The bloodiest war in Gaza so far has been sparked after Hamas launched an unprecedented offensive on October 7, leaving more than 1,170 people dead, mostly civilians, according to a count compiled by AFP, according to Israeli official figures.
The militants also took 252 hostages, 124 of whom remain in Gaza, 37 of whom the military says are dead.
Israel's counter-offensive has killed at least 35,800 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
Heavy fighting also broke out again in Gaza, where the army said troops in Rafah had “destroyed several tunnel shafts and launchers in the area, and killed a number of terrorists during close encounters”.
Urban conflict has flared again in the northern areas, including Jabaliya, where Israeli forces first entered several months ago.
“We don't hear anything but explosions and gunfire,” said Mahmoud al-Sharif, 31, at the nearby refugee camp of Jabalia.
Dr. Mohammed Saleh, the acting director of al-Awda Hospital, said the hospital has been under Israeli siege for the fifth consecutive day. Al-Awda is one of two hospitals in northern Gaza that the United Nations says is still functioning.
“Soldiers are present in the hospital courtyard and in the surrounding houses,” he said, adding that there was “continuous firing and shelling” towards the hospital.
Gaza's Interior Ministry said an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza killed senior Hamas commander Diya al-Din al-Sharafa, a rare acknowledgement by the Hamas government of the death of a high-ranking official.
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, depriving the territory's 2.4 million people of clean water, food, medicine and fuel.
The sporadic arrival of aid by trucks slowed further after the Israeli army closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah border with Egypt.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), said Israeli authorities were giving priority to the private commercial sector in Kerem Shalom, another entry point into southern Gaza.
He said that although personal goods are “welcome”, most Gazans are desperate after seven months of war and are unable to purchase goods at current market prices.