Gaza health official: Israeli delays caused deaths of 1,700 Palestinians seeking treatment abroad

The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 73,000, including more than 23,000 children, while more than 173,000 have been injured, Dr Khalil al-Daqran, spokesman for the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, said.

Speaking to Cairo News on Wednesday, al-Daqran said Israel had targeted Palestinians across the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, destroying homes over their occupants and targeting displaced people’s tents after they were forcibly displaced.

He said the number of Palestinians killed had risen by more than 1,260, most of them children, women and elderly people, while more than 4,000 had been injured since the ceasefire agreement began on 11 October 2025.

Al-Daqran stressed that Israel’s continued targeting of Palestinians and violations of the ceasefire had led to a daily rise in deaths and injuries, adding that the health system’s condition had become “tragic”.

He said Israel was pursuing a policy of targeted killings by striking people with missiles and bombs while they were in their vehicles, walking or inside their tents. He said this had resulted in the arrival of “charred” bodies, as well as severe chest and head injuries and amputations of upper and lower limbs.

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