Status: 10.10.2023, 04:45 a.m.
By: Victoria Krumbeck
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The war in Israel is causing casualties on both sides. The UN Relief and Works Agency predicts a growing number of refugees from the Gaza Strip.
Tel Aviv/Gaza – Since the weekend, the conflict in the Middle East has reached a new peak. The radical Islamic group Hamas has launched a large-scale attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with counterattacks and, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is at war. More than 123,000 Palestinians have fled their homes, according to the UN. Living conditions in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated again.
War in Israel: More than 100,000 Palestinians on the run
People had left their homes "out of fear, out of concern for their protection and because of the destruction of their homes," the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told AFP on Monday (9 October). About 73,000 refugees are housed in schools where there is electricity. UN staff are also providing the people sheltered there "with a meal, clean water, psychological support and medical treatment," according to an OCHA spokesperson.
Palestinians flee their homes after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City (archive photo). © Mohammed Talatene/dpa
Israeli soldiers had shelled residential buildings, OCHA said. A total of 159 housing units were destroyed and 1210,400 were severely damaged, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza. The Israeli airstrikes also caused damage to water and sanitation infrastructure for more than 000,<> people, as well as several health facilities, according to OCHA. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) expects a further increase in the number of refugees.
War in Israel: Death toll rises on both sides
Meanwhile, the number of victims of the Israeli war is rising on both sides. An Israeli military spokesman put the death toll on the Israeli side at about 700 civilians and soldiers. According to the Ministry of Health, more than 2380 people were injured. At least 436 people were killed in the Gaza Strip, the Gaza Ministry of Health announced on Sunday evening. More than 2270 people were injured.
According to the UN, more than two million people in the Gaza Strip live in very poor conditions. The Gaza Strip stretches for about 40 kilometers along the Mediterranean Sea and is about six to twelve kilometers wide. The area is slightly larger than that of Munich. Hamas seized sole power by force in 2007. In response, Israel tightened a blockade of the coastal area. Egypt supports this. Fleeing across the sea is also impossible for people from Gaza. (vk/dpa/AFP)