Israel's military siege of northern Gaza has left nearly 5,000 Palestinians dead or missing after 100 days of brutal attacks that have only intensified amid talks about a possible deal between Israel and Hamas.
Another 9,500 Palestinians were injured as a result of the accident Israel's military operation in the north which was launched in early October, a medical source told Al Jazeera on Sunday.
The state media office in Gaza on Sunday described Israel's siege as “a terrible form of ethnic cleansing, displacement and destruction” that has affected thousands of people in the war-torn region.
Reports from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary said that northern Gaza is now a “ghost place” of massive destruction and debris, but some people may still be alive there, refusing to leave.
“We see Palestinians being systematically targeted at every place in the Gaza Strip. It doesn't matter where you are – whether you are in a school, a shelter, a refugee camp or a hospital,” he said.
Kamal Adwan Hospital, the most famous medical center in the north, was lit and destroyed by Israeli forces in late December as part of the siege, and the fate of its imprisoned leader Hussam Abu Safia is unknown.
As Israeli politicians and establishment groups openly discuss the prospect of building settlements in northern Gazathe siege showed no signs of stopping.
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the Mukhabarat neighborhood of northern Gaza City, witnesses said on Sunday afternoon. Later Israeli drone fire killed a young man in the Shati refugee camp.
At night, there were large Israeli demonstrations in the northwest of Gaza City. At least eight Palestinians were killed on Saturday when Israeli forces struck another house in Jabalia in northern Gaza, calling it a Hamas “command and control center”.
At least 70 children were killed in five days
The ongoing attacks also point to something else in small portions many times a dayand the latest to hit the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Israeli army on Sunday issued another evacuation order, targeting residents of settlements north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Residents were told they could be killed if they did not leave the area.
The Gaza Civil Defense announced on Sunday that the Israeli army had killed at least 70 children across the city in just five days.
The escalation of Israeli threats comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized the heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies to travel to Qatar along with other high-level delegations to advance talks on the release of prisoners in Gaza and Palestine.
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu on Sunday, the White House said, as U.S. officials try to reach an accord on Gaza and end the war before Biden leaves office on January 20.
Biden “stressed the importance of an end to the war in Gaza and the return of those who were captured and humanitarian aid for the cessation of hostilities,” it said.
Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN's State of the Union program earlier Sunday that the parties are “very close” to reaching a deal, but still need to finalize it.
But Israeli leaders have insisted that the war will not end even if they agree, and that they will continue to control the army, even as it continues. in the West Banklarge parts of Syria, and parts of southern Lebanon.
Despite another large demonstration against the Israeli government and in favor of the agreement in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, right-wing ministers in the administration are criticized.
Netanyahu was scrambling on Sunday to ensure that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir did not threaten the stability of their alliance by leaving if they agreed.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains critical, for now, as the Israeli military continues to block large-scale aid from entering while creating insecurity. it has facilitated the theft of weapons of support groups.
Thousands of families are forced to brave the open air or search in makeshift tents amid famine-like conditions in Gaza as the Israeli army raids hospitals and orders them to evacuate.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), nearly all of Gaza's 1.1 million children are in need of emotional and psychological support amid Israeli bombardment, repeated displacements, and dire winter conditions.
The UN estimates that at least 19,000 Palestinian children have been orphaned since the beginning of the Gaza conflict, which is now in its 16th month.
At least 203 journalists have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of the war, including several in the new year.
Israel has killed at least 46,565 Palestinians and injured 109,660 so far, with 28 killed in the previous day, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday.