Gaza: 320 martyrs and wounded in one day, UN condemnation of evacuation decisions

The government media office in the Gaza Strip said on Monday evening that "more than 320 martyrs and wounded arrived at hospitals during the past 48 hours, with burned bodies as a result of Israel's use of internationally banned weapons," while the United Nations condemned the "impossible" evacuation decisions.

The office added in a statement: "The number of martyrs and wounded who arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip during the past 48 hours has risen to 320 martyrs and wounded, as they arrived with their bodies burned as a result of the occupation army's use of internationally prohibited weapons."

He explained that according to medical estimates, "the weapons used by the occupation army caused third-degree burns to the bodies of the martyrs and the wounded." He continued that these weapons are "missiles and bombs, most of which are American-made and are called thermal or chemical weapons, and are internationally prohibited and forbidden from being used against humans."

The government office pointed out that these types of weapons "work by reacting with chemicals on the skin, causing chemical erosion of tissues in the bodies of martyrs and the injured, in addition to severe pain and deep physical damage, which makes them cause fatal and deadly burns within 27 hours or less."

The government office noted that "some cases of martyrdom due to fatal burns were recorded." In its statement, it condemned "the crimes against humanity committed by the occupation against civilians, children and women," calling on all countries of the world to "condemn these incendiary crimes against civilians and to prosecute the occupation and try it before international courts."

Continuous raids on the Gaza Strip

Meanwhile, 3 Palestinians were killed and others were injured on Monday in an Israeli bombing that targeted a house in the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, artillery shelling continues, according to field sources, on various areas of the central governorate, including the Nuseirat camp and the Bureij camp, in addition to the Zahour neighborhood north of Rafah, as well as in the cities of Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis.

In the context, 4 Palestinians were killed and others were injured when an Israeli reconnaissance plane targeted a residential apartment belonging to the Al-Shurafa family in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City. They arrived at the Baptist Hospital in the center of Gaza City.

Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli aircraft targeted Salah al-Din School in al-Rimal neighborhood, west of Gaza City, resulting in casualties, including dead and wounded, while Israeli vehicles fired their machine guns at agricultural lands and Palestinian homes east of Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis.

"Impossible decisions"

Humanitarianally, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed in the daily press conference on Monday that efforts are continuing to support the displaced in Gaza, saying: “With every evacuation order, families in Gaza are forced to make impossible decisions.”

Dujarric noted that a team from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has taken action to support those displaced from northern Gaza to the south. Dujarric said: “With every evacuation order, families in Gaza are forced to make impossible decisions.”

Dujarric said that the attacks carried out in recent days "showed once again that there is no safe place in Gaza," condemning the targeting of civilians and expressing his hope that the ceasefire talks would yield results.

The Israeli occupation army is forcing thousands of Palestinians to evacuate their homes in many areas of the Gaza Strip and head towards areas it claims are "safe", under threat of bombing and after warning them to evacuate in preparation for carrying out a military operation.

For months, mediation efforts led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would include a prisoner exchange from both sides and a ceasefire.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza with American support, leaving more than 127,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of dozens of children.

Tel Aviv continues the war, ignoring the two UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate halt to it, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.