By Simeon Bennett
Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Health services in the Gaza Strip are on the point of collapse as medical supplies pile up at the borders and hospitals are overwhelmed, the World Health Organization said, citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Twenty-one medical personnel have been killed and 30 injured, and 11 ambulances have been hit since Israel began an offensive in the territory on Dec. 27, the Geneva-based WHO said in a statement on its Web site. Health workers are exhausted and hospitals that depend on generators for power are running out of fuel, the WHO said.
“There is now a serious risk of outbreaks of communicable disease, such as acute respiratory infections, measles and acute watery diarrhea, all of which have potential for high mortality among children,” the United Nations agency said.
At least 700 Palestinians have died in the conflict and 3,000 have been wounded, including 24 yesterday, said Mu’awia Hassanein, chief of emergency medical services in Gaza. About 13,000 people have been displaced, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
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