The latest figures provided by the Ministry of Health indicate that 2 Palestinians were killed and 733 were injured by Israeli forces, during the demonstrations, from 14 to 27 August.
Out of the total 733 injuries, 325 required transfer to Ministry of Health hospitals or nongovernmental organizations clinics, including 71 children and 22 females. From the hospitalized injuries, 6 people had critically life threatening injuries, 127 moderate, 187 mild, and the remaining 5 were unspecified cases.
The Ministry of Health and Palestinian Red Crescent Society set up 9 trauma stabilization points (TSPs). 408 injuries were managed and directly discharged at the TSPs. WHO continues to strengthen capacity of the TSPs across Gaza to provide life-saving interventions.
Gaza’s 14 public hospitals rely on donated fuel to run generators during the electricity black-outs, which last 18–20 hours per day. The last batch of United Nations donated fuel, approximately 370 000 litres, entered Gaza via Karem Shalom on 12 and 13 August; and there is currently no funding to procure more fuel. As a result, the UN-funded emergency fuel will completely deplete in less than 2 weeks, forcing public hospitals to significantly reduce essential services. Intensive care units, operating theatres and other critical units will face interruptions. This will be immediately life-threatening for over 4800 patients a month relying on electrical devices, including neonates in incubators. An additional 120 000 patients regularly receiving treatment at the hospitals will also be immediately affected and 1.27 million people relying on public secondary health care will be impacted. There is also an increased risk of waterborne disease and outbreaks across Gaza as fuel is also needed for sewage systems.
In July, the Central Drug Store of the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 48% of essential medicines were at less than one month’s supply and 40% were completely depleted. In addition, 29% of essential disposables were at less than one month’s supply.