Between 3 November (noon) and 4 November (14:00), 231 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, bringing the reported fatality toll since the start of the hostilities to 9,488, including 3,900 children, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. About 2,000 others are reported missing in Gaza, including 1,250 children. Most are presumed to be trapped under the rubble.
At least 70 Palestinians were killed and another 60 injured, according to the MoH, during two separate airstrikes in the past 24 hours, hitting two schools sheltering IDPs in the Jabalia Refugee Camp, north of Gaza city. Most of the fatalities are said to be women and children. Since the start of hostilities, 258 school buildings have sustained damage, representing more than 51 per cent of all schools in Gaza.
Gaza remains under a full electricity blackout since 11 October, following Israel’s halt of its electricity and fuel supply, which triggered the shutdown of Gaza’s sole power plant.
Hundreds of thousands of residents in Gaza city and the northern areas face a severe water shortage, raising concerns of dehydration and waterborne diseases due to consuming water from unsafe sources. However, a precise assessment is uncertain due to the hostilities and access restrictions.
Over the past few days, most water facilities in the abovementioned areas, including some 60 municipal water wells, have shut down due to the lack of fuel and the inability of staff to reach them. This compounds the situation generated by the shutdown of the single seawater desalination plant in the north, and Israel’s halt in the water supply during the first week of hostilities. Consequently, nearly all water supplies through the network, as well as trucking activities, have reportedly ceased. Residents rely on the minimal volume from private wells and purification plants and consume unsafe water from agricultural wells.
Read the full report: Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel Flash Update #29
A child carrying empty jerry cans on his way to refill them with drinking water. "I dream of becoming an astronaut," he says. Photo by © UNICEF/El Baba
