Gaza (Web Desk): Nearly 5,100 Palestinians have been martyred in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign against the besieged enclave after an attack by Hamas inside Israel more than two weeks ago.
About 40 percent of the 5,087 people killed are children, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Monday, the day when Israel’s army said it carried out more than 300 new air attacks within 24 hours. Palestinian officials said more than 400 people were killed in that period.
Thousands of buildings have been destroyed, and more than one million people displaced in the territory, which has been under siege and largely deprived of water, food and other basic supplies.
Over the weekend, Gaza witnessed the most violent bombardment by Israeli forces since the conflict started, killing more than 400 people, mostly women and children, in 24 hours. Israeli forces said on Monday they attacked more than 320 military targets overnight.
The strikes hit different areas in southern and northern Gaza, including Rafah city, Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah. One of the deadliest attacks hit residential units in Jabalia refugee camp, where at least 30 people were killed.
Gaza’s healthcare system continued to suffer, with strikes hitting the vicinity of al-Shifa and al-Quds hospitals. The director of al-Shifa hospital said it was on the brink of “real disaster”, with its fuel possibly running out in the next 48 hours.
Aid trucks continued to enter Gaza after the Rafah crossing reopened on Saturday, with 17 more trucks arriving on Sunday. Meanwhile only 37 aid trucks have entered from Rafah border crossing.
However, experts called the aid only "a drop in the ocean" and said more than 100 trucks a day would be required to meet the humanitarian needs of the besieged Gaza Strip. While UN agencies keep focusing on the need of fuel to come into Gaza.
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UN has raised nearly $100 million for humanitarian aid in Gaza and West Bank. A total of $294 million is needed for humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported.
Israel launched a rare air attack on the occupied West Bank, hitting a mosque inside the Jenin refugee camp and killing two people. The crackdown by heavily armed Israeli forces in the West Bank continued, with dozens arrested from the cities of Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron.
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Tens of thousands of Israelis are being evacuated from towns close to the country’s northern border with Lebanon amid increasing skirmishes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.
It is pertinent to mention that two women held captive by Hamas in Gaza have been released, according to the Palestinian group and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas said the two captives were released following mediation from Qatar and Egypt, he also added that the captives had been released for “humanitarian reasons and poor health grounds.”
