GAZA: Palestinian officials said that the population of the besieged Gaza Strip has fallen by 6 percent as a result of the war imposed by Israel 15 months ago.
According to Al Jazeera, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reported that more than 100,000 Palestinians have emigrated from Gaza, while it is believed that 55,000 people have been martyred.
Citing the Ministry of Health, the bureau said that since the war began in Gaza, more than 45,500 Palestinians have been martyred, half of whom are women and children, and another 11,000 are missing.
PCBS said that during the war, the population of Gaza has decreased by about 160,000 people and has fallen to 2.1 million, most of whom, or 47 percent of the total current population, are children under the age of 18.
The report stated that Israel has brutally targeted every living thing in Gaza, destroying civilians, buildings and infrastructure and erasing entire families from the civil register.
It was further stated that there has been a critical level of human and structural damage.
On the other hand, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that the PCBS figures are fabricated, exaggerated and manipulated.
The world’s major human rights organizations have criticized Israel for these brutal acts in Gaza and have described this act as genocide and have mentioned in their position the human casualties and destruction of infrastructure in Gaza and the prevention of the provision of basic necessities, including humanitarian aid to war-torn civilians.
PCBS said that 22 percent of the population in Gaza is currently living in the worst conditions at the crisis level due to severe food shortages, of which 3,500 children are at risk of death due to malnutrition.
The report said that approximately 60,000 pregnant women in Gaza are also facing the worst health conditions because the region’s health system has been destroyed and there is no access to medical facilities.
