GAZA STRIP SUFFERS ALL-TIME HIGH COVID DEATHS: 23 IN ONE DAY

The number of daily COVID-19 deaths in the Gaza Strip reached an all-time high on Sunday: Within 24 hours, 23 new deaths were registered in the Palestinian territory directly on the Mediterranean Sea.

In total, 761 people have already died after a coronavirus infection in the coastal strip, which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement, according to the Ministry of Health, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

In the Gaza Strip, about 2 million people live in a confined space, in sometimes miserable conditions, and with poor medical care.

The pandemic is pushing the health system to its limits. As of Thursday, only about 33,000 residents had received a vaccination.

About half of those have been fully vaccinated, or just 0.8 percent of the population.

The United Arab Emirates had donated tens of thousands of doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V. On May 22, the first parliamentary election in 15 years is scheduled to be held in the Palestinian territories.

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