Jerusalem, Dec 31 (AP) Dozens of patients and the wounded have been evacuated for treatment outside the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where the United Nations says Israel's attacks on and around hospitals have pushed health care to the brink.

The 45 patients left the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis early Tuesday and travelled through the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Israel, Palestinian health officials said. They will receive treatment in the United Arab Emirates.

Also Read | Year Ender 2024: From Corporate Giants to World Leaders, How the World Applauded India Under PM Narendra Modi in 2024.

Among them was a 10-year-old boy, Abdullah Abu Yousef, suffering from kidney failure. He was accompanied by his sister after the Israeli authorities rejected his mother's application to join him. Israel says it screens escorts for security.

“The boy is sick,” said his mother, Abeer Abu Yousef. “He requires hemodialysis three to four days a week.”

Also Read | New Zealand Enters New Year 2025: Auckland Among First Major Cities in the World To Usher In New Year 2025 As Thousands Enjoyed Dazzling Fireworks Display at Sky Tower (Watch Video).

The Health Ministry says several thousand Palestinians in Gaza need medical treatment abroad. Israel has controlled all entry and exit points since capturing the southern city of Rafah in May. Israel's offensive, launched after Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack has gutted the territory's health care system and forced most of its hospitals to close. Those that remain open are only partially functioning.

Here's the latest:

Heavy rains and cold weather cause more misery in Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinians are bailing muddy water out of their frigid tents after heavy rains in war-ravaged Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of people are living in sprawling tent camps along the coast, where winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. At least four babies have died of hypothermia in recent weeks, according to local health officials.

“I'm drowning,” Manal Lubbad sobbed as she waded in ankle-deep water inside her tent on Tuesday, trying to salvage blankets and other belongings. “I'm taking everything out into the street.”

“We are dead, we are not alive! Why is this happening?” she said.

Israel's nearly 15-month offensive against Hamas, triggered by the militants' October 7, 2023 attack, has destroyed vast areas of the impoverished territory and displaced some 90 per cent of its population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.

The Civil Defence, first responders affiliated with the Hamas-run government, said it received hundreds of emergency calls to evacuate people from flooded shelters.

Associated Press footage showed barefoot children wading through muddy water between rows of tightly packed tents.

Muhammad Diab placed an empty cooking pot on the dirt floor of his tent to catch rainwater leaking through the roof.

“For God's sake, find a solution for us. We've had enough,” he said. “In the summer there was intense heat and we could bear it, but in the winter we are drowning.”

UN says Israeli attacks on Gaza hospitals push health system to brink of collapse

JERUSALEM — The UN Human Rights Office says Israel's attacks on and around hospitals have pushed Gaza's health system “to the brink of total collapse” and may have violated international law.

Israeli forces have besieged and raided at least 10 hospitals across Gaza since the start of the war, some of them multiple times. Israel accuses Hamas militants of using health facilities for military purposes but has provided little evidence.

Last week, Israeli troops raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in isolated northern Gaza and detained its director. The army said it apprehended 240 suspected militants.

The UN report released Tuesday said it documented 136 strikes on at least 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities from October 12, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

“This report graphically details the destruction of the health care system in Gaza, and the extent of killing of patients, staff, and other civilians in these attacks in blatant disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement.

The report noted Israel's allegations and that hospitals lose their protection under international law if they are used for military purposes. But it said “insufficient information has so far been made available to substantiate these allegations, which have remained vague and broad, and in some cases appear contradicted by publicly available information.” Israel has long dismissed such allegations from UN bodies, which it says are biased against it.

The nearly 15-month war, ignited by Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack into Israel, has forced most of Gaza's hospitals to close and left the rest only partially functioning. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)