday, October 15, 2023. (Photo by ADEL HANA / Associated Press)
In the Gaza Strip, medics issued a warning on Sunday that the lack of fuel and basic supplies in hospitals packed with injured individuals could result in thousands of deaths. In the besieged coastal enclave, Palestinians are struggling to find food, water, and safety as they anticipate an expected Israeli ground offensive in response to Hamas’ deadly attack. Israeli forces, with increasing support from US warships in the region, have positioned themselves along Gaza’s border and conducted drills in preparation for a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. Despite a week of intense airstrikes that have demolished entire neighborhoods, militant rocket fire into Israel has not subsided.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, since the outbreak of the conflict, 2,450 Palestinians have been killed and 9,200 wounded, surpassing the casualties of the 2014 Gaza war. This marks the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides. On the Israeli side, more than 1,300 individuals, the vast majority of whom are civilians, have been killed in the October 7 assault by Hamas. Approximately 150 others, including children, have been captured and taken into Gaza by Hamas. This is also the deadliest war for Israel since the 1973 conflict with Egypt and Syria.
The US State Department announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be returning to Israel on Monday after completing a whirlwind tour through Arab nations in an effort to prevent the fighting from escalating into a wider regional conflict. The fighting along Israel’s border with Lebanon has intensified, with Hezbollah militants launching rockets and an anti-tank missile, and Israel responding with airstrikes and shelling. The Israeli military has reported incidents of shooting at one of its border posts. At least one person has been killed on the Israeli side, and several individuals on both sides of the border have been wounded. Hezbollah has stated that the increased fighting serves as a “warning” and does not indicate an intention to enter the war.
In Gaza, hospitals are expected to run out of generator fuel within two days, putting the lives of thousands of patients at risk. The UN has reported that Gaza’s only power plant shut down due to a lack of fuel after Israel completely sealed off the territory following the Hamas attack. In Nasser Hospital, located in the southern town of Khan Younis, the intensive care rooms are filled with wounded patients, the majority of whom are children under the age of 3. The hospital is expected to run out of fuel by Monday. Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, a consultant at the critical care complex, stated that there are 35 patients in the ICU who require ventilators and an additional 60 patients on dialysis. If the fuel runs out, the entire health system will be shut down, putting all the patients in danger of death. At the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, the head of pediatrics, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, said that the hospital has refused to evacuate despite Israeli orders. He stated that they have seven newborns in the ICU who are hooked up to ventilators, and evacuating them would mean certain death for them and other patients under their care. Severely injured patients with severed limbs, severe burns, and other life-threatening injuries continue to arrive at the hospitals.
Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the largest hospital in the territory, has announced that it will bury 100 bodies in a mass grave due to the overflow of its morgue. Tens of thousands of people seeking safety have taken refuge in the hospital compound. Gaza was already experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to the Israeli siege, which has caused shortages of water and medical supplies. With some bakeries closing down, residents are unable to buy bread. Israel has also cut off the water supply, forcing many people to rely on brackish wells. While the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, stated that Israeli officials informed him that the water has been turned back on in southern Gaza, aid workers in Gaza have not yet seen any evidence of the water being restored.
Israel has ordered nearly half of Gaza’s population, which is over 1 million Palestinians, to move south. The military claims that this is an effort to clear civilians before launching a major campaign against Hamas in the north, where the group is believed to have built extensive networks of tunnels, bunkers, and rocket launchers. Meanwhile, Hamas has urged people to stay in their homes. The UN and aid groups have warned that the mass exodus within Gaza, coupled with the complete Israeli siege, will result in untold human suffering. The World Health Organization has stated that the evacuation “could be tantamount to a death sentence” for the more than 2,000 patients in northern hospitals. Around 500,000 people, which is nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population, are seeking refuge in United Nations schools and other facilities across the territory, where access to water is rapidly dwindling.
The military has announced that it will not target a specific route south for several hours, urging Palestinians to leave the north en masse. The military provided two corridors and a longer window the day before, and it is estimated that hundreds of thousands have already fled south. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has reported that approximately 1 million people have been displaced in Gaza within just one week. The US has been working to negotiate the reopening of Egypt’s Rafah crossing with Gaza to allow foreigners, including Americans, to leave, as well as to bring in humanitarian aid that has been amassed on the Egyptian side. However, the crossing, which has been closed due to airstrikes since the beginning of the war, has yet to reopen. Israel has stated that the siege will only be lifted once the captives are returned. Over the weekend, hundreds of relatives of those captured by Hamas gathered outside the Israeli Defense Ministry, demanding the release of their loved ones. Many expressed anger towards the government, stating that they still have no information about the captured individuals.
Hamas continues to launch rocket attacks on Israel, leading to a broader evacuation of the southern Israeli city of Sderot. Located about a mile from Gaza, Sderot has frequently been targeted by rockets. Yossi Edri, a resident of Sderot, stated that the children in the city are traumatized and unable to sleep at night.
The Israeli military has reported that an airstrike in southern Gaza killed a Hamas commander who was responsible for the attacks on Nirim, one of the communities in southern Israel targeted by Hamas. Israel has conducted over 100 strikes overnight, targeting command centers and rocket launchers. With the mobilization of 360,000 military reserves and the massing of troops and tanks along the border with Gaza, Israel’s main objective in this offensive is to destroy Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared at the start of Israel’s Cabinet meeting on Sunday that if Hamas believed Israel would fall apart, they were mistaken, as Israel intended to dismantle the militant group.
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