Geneva, Nov 1 (EFE).- The United Nations said on Wednesday that Israeli airstrikes on a refugee camp have resulted in the destruction of an entire neighborhood and the loss of at least 50 lives in northern Gaza.
“On 31 October, heavy airstrikes hit Jabalia Refugee Camp, reportedly destroying an entire quarter with 30 residential buildings. Initial reports indicated at least 50 people killed and many being trapped under the rubble,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its daily update on the situation in Gaza.
However, some health officials in Gaza have raised the death toll to 145 in the attack on the refugee camp.
OCHA said that in another incident, two particularly lethal airstrikes targeted family houses in Middle-Gaza, killing at least 33 Palestinians, with one bombing wiping out “an entire family of three generations, mostly children and women.”
Since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7, OCHA said that a total of 8,525 Palestinians have been killed, including 3,542 children and 2,187 women.
Another 21,543 people have sustained injuries, the UN agency said, citing Gaza health officials.
The UN body highlighted that two-thirds of the conflict victims have died in attacks on their homes, with nearly 2,000 people – nearly half of whom are children – still buried under the rubble.
As of Oct. 31, at least 44 UN related installations were damaged in the conflict, during which at least 67 UN employees were also killed.
“This is the highest number of UN aid workers to be killed in such a short period of time,” OCHA said.
At least 31 journalists also lost their lives in the ongoing conflict, including 26 Palestinians, four Israelis, and one Lebanese, UN reported, citing data from the nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists.
According to the report, two-thirds of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced due to the conflict, with 300,000 of them staying in northern Gaza, where the delivery of aid has become “increasingly challenging” due to the ongoing Israeli military operations.
“People are becoming increasingly desperate, as they search for food, water and shelter amid the relentless bombing campaign that is wiping out whole families and entire neighborhoods,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said in the statement.
The UN body expressed concerns that one-third of hospitals in Gaza have shut down due to attacks and supply shortages, increasing pressure on the remaining 13 functional hospitals, which in addition to the thousands of patients and medical staff also accommodate nearly 117,000 displaced people.
Over the past three days, the attacks have impacted about three healthcare facilities, including the one resulting in damage to the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, the main cancer treatment center in Gaza city. EFE
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