GAZA, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Thursday accused Israeli forces of encircling and paralyzing the hospitals in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, as the Palestinian death toll kept rising.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said in a statement that the Israeli army's besiegement has rendered the hospitals in Khan Younis completely paralyzed and hindered the movement of ambulances.
It added that Israel conducted 21 attacks against families in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, resulting in 200 deaths and 370 injuries, raising the total Palestinian death toll in the Palestinian enclave since Oct. 7, 2023 to 25,900.
Meanwhile, a number of Palestinian victims were still under the rubble as ambulances and civil defense crews could not reach them, said the statement.
Currently, medical teams are working to resume partial operation of the hospitals in northern Gaza that were damaged by Israeli attacks.
Efforts were also underway, in collaboration with international organizations, to provide medical supplies and fuel to restore the operation of the hospitals in Gaza.
Medical aid has been entering the besieged enclave in limited quantities, falling far short of basic needs, while 70 percent of the aid is deemed unusable, according to the statement.
The ministry called on the International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations institutions to protect local hospitals, and step up the delivery of medicines, food and fuel, among other humanitarian aid.
Khan Younis has witnessed during the past two days the intensification of Israeli attacks, the fiercest since the Hamas-Israel conflict started last October. ■
