(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula Online
Doha, Qatar: Dozens of Palestinians were martyred and injured Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling targeting homes, buildings, and residential apartments in various areas of the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Al-Shifa Hospital has been put“completely out of service” as Israel continues aggressive operations in and around it, said Al Jazeera reporter.
In occupied west bank, Israeli forces arrested three Palestinians, Wafa news agency reported, adding that the troops were stationed in the western area of the city, and raided several homes.
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[4:30pm Doha Time] Israeli missiles have continued to strike the densely populated Rafah City, once branded as a safe area for displaced civilians to flee to. Photo shows a woman reaching to embrace another as they mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli air strike on a building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip today, March 20, 2024. (AFP Photo)
[1:55pm Doha Time] WHO records over 400 attacks on Gaza healthcare facilities
The World Health Organization says it has documented 410 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza since October 7.
“Attacks have resulted in 685 fatalities, 902 injuries, damage to 99 facilities and affected 104 ambulances,” the UN's health agency said on X.
Nearly 40 percent of the attacks were in Gaza City, followed by 23 percent in North Gaza and 28 percent in Khan Younis, in the south.
“Health care is not a Target. WHO calls for the respect of international law and active protection of civilians and health care,” the organisation said.
[12:30pm Doha Time] Qatar announces reunification of wounded Palestinians in Doha in cooperation with Turkiye
Doha, Qatar: Qatar has announced its collaboration with the sisterly Republic of Turkiye in reuniting wounded Palestinians from the Gaza Strip with their relatives in Doha.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a number of the wounded were receiving treatment in Turkiye, while their relatives were undergoing treatment in Qatar. Read more
[11:40am Doha Time] Dozens martyred, injured in air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza strip
Dozens of Palestinians were martyred and injured Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling targeting homes, buildings and residential apartments in various areas of the Gaza Strip. Read more
A Palestinian girl sits on the floor of the emergency area in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah on March 19, 2024, following Israeli bombardment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central gaza Strip. (Photo by AFP)
[11:30am Doha Time] Israel continues aggressive operations in and around Al-Shifa Hospital
The Israeli military has been operating aggressively inside Al-Shifa Hospital for the third day in a row, conducting extensive searches in and around the hospital, said Al Jazeera reporter from Rafah.
Three residential buildings have been destroyed by massive air strikes in these areas. Many people have been reported injured in the attacks and mass arrests have been reported after the raids.
The hospital was recovering slowly and started providing basic treatments for the wounded. However, it is completely out of service now.
A boy inspects the damage to tents following overnight Israeli bombardment at the Rafah refugee camp in the southern gaza Strip on March 19, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
[11:15am Doha Time] Doctors recount horrors of Gaza healthcare collapse and patients' wounds
Several doctors who recently returned from Gaza, spoke to journalists at the UN, recalling the difficulties medics face trying to save lives in a healthcare system that has totally collapsed.
Nick Maynard, from Medical Aid for Palestinians, said he saw the most devastating burns in small children.
“One child I'll never forget had burned so bad you could see her facial bones,” he said.“We knew there was no chance of her surviving but there was no morphine to give her. So not only was she inevitably going to die, but she would die in agony. And what made it even worse that there was nowhere for her to go and die. So she was just left on the floor of the emergency department to die.”
Another doctor gave a vivid example of some the medical supplies that are not being allowed into Gaza.
“This small vial of medicine here is a medicine that we use for sedation,” said Thaer Ahmad from Med Global.
“This is something that we could be using for our patients who are in pain, who we are trying to reset their fractures. We're trying to clean their burns. It's an incredibly painful process and this is something that can help, [and] we're not able to get into the Gaza Strip because the trucks are stalled.”
A wounded Palestinian boy gestures at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah on March 19, 2024, following Israeli bombardment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central gaza Strip. (Photo by AFP)
[10:00am Doha Time] Israeli forces arrest three Palestinians in occupied West Bank
The Israeli forces stormed the city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank at dawn, Wafa news agency reported, adding that the troops were stationed in the western area of the city, raided several homes and detained three young men.
Wafa added that a bulldozer was part of the raid and bulldozed the main street surrounding a mosque in the west of the city.
[9:30am Doha Time] Israel targets family home in Gaza City, killing 15
A child bids farewell to the bodies of relatives who were killed during Israeli bombardment late the previous night, at al-Najar Hospital in Rafah in the southern gaza Strip on March 19, 2024. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
Israel's forces have stepped up their attacks on Gaza City over the past several days, with air raids frequently hitting residential areas.
One of the attacks targeted a family home at the centre of Gaza City, killing 15 people – the majority women and children – according to Al Jazeera's Anas al-Sharif, who reached the scene shortly after the strike, while dead bodies were being recovered from under the rubble.
“Unfortunately, women, children and the neighbours were struck here,” the brother of the owner of the Miqbil family home hit by raids told Al Jazeera.“They were peace-loving people, sleeping after having their last meal before fasting.
“Despite all this, we say praise be to God. Due to lack of resources, bodies remain under the rubble and we are unable to retrieve them.”
[8:45am Doha Time] UN official protesting Gaza conflict alleges assault by security at headquarters
A UN official who has been on hunger strike to show support for children killed and harmed during Israel's war on Gaza has alleged that security staff at the organisation's New York headquarters assaulted him on Tuesday.
The UN has denied that Bruno Donat, a 54-year-old senior UN humanitarian officer, was assaulted, and said he fell while forcibly resisting attempts by security to remove him from the premises.
Donat, who had been on hunger strike since March 1, said he has now halted his protest as he was experiencing pain and vomiting following the incident.
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