The number of martyrs in Gaza increased to 24,620, including 119 journalists and the spread of chronic diseases

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the death toll from the Israeli war on the Strip had risen to 24,620, confirming chronic diseases due to overcrowding and poor personal hygiene in places of displacement, while the Government Information Office announced that the number of martyrs of journalists had risen to 119.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed on Thursday that the death toll from the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which has been ongoing since October 7, 2023, has risen to 24,620 martyrs and 61,830 injured.

The ministry stated in a statement that “the toll of the Israeli aggression rose to 24,620 martyrs and 61,830 injured” since last October 7.

She explained that "the Israeli occupation committed 15 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, killing 172 martyrs and 326 injured, during the past 24 hours."

She revealed that there are still "a number of victims under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them."

Chronic diseases
The Ministry also announced, in its statement, that it had officially recorded “more than 8,000 cases of viral hepatitis A infection as a result of overcrowding and low levels of personal hygiene in places of displacement.”

It is likely that "the number of hepatitis C infections will double in the various places of displacement in the Gaza Strip."

She added that "the Israeli occupation has deliberately targeted 150 health institutions and 122 ambulances" since the beginning of the war, announcing that "30 hospitals and 53 health centers have been out of service."

Gaza Health also confirmed that hundreds of cases of miscarriage and premature birth were recorded as a result of panic and forced flight, in addition to the lack of health care in places of displacement, and the difficulty of reaching hospitals.

She pointed out that these deteriorating health conditions "put the lives of about 60,000 pregnant women at risk and the risk of pregnancy complications."

The Ministry warned of "the serious repercussions of running out of nitrous gas (one of the gaseous anesthetics used in surgical operations) in operating rooms," which puts the lives of hundreds of injured people at risk.

She pointed out that "350,000 chronic patients, including 10,000 cancer patients, face serious health complications as a result of the unavailability of medicines and their lack of entry into the Gaza Strip."

On Wednesday evening, the Qatari Foreign Ministry announced the entry of a shipment of medicines and aid into the Gaza Strip, as part of an agreement concluded between Israel and Hamas, allowing medicines to reach Palestinians and Israeli detainees.

Martyrs of journalists

In this context, the government media office in Gaza announced that the number of journalists killed by the Israeli occupation army since the beginning of its war on the Strip had risen to 119 journalists.

The office reported, in a statement, that the number of journalist martyrs had risen to 119 since the start of the genocidal war, after the ascension of “our colleague Wael Abu Fununa, Director General of Al-Quds Satellite Channel.”

The government office in Gaza and Palestinian human rights organizations have repeatedly accused the Israeli occupation army of “deliberately” targeting Palestinian journalists during the war to prevent the reporting of “crimes” committed in Gaza.