A Palestinian doctor at a medical center in Rafah said on Tuesday that 27 bodies had been brought to Rafah since the start of the Israeli invasion. Israeli ground forces entered the southeastern corner of Gaza and took control of the Gaza side of the Egyptian border crossing.
Dr. Suhaib Helms, director of the Rafah Kuwait Hospital, said his hospital also treated 150 injured, many of whom suffered fractures, severe head injuries or severe burns.
“The situation is catastrophic in every sense of the word,” Dr. Himes said.
The Israeli military said it killed about 20 people in Rafah, and the deceased were Hamas fighters. “Ground forces are continuing operations against Hamas terrorists and infrastructure in the Rafah crossing area,” the statement said. Israel called the incursion into Rafah, where more than a million people are fleeing the war, a limited operation. And seek asylum.
It was unclear whether the death tolls overlapped, and neither account could be independently confirmed.
Dr. Heim said his hospital lacked the capacity to properly treat the injured due to shortages of equipment and medical staff.
“If this continues, we are just days away from a complete shutdown of services,” he said. “The health care system is completely broken.”
He said there were about 270 people working in Kuwait hospitals before the war, but that number has now dwindled to just a few dozen. He said the war left him with a “feeling of helplessness, betrayal and despair.”
The Gaza Health Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday saying that at least 54 people had died in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. Dozens more people were reportedly treated for injuries at medical facilities in the area.
“Many victims are still under the rubble and in the streets, out of reach of ambulances and civil defense personnel,” the ministry said. The circumstances of the deaths could not be independently confirmed.
Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah crossing during the incursion and closed it. Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian side of the crossing, said the blockade prevented 46 injured and sick people from leaving Gaza for treatment in Egypt.
The health ministry said these patients include people with breast cancer, lymphoma and other diseases.
