GAZA CITY: The Palestinian health ministry on Wednesday reported that at least 26,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 65,949 injured in ongoing relentless Israeli strikes since October 7. In the past 24 hours alone, 150 Palestinians were killed, and 313 were injured due to Israeli attacks.
Amid the intensifying violence, Israeli forces shot and killed a security employee working at al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, the Palestine Red Crescent Society reported. The medical charity reported that the staff member was shot near the hospital’s back door, and smoke bombs were reported in the vicinity.
🚨Urgent: Security personnel at PRCS Al-Amal Hospital, in #KhanYunis was killed due to the occupation forces firing at him while he was standing near the rear door of the hospital.
⚠️Intense and ongoing targeting in the vicinity of Amal Hospital and the launch of smoke grenades.… pic.twitter.com/izjRdmmQ3E— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) January 31, 2024
Al-Amal Hospital, targeted earlier by the Israeli military, suffered further damage, leaving 10 people injured. Tragically, some Palestinians inside the hospital lost their lives due to severe bleeding, as there was no safe passage to transfer them to Nasser Hospital or other functioning medical facilities. The hospital has been rendered inoperable, lacking essential medical supplies, fuel, and operational power generators.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council is set to discuss the ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at 11 am New York time. The ICJ ruling is related to Israel’s confirmation of channeling seawater into Gaza tunnels, an action highlighted in South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ. South Africa expressed extreme concern, asserting that the plan could lead to the “mass expulsion” of Palestinians from Gaza and cause lasting contamination of the region’s aquifer and soil.
UN Bodies Warn Against Cutting off Funding for UNRWA Relief Operations in Gaza
In another development, the heads of multiple UN bodies issued a joint statement warning against cutting off funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
They emphasized that withdrawing funds from UNRWA would result in the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, with far-reaching consequences for human rights and humanitarian conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory and the broader region.
Addressing concerns about UNRWA’s role, the UN’s coordinator for Gaza aid, Sigrid Kaag, asserted that nothing can “replace or substitute” the agency’s capacity and knowledge of the population in Gaza. Kaag highlighted the agency’s critical role in providing food, water, and medicine on a scale unmatched by any other humanitarian player in Gaza.
The United States, as the largest donor to UNRWA, expressed strong support for the agency’s work, emphasizing its irreplaceable role in delivering essential aid to the people of Gaza. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stressed the importance of a thorough investigation and accountability for any wrongdoing within the agency.
