A report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has highlighted the significant increase in the number of casualties among the Palestinians taking part in the Great March of Return in Gaza.
Based on information available by Gaza’s Ministry of Health the report revealed that Israel uses a new type of explosive ammunition against peaceful protesters which causes serious damage to the tissues and bones and leads to permanent disabilities following a series of complex and difficult surgeries.
The report said that about 3369 Palestinians have undergone surgeries so far representing 61% of the injured transferred to the hospitals because of the Israeli forces’ excessive use of lethal force against unarmed civilians.
Doctors at Shifa Hospital in Gaza reported that on a daily basis they see wounds they have not seen since the Israeli aggression on Gaza in 2014. Some of these wounds could cause lifelong disabilities which raises concerns about the type of ammunition used by Israeli snipers.
During the period covered by the report the Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians including a 14-year-old child who was shot in the head while standing 50 meters away from the border fence and injured 1739 others.
UN Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs Jimmy McGoldrick called for protecting Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip and urgently meeting the increasing humanitarian needs in the enclave in view of the high number of casualties since the outbreak of the protests on 30th March.
