Hamas’ Surprise Attack on October 7: Hundreds of Palestinians killed and wounded in Gaza, and their families in the city of Khan Younis
More than 24,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, according to the Health Ministry. Medics cannot reach many casualties who have been buried under the rubble due to Israeli strikes.
At least 178 bodies were brought to Gaza’s hospitals in 24 hours along with nearly 300 wounded people, according to Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra.
The war began with Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostage, including men, women and children.
A ground invasion by Israel flattened neighborhoods in northern Gaza during the three week air campaign. Ground operations are now focused on the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.
Hundreds of thousands of Gaza’s population have fled their homes, with the majority of them coming to UN-run shelters and tent camps in southern Gaza. The UN says 25 percent of the population are starving as a result of fighting and Israeli restrictions.
The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and people fighting, but it says about two-thirds of the people killed were women and children.
The Israeli military says that it has killed around 9000 Hamas fighters and blamed the high death toll on the group because it fights in densely populated neighborhoods.
Nearly half of the captives were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of scores of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israel says some 130 remain in captivity, but only around 100 are believed to still be alive.
Medical personnel reported heavy gunfire, a surge of Israeli Tanks and troops into the area around hospitals, and other fighting happening in southern Gaza on Monday.
The Red Crescent Society said a number of people had been killed and injured in the city of Khan Younis on Monday. The director of surgery at the biggest hospital in southern Gaza told Al Jazeera that it had received 100 wounded people and 50 bodies.
Naseem Hasan said that tanks were 100 meters south of the hospital and that they could target anyone. He said one ambulance carrying a person who had been shot in the head was not able to reach Nasser this morning and had to go to a hospital in Rafah — a journey that took three hours.
In a statement, the Red Crescent said that the presence of Israeli troops near Al-Amal Hospital meant that ambulances could not deliver the injured in Khan Younis. Anyone trying to move around the area was coming under fire.
“Khan Younis is very dangerous now,” Nebal Farsakh, a spokeswoman for the Red Crescent, said in an interview. The entire district of Khan You Nis is under siege.
Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, reported on Monday that several people had been killed and wounded at a school in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, after an Israeli strike. The report could not be independently verified. The school was sheltering displaced people who went there after the Israeli military told them that Al-Mawasi, a seaside area, was a safe zone.
“The plumes of smoke from the tanks, artillery and planes belonging to the Air Force will continue to cover the Gaza Strip’s skies until we achieve our goals, chief among them toppling Hamas and returning the hostages to their homes,” he said in a statement.
The Gaza health ministry said on Monday that Israeli strikes had killed 190 people and wounded 340 others in the enclave over the previous 24 hours. It was not known how many of the casualties were in Khan Younis.