According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, more than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed in the embattled Palestinian territory since Israel began its air campaign two weeks ago.
The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has worsened due to the war sparked by the October 7 Hamas attack, which Israeli officials believe killed over 1,400 civilians who were gunned down, stabbed, or burned by the Islamist terrorists. Hamas also kidnapped about 200 people.
On a day when Israel's army recorded more than 300 fresh strikes in 24 hours, Gaza's health ministry said the death toll had risen to 5,000, with more than 2,000 of them being children, statistics AFP could not independently confirm.
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Thousands of buildings have been destroyed, and over one million people have been displaced in the besieged zone, deprived of water, food, and other necessities.
On Monday, almost a dozen trucks delivering badly needed aid arrived in Gaza from Egypt via Rafah, Gaza's only non-Israeli entrance.
The US, which facilitated the entry of the aid convoys, has promised a "continued flow" of relief products into Gaza, although UN assistance organizations say significantly more is required.
Fighting continued unabated overnight, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised once more that Israel would "erase Hamas," and a full-scale ground invasion loomed.
According to Gaza's Hamas-controlled government media office, "more than 60 people were martyred in the raids" last night, including 17 in a single strike on a house in Gaza's north, and at least ten more were killed in subsequent strikes early Monday.
The Israeli military reported hitting "over 320 military targets in the Gaza Strip" in the previous 24 hours.
The targets "included tunnels containing Hamas terrorists, dozens of operational command centres," as well as "military compounds and observation posts" operated by Islamic Jihad, another militant group, according to the statement.
