Harare, (New Ziana) — More than 50,000 civilians, including women and children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Dr. Tamer Almassri.
Speaking in an interview with New Ziana, Ambassador Almassri said the toll includes at least 220 journalists, marking what he described as “the highest number of journalists killed since the Second World War.”
“We are not talking about assumptions; we are talking about real facts,” he said. “From October 2023 until now, according to our Ministry of Health, Israel has killed 50,000 civilians in the Gaza Strip. In addition, 12,000 people are missing and believed to be buried under the rubble of bombed buildings.”
He revealed that of the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, 2.1 million have been displaced, accounting for nearly 97 percent of the population.
“Israel has destroyed 87 percent of homes in Gaza, aided by support from the United States,” said Ambassador Almassri. “This has taken place over 600 days of what we consider genocide and aggression.”
He added that 131,000 people have been wounded, including 17,000 in critical condition who urgently require surgery — a task now impossible due to the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.
“Israel destroyed all our major hospitals, including the largest in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “To make matters worse, 1,400 medical personnel — doctors, nurses, and ambulance staff — have been killed, and 120 ambulances have been destroyed, crippling the health sector.”
Almassri further stated that over 550 doctors have been arrested while performing their duties, and the blockade on fuel has created severe shortages, with diesel fetching up to US$40 per litre.
“Israel has cut off electricity and water, and even bombed food outlets such as bakeries. It’s part of their ethnic cleansing strategy to force people from the north to the south of Gaza,” he said.
He also lamented the complete destruction of the 13 universities in the Gaza Strip, including one that was previously ranked among the best in the Middle East.
“It is horrifying to see Israeli soldiers filming themselves as they bomb universities,” the ambassador said.
According to Almassri, Gaza has recorded the highest number of international aid workers killed in any conflict zone since the establishment of the United Nations.
He expressed grave concern over calls by some Israeli Members of Parliament for the use of nuclear weapons in Gaza.
“Gaza is a very small area — just 365 square kilometres, almost a third the size of Harare, which spans 872 square kilometres. Yet Israel has dropped the equivalent of 100,000 tonnes of explosives there — seven times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima,” said Ambassador Almassri.
New Ziana
