New Toll of Martyrs from Building Collapses in Gaza and Shocking Numbers on Hospital Catastrophes

SadaNews - The Ministry of Interior in Gaza announced on Sunday a new toll of victims from the collapse of buildings affected by Israeli shelling, while health authorities revealed shocking numbers about the suffering of patients due to the shortage and lack of medicines and equipment.

The new toll for building collapses covers the period from October 10, the date of the ceasefire, until yesterday Saturday.

During this period, 46 buildings collapsed, leading to the martyrdom of 18 Palestinians, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior. These buildings were damaged due to the genocide war waged by Israel against Gaza for more than two years.

The ministry spoke of "the ongoing disaster of collapsing damaged homes on top of their residents, the latest of which occurred on Saturday evening in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, resulting in the martyrdom of 4 citizens, raising the number of victims to 18 martyrs."

The ministry warned in its statement of the widening scope of this disaster as the construction ban continues and Israel refuses to allow the entry of mobile homes (caravans) with the onset of winter, increasing the likelihood of the collapse of damaged buildings.

Recently, the Gaza Strip has witnessed multiple incidents of collapse of several homes and residential buildings previously damaged by Israeli shelling, due to the effects of rain and strong winds, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of a number of Palestinians, according to government sources.

Palestinians are reluctantly forced to reside in cracked and crumbling buildings due to a lack of options, amidst the destruction of most buildings in the sector by Israel, as it prevents the entry of mobile homes, construction materials, and reconstruction, shirking its obligations set out in the ceasefire agreement.

The Civil Defense urged residents of uninhabitable buildings to evacuate them and adhere to the safety team’s instructions.

The Hamas movement stated that the collapse of buildings that were bombed during the genocide war on Gaza reflects the worsening risks to the humanitarian situation as the occupation tightens the siege.

They called on mediators to take serious action to restrain the occupation's violations and pressure it to initiate a genuine reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip.

Severe Depletion

In a related matter, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza warned of a serious deterioration in the pharmaceutical stocks in the sector's hospitals due to a 52% shortage in medicines and a 71% shortage in medical supplies.

The ministry stated in a statement that the health system is experiencing a state of dangerous and unprecedented depletion, following two years of war and an ongoing siege, which has led to a sharp decline in its ability to provide diagnostic and therapeutic services.

It pointed out that the shortage in the renal service list has deprived 650 patients of dialysis sessions.

It reported that several cancer patients have died as the shortage of therapeutic cancer drugs reached 70%, depriving a thousand patients of the service.

It warned of patients facing severe health setbacks, strokes, and heart attacks, conditions for which there is no available therapeutic or diagnostic interventions, meaning these patients are at risk of certain death.

Complete Shortage

The ministry also reported a complete halt to cardiac catheterization and open-heart services amid a 100% complete absence of medicines and medical supplies.

It added that any cardiac catheterization services that may be available in the sector are allocated for life-saving cases.

Furthermore, the ministry clarified that 59% of essential laboratory tests are unavailable, including types that require life-saving therapeutic interventions, such as blood count tests, blood salts, blood unit determination, bacterial cultures, and medical tests for kidney failure patients.

This comes amid Israel's continued reduction of medical truck entries to the sector to less than 30% of the monthly needs, according to the ministry.

Despite the end of the war, Israel continues to evade its obligations outlined in the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on October 10, with regards to not bringing in the agreed quantities of medicine trucks.

Today, Sunday, World Health Organization Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for urgent approval for the entry of essential medical supplies and equipment for Gaza's hospitals.

He said that health facilities in Gaza are facing shortages of supplies and equipment due to complex entry procedures and restrictions.

It is noted that on October 8, 2023, Israel, with American support, began a war of genocide in Gaza that lasted for two years and resulted in about 71,000 martyrs and 171,000 injured Palestinians, most of whom are children and women.