People inspect the damage amid the rubble of a building destroyed during Israeli bombardment overnight in Rafah on the southern Gaza Strip on December 7, 2023. Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
Doha, Qatar: Israeli jets continue to pound the Gaza Strip, as health facilities and humanitarian aid efforts are crumbling due to intense bombardment.
According to the latest data from Gaza’s government media department, at least 110 health centres have ceased operations alongside 21 hospitals since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7.
Lack of basic necessities is also threatening the lives of Palestinians as UNICEF spokesman James Elder stated that the lack of water, food, medicine, and protection is becoming an even bigger threat than bombs to the lives of thousands in Gaza.
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[12:03 am Doha Time]
#BREAKING#AlJazeera: The UN Security Council fails for the second time to pass a draft resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza after the United States vetoed it.#Palestine #Gaza pic.twitter.com/a9zc1kfooy
— The Peninsula Qatar (@PeninsulaQatar) December 8, 2023
[11:11 pm Doha Time] UN Security Council members decided to have meeting behind closed doors before the vote on the Gaza ceasefire draft resolution which was due to take place at 3pm (20:00 GMT), reported Al Jazeera. The vote was initially scheduled for Friday morning, then was pushed back several hours.
Qatar Prime Minister meets US Secretary of State, discuss situation in Gaza
[3:43 pm Doha Time] Gaza cannot afford to lose another hospital bed: WHO
Gaza's health system is on its knees and cannot afford to lose another ambulance or a single hospital bed more, the World Health Organization warned on Friday.
"The situation is getting more and more horrible by the day... beyond belief, literally," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a press briefing in Geneva.
"The health system is on its knees. Gaza cannot afford to lose any more health facilities, another single ambulance, any more hospitals... or even a single hospital bed more."
An injured Palestinian man is carried into a hospital following Israeli bombardment on Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 8, 2023. Photo by AFP
[2:06 pm Doha Time] Dozens killed, injured in air strike close to hospital in Khan Younis
Dozens have been killed and injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a house near the al-Amal Hospital and the Palestinian Red Crescent’s headquarters in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, the rescue service has said.
“The bombardment led to the shattering of glass and the breaking of doors and windows, in addition to extreme panic among 14,000 displaced people who are taking shelter inside PRCS facilities,” the Red Crescent also said on X.
[1:03 pm Doha Time] Close to 350 people killed in last 24 hours
Al Jazeera has reported that more air strikes are taking place in the northern parts of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, as the Israeli military redeploys its tanks and armoured vehicles in parts of Shujaiya.
The eastern and southern sides of Gaza City are also under heavy air strikes.
Within the past 24 hours, close to 350 people have been killed in direct air strikes on their homes, according to Al Jazeera reporter Hani Mahmoud, who's reporting from Rafah, southern Gaza.
"The Israeli military just put out a statement saying it has targeted 450 targets in the Gaza Strip, what we see those targets are residential homes," he stated.
He added: "What we have seen in the past week, overnight and in the early hours of this morning, more and more residential homes are being targeted across the Gaza Strip, in addition to public facilities like schools, hospitals, clinics, shops and markets being destroyed completely."
An aerial picture shows displaced Palestinians who fled Khan Yunis setting up camp in Rafah further south near the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, on December 7, 2023. Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
[9:30 am Doha Time] Overcrowded conditions in Gaza’s Rafah area getting worse: UN
Conditions in the Rafah area of southern Gaza are extremely overcrowded and there is a lack of basic resources, the UN’s humanitarian office says.
“Thousands of people wait for hours in large crowds around aid distribution centres as people are in desperate need of food, water, shelter, health[care], and protection. There are concerns of a breakdown in law and order under these conditions,” it said in its daily report on the situation.
