The number of displaced people in the Gaza Strip exceeds 263,000, an increase of almost 90,000 people in just 24 hours, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordination Office (OCHA) said.
“The numbers are expected to continue to rise,” the agency acknowledges.
Of the total number of displaced people, more than 175,000 people are in shelters run by the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees, mainly schools, which in some cases are equipped to be converted into shelters in crisis situations such as the current one.
The number of dead in Israel from Saturday’s surprise attack by the Islamist movement Hamas today exceeded 1,200 and the number of injured exceeded 2,900, according to figures from Israeli military sources.
In Gaza, Israeli air, land and sea bombardments against Gaza have already left 950 dead and at least 5,000 injured.
Shelling in Palestinian territory “has continued virtually uninterrupted throughout the Gaza Strip,” with attacks on “residential buildings in densely populated areas, causing casualties including the elderly, women and children,” OCHA said.
He specified that the number of casualties on the Palestinian side has doubled in the past 24 hours compared to the daily number since Saturday (from 200 to 400), when hostilities began.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Housing in Gaza, 1,009 houses have been destroyed, 560 have been severely damaged and made uninhabitable, and another 12,630 have suffered minor damage.
“The airstrikes hit several telecommunications facilities and destroyed two of the three main mobile communications lines. Gaza residents now rely on a single line for mobile and internet connections,” the UN agency added.
Source: El heraldo

Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.