Salameh Maarouf, head of the Gaza government’s media bureau, announced that 61,709 Palestinians were killed during the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, including 17,881 children and more than 14,000 missing under the rubble.
Maarouf provided the information about the 471 days of Israeli attacks at a press conference held in the courtyard of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
The head of the government’s media office in Gaza said:
“The Israeli genocide in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of more than 61,709 people. The corpses of 47,487 people have been taken to hospitals, while the bodies of 14,222 people remain under the rubble. The number of wounded reached 111,588 people. The Israeli army killed 17,881 children in Gaza, 214 of whom were born during the genocide, leaving 38,000 children orphaned.”
Maarouf also said 1,155 medical workers, 205 journalists and 194 civil defence personnel were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza. He added that the Israeli army detained more than 6,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and that dozens of them died under torture in the prisons where they were held.
Recalling that 2 million people have been displaced in Gaza, with a population of about 2.3 million, as a result of Israeli attacks, Maarouf noted that some people were displaced at least 25 times and struggled to keep alive in conditions where there were no services.
“Occupying Israel carried out 9,268 massacres of Palestinian families and the records of 292 families, all of whose members were killed, were destroyed,” he added.
The number of women killed in Gaza totalled 12,316. Israeli attacks killed 736 people distributing humanitarian aid and 3,500 civil servants. He accused the government of former US President Joe Biden of supporting Israel, said first estimates put the damage in Gaza at $50 billion.
Material damage from attacks
Maarouf said 450,000 homes were damaged, 170,000 homes were completely destroyed, 80,000 homes were largely destroyed and 200,000 homes were partially destroyed. The damage caused by Israeli attacks to Gaza’s housing sector exceeded 25 billion dollars, Maarouf touched on the situation in the health sector.
Maarouf also stressed that Israel knocked out 34 hospitals, 80 medical centres and 212 health facilities in Gaza. 191 ambulances were rendered unusable the damage in the sector reached $3 billion.
