Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, more than 11,000 people – almost 0.5% of the total population of the Gaza Strip – have died and an average of 160 children are killed every day, the World Health Organization spokesman said today. (WHO) Christian Lindmeier.

In a press conference he gave, Lindmeier said that so far 16 staff of the Organization have lost their lives in the performance of their duties, appealing again for the protection of WHO staff.

It reported 102 attacks on health facilities in the Gaza Strip, 121 in the West Bank and 25 in Israel. Currently, he said, 14 hospitals in Gaza have been shut down due to lack of fuel or damage.

Marking the one-month anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, the WHO spokesman reiterated his appeal for the release of some 240 hostages, many of whom are in need of medical attention. At the same time, he commented that nothing can justify the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza, who urgently need water, food and medicine.

Jens Lerke, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters that 561 trucks with humanitarian aid had entered the Gaza Strip since October 21, but noted that none of them were carrying fuel, at the behest of Israeli authorities.

Alessandra Velucci, director of the UN Information Center in Geneva, said for her part that more than 1.5 million people in the Gaza Strip have been displaced and almost half of them have taken refuge in UN structures.