Death Toll in Gaza Strip Reaches 20,000: Gaza's Health Authority
Over 20,000 Palestinians have died since fighting between Israel and Hamas broke out in the Gaza Strip two months ago, according to the enclave's health ministry.
This video has been updated to better reflect the situation in Gaza as of 12/21.
This video has been updated to better reflect the situation in Gaza as of 12/21.
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00:00 The Gaza Strip, now the most dangerous place for children, according to the UN.
00:06 Gaza's health ministry says 20,000 people, nearly 1 percent of the population, have been
00:11 killed here since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict over two months ago, sparking urgent
00:16 calls for humanitarian aid and a ceasefire.
00:19 Seventy percent of those killed were women and children.
00:23 We are now coming to the end of what was the deadliest year in the occupied Palestinian
00:28 territory.
00:30 This should be a wake-up call that the current status quo cannot be allowed to continue.
00:34 A U.S. report pointed to Israel's use of unguided missiles for the high civilian casualties
00:39 in Gaza, but Israel claims to only be targeting Hamas forces, and blamed underground tunnels
00:46 allegedly used by Hamas' leaders for putting civilian lives at risk.
00:51 Israel launched an offensive after Hamas attacked in October, taking over 200 hostages, and
00:56 has insisted on military action to free them.
01:00 All Hamas terrorists, from the first to the last, are sons of death.
01:05 They have only two options, to die or to live.
01:11 Half of Gaza's population is reported to be starving, as Israeli airstrikes and ground
01:16 attacks have cornered Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip, near the border with
01:20 Egypt.
01:22 The country is one of the few entry points for humanitarian aid to Palestinians, but
01:26 shipments are heavily monitored by Israel, and the U.S., which is Israel's biggest
01:31 ally, has delayed a vote on a U.N. Security Council aid resolution in order to maintain
01:37 Israeli oversight.
01:39 We continue to believe that Israel does not have to choose between removing the threat
01:43 of Hamas and minimizing the toll on civilians in Gaza.
01:47 It has an obligation to do both, and it has a strategic interest to do both.
01:53 American officials have repeatedly voted against U.N. resolutions that call for a ceasefire,
01:58 claiming that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas until all the hostages
02:03 are freed.
02:04 But Hamas leaders say there must be a complete ceasefire before they free any hostages, leaving
02:10 Palestinian civilians trapped in the cycle of conflict.
02:14 Ryan Wu and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.
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