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Desperation grows in Gaza: At least 11 schools hit this month, nearly 100 dead

At least 11 schools being used as shelters by internally displaced Gazans have been hit so far this month, with nearly 100 deaths reported, said UN aid coordination office, OCHA, on Friday.

Around 80 per cent of the Strip’s 2.3 million people have been displaced during Israel’s nearly year-long offensive, with many “continuing to survive in abysmal conditions, crammed in worn-out tents and damaged structures with limited food, water and other necessities,” OCHA reported, following inter-agency assessments in Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis.

It's forecast that flooding will increase in or near displacement sites and medical care points as winter weather sets in, which increases the risk of diseases spreading.

Aid restrictions continue

“Nearly 90 per cent of coordinated humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza so far in September have been either denied or impeded,” OCHA continued.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported on Friday that 103 Palestinians were killed from 22 to 26 September, bringing the death toll to at least 41,534 since the offensive began in response to the Hamas-led terror attacks of 7 October in southern Israel.

OCHA reported that according to the Israeli military, there were no Israeli soldiers killed during operations between 23 September and Friday. A total of 346 soldiers have been killed in Gaza or along the Israeli border since the beginning of the ground war.

The Security Council convenes later on Friday in New York for a briefing on the latest humanitarian situation in Gaza. Follow our live coverage here on UN News from just before 3pm local time.

West Bank clampdown

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told the regular noon briefing in New York that in the occupied West Bank, according to OCHA, the number of obstacles restricting movement of Palestinians have increased by more than 20 per cent since June last year.

“The cumulative impact of obstruction to movements have been devastating, further entrenching the fragmentation in the West Bank, disrupting access to livelihoods and services for thousands of Palestinians which has aggravated the already difficult conditions in which many live,” he said. (added)

Violence continues and between 17 and 23 September, 11 Palestinians were killed, including two children, in the West Bank.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 7 October 2023 and 30 July this year “there were 527 attacks including obstruction of access, use of force, detention and militarized searches were reported on healthcare facilities in the region,” said Mr. Dujarric. 

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