Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 15,523

Gaza, Dec 4

The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has reached 15,523, the Hamas-run health ministry has said.

Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said during a press conference on Sunday that the number of injured people in the Palestinian enclave had surpassed 41,000, amid a collapse of healthcare services, Xinhua news agency reported.

Al-Qidra said that hundreds of wounded people were being treated on the ground with extremely limited medical resources, as hospitals in northern Gaza "have become increasingly incapable of providing necessary healthcare".

He added that all hospitals in the Gaza Strip were overwhelmed beyond their medical and bed capacities, lacking the necessary surgical resources to handle critical cases.

Al-Qidra slammed the slow mechanism for allowing the wounded to seek treatment abroad, saying that only 403 people had been allowed to leave the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

He reiterated the demand for safe humanitarian corridors to ensure the flow of medical supplies, medications, and fuel, and called for efforts to allow the wounded and patients to travel abroad to receive treatment.