Israel has killed more than 5,000 Palestinians, including 2,055 children in war on Gaza

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 5,087  Palestinians, including 2,055 children and 1,119 women, according to the health ministry based in the besieged Gaza Strip. 

In a press statement sent to The New Arab, the ministry also noted that Israel's new war on Gaza has wounded at least 15,273 Palestinians, most of whom were women and children. 

The ministry warned that fuel is running out for all functioning hospitals in Gaza, and when fuel is gone, it will lead to a more catastrophic situation for the besieged coastal enclave. 

Palestinian security sources told TNA that Israel has intensified airstrikes on various sites across Gaza, committing "massacres against civilians" in the territory. 

In a statement, the government media office in Gaza said that the Israeli Air Force launched dozens of raids in various parts of the strip, some of which directly targetted more than 20 houses and residential buildings, resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. 

The Israeli army claimed that it had attacked more than 320 targets across the Gaza Strip in the last hours, including tunnels that included Hamas activists and dozens of "operations headquarters". 

"The occupation army is committing bloody massacres against civilians and increasing the intensification of its raids," said Iyad al-Bazm, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior in Gaza. 

It should be noted that Israel had told Palestinians to evacuate to the southern parts of the strip for their safety and yet continues to bomb them in those areas as well. 

Meanwhile, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced in a statement the bombing of the city of Ashkelon with a missile "in response to targeting civilians" in Gaza. Yesterday evening, the Al-Qassam Brigades also announced that an attempted ground incursion by the Israeli army on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip had been repelled, with one of its soldiers killed.

These developments came with Israel threatening to launch a significant ground invasion into the Gaza Strip, despite many experts, countries, and organisations warning of an increased "humanitarian catastrophe" due to Israel's total siege and denial of aid, fuel, medicine, food and water into Gaza. 

The Egyptian authorities have sent a humanitarian aid convoy to the Gaza Strip, the second in 24 hours under the supervision of the United Nations, after being late for hours due to field tension in the vicinity of the Rafah crossing.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs "OCHA" said that hospitals and health centres in the Gaza Strip are on the verge of collapse due to the lack of electricity, medicines, equipment, and specialised personnel. 

"The large numbers of patients are being treated on the ground due to the lack of sufficient family in hospitals," an OCHA official said. 

At least eight United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) health centres out of 22 provide primary health care services. 

According to the statement issued by the interior ministry, Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which is the largest in the Gaza Strip, is currently treating about 5,000 wounded, which exceeds its capacity of 700 patients, in addition to nearly 45,000 displaced people who take refuge inside and around the hospital.

Al-Quds Hospital, affiliated with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which is also in Gaza City, houses more than 400 patients and about 12,000 displaced people and will remain in operation despite receiving several warnings from the Israeli army to evacuate. 

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, about 130 infants across the Gaza Strip are undergoing treatment in incubators to survive, at increased risk. 

The government media office in Gaza warned of an imminent "humanitarian catastrophe"  due to the continued Israeli closure and the closure of the crossings in front of the introduction of aid. 

In a press statement sent to TNA, the government office stressed that the permanent opening of the Rafah crossing and the creation of a safe passage to allow basic needs "has become an urgent and urgent necessity to save the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and the speed of response to the priorities, foremost of which is fuel."