Israel bombed targets in Gaza on Saturday after the US blocked an extraordinary UN bid to broker a ceasefire in the war with Hamas.
Aid groups say Gaza is facing an “apocalyptic” humanitarian situation and is on the brink of collapse from disease and starvation.
At least 17,490 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in two months of fighting in the narrow zone, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s health ministry.
Washington vetoed a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire on Friday, a move strongly condemned by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas as well as humanitarian groups.
As Israel continued airstrikes on Gaza, the Hamas ministry said 71 dead in 24 hours had arrived at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah alone, and 62 had arrived at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
An AFP correspondent at Nasser Hospital sees a child on a makeshift stretcher and others sitting on the floor waiting for care, while firefighters outside pour water on the flames of a burning building partially destroyed by the Israeli attack It was done.
Save the Children’s Alexandra Syh spoke of “maggots being pulled out of wounds and children being amputated without anaesthetic”.
Oxfam’s Bushra Khalidi said, “The situation is not just a disaster, it is an apocalypse.”
Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas after its unprecedented attacks on October 7, when militants crossed Gaza’s militarized border, killing and taking about 1,200 people hostage, 138 of whom remain captive, according to Israel.