Palestinian men weep as they gather around a covered body before its transport for burial following overnight Israeli strikes on Jabalia's southwestern district of Nazla in the northern Gaza Strip. AFP
The bombardment has been catastrophic, with more than 12,000 massacres carried out by Israeli forces, resulting in over 62,000 people killed or missing, including 11,000 still unaccounted for. Hospitals have confirmed 51,065 deaths, while 11,859 massacres specifically targeted families.
Among the worst losses, 2,172 families have been completely wiped out, with over 6,180 people killed, while 5,070 families have been reduced to a single survivor, adding 9,280 to the death toll.
The toll on children has been especially grave, with more than 18,000 killed, including 892 infants under one year old, and at least 281 newborns who died shortly after birth. Israel's blockade and starvation policies have also caused the deaths of 52 people, primarily children.
Women have also suffered deeply, with more than 12,400 killed, at least 14,500 widowed, and over 39,400 children left without one or both parents.
Gaza's healthcare system has collapsed, with 38 hospitals destroyed and 81 health centres shut down. Over 116,000 injured people have been treated under dire conditions, while 17,000 need long-term rehabilitation. At least 4,700 amputations have been performed, 18 percent of them on children.
More than 165,000 housing units have been destroyed, displacing over 280,000 families. Over 100,000 tons of explosives have been dropped on Gaza, destroying over 88 percent of the strip.
The blockade, renewed by Israel in early March and now lasting six weeks—the longest stretch since the war began—has further deepened the crisis, with at least 22,000 patients needing treatment abroad unable to travel, 12,500 cancer patients at risk, and 350,000 chronic patients denied essential medication.
At the same time, more than 2 million people have been displaced, with Israeli attacks targeting 232 shelters and displacement centres, leaving over 111,000 tents uninhabitable. Meanwhile, more than 2,300 bodies have been taken from cemeteries, and the destruction of 3,700km of roads has further isolated the territory.
As such, Hamas has urged the international community to exert immediate pressure to end Israel's complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has been in place since 2 March. The appeal on Friday comes as the United Nations warned that Gaza, with a population of about 2.4 million, is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began in October 2023.
The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stressed that the situation is likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza.
In a statement, OCHA confirmed that no supplies had reached Gaza for a month and a half, with medical supplies, fuel, water, and other essentials in short supply.
Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said on Wednesday that the country would continue preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, without addressing the resulting mass starvation and collective punishment of Gaza's inhabitants.
The following day, Hamas rejected Israel's latest ceasefire proposal, which it said failed to address a "comprehensive" deal that would include a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israel's genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip.
Earlier on Sunday, Hamas confirmed its delegation was in Cairo for talks aimed at ending the Israeli war on Gaza.
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