Deaths, disease and destruction of schools continue to mount in Gaza: UN
In the five-day period up to Monday, 188 Palestinians were reported killed and 520 injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, including the bombing of the Khadija Girls’ School in Deir el-Balah that killed at least 30 people, primarily children and women, Al Jazeera reports.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reports that about 56,000 Palestinians have been affected by Israel’s latest order to evacuate additional areas in southern and central cities of Gaza’s Rafah, Khan Younis, and Deir el-Balah.
Lack of access to water and sanitation has resulted in communicable diseases and skin infections raging across Gaza, the OCHA’s latest situation report notes, and almost 85 percent of school buildings (477 of 564) in the territory now require full reconstruction or major rehabilitation due to military attacks.