Israeli war taking heavy toll on Gaza civil defense

Dozens of civil defense personnel have been killed and several centers and vehicles destroyed in the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, the agency said on Monday.

“Some 85 civil defense personnel were killed, 301 injured and 20 detained by the Israeli army,” the organization said in a statement.

Israeli attacks have also destroyed 17 civil defense centers and 56 vehicles, including ambulances and fire engines, it added.

“We have sustained $1.3 million in losses” from Israeli attacks, the agency said.

“The Israeli onslaught has paralyzed the ability of the civil defense crews to do their humanitarian duties,” it added.

Since Oct. 5, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza to allegedly prevent Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

Since then, no humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel, was allowed into the area, leaving most of the population there on the verge of imminent famine.

More than 2,000 people have since been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The onslaught was the latest episode in a brutal Israeli war on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 43,800 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.