Since the beginning of Israel’s war against Hamas, 12,000 trucks loaded with more than 1,000 tons of medical equipment have entered the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces officials said Monday, challenging international criticism of the lack of humanitarian aid reaching trapped Palestinian residents there.
The IDF said it had cleared more than 300,000 vaccines to enter the Gaza Strip, including polio, tuberculosis, MMR vaccines and the rotavirus.
Military officials also said they support several medical centers in Gaza such as the Jordanian field hospital, now at 73% capacity, that has cared for more than 26,000 patients. The IDF also backs the medical help offered at two floating hospitals aboard French and Italian ships.
“In coordination with the international community, the IDF continues to facilitate humanitarian and medical assistance efforts for Gazan civilians,” officials said Monday in a statement.
Palestinian health officials said over the weekend the number of fatalities from the Israeli campaign following the terrorist rampage by Hamas on Oct. 7 now tops 25,000, including both militants and civilians. Although the number can’t be verified, Israel has been under increasing pressure to rein back its offensive given the high number of civilian casualties and the strikes that have decimated much of Gaza’s medical infrastructure.
Israel says it is continuing to advance against Hamas forces in Gaza. Its troops killed members of a terrorist cell who were advancing towards them in the central part of the Palestinian enclave. Meanwhile, in the northern Gaza Strip, IDF soldiers directed a jet fighter strike at a military compound where Hamas fighters were operating from, officials said Monday.
The armed conflict between Israel and Hamas began after Palestinian militants launched an attack into southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,200 people and resulted in hundreds of others being taken hostage. About 130 are believed to still be in captivity.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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