Catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, more than 5,000 dead

While relief efforts are making little headway and a third convoy has entered Gaza from Egypt, the region’s basic needs dramatically outstrip supply

Muslim Network TV with contributions from aid organizations

GAZA, Palestine – In a single night, 436 Palestinians, including 182 children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, 18 people were killed in new airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

The Israeli attacks also hit a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, the ministry said, without giving an exact death toll.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the death toll in the besieged enclave has now risen to 5,087.

“Among the fatalities are 2,055 children, 1,119 women and 217 elderly people,” ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told a news conference in Gaza City.

He also said 15,273 people were injured in the Israeli attacks.

“The Israeli occupation has committed 23 massacres in the past 24 hours, killing 436 people, including 182 children,” al-Qudra continued.

Rescue efforts are severely hampered and more than 1,500 people, including 830 children, are believed to be trapped under the rubble, with their fate hanging in the balance as aid and resources are in very short supply.

The devastation goes beyond the loss of people, as infrastructure is also crippled. Israeli airstrikes have devastated residential areas and key facilities.

While relief efforts are barely moving forward and a third convoy has entered Gaza from Egypt, the region’s basic needs dramatically exceed supply.

Officials emphasize the urgent need for fuel, which is currently blocked by Israel, as well as other essential supplies.

The U.N. underscores the severity of the crisis by stating that about 100 aid shipments are needed daily to supply the 2.3 million residents – a stark contrast to the 34 trucks that arrived last weekend.

The impact of the conflict is being felt in the occupied West Bank, where attacks and additional casualties are on the rise.

Despite international attention and the dire humanitarian situation, there appears to be no immediate respite.

The Palestinian group Hamas said Monday that it had attacked two Israeli military bases with drones.

The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said two drones were fired at the Hatzerim and Tze’elim military bases in southern Israel.

No details were given on the number of casualties.

The Israeli army confirmed that it had intercepted two drones fired from the Gaza Strip.

“At Nir Oz and Ein HaBesor near the border, two drones were identified that entered Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip,” the army said in a statement.

“Both UAVs were foiled,” it added, without saying whether they were shot down.

The U.S. is increasing its troop presence in the region, and Israel is postponing a ground invasion of Gaza pending further strategic developments.

Israeli warplanes destroyed homes and buildings in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza.

Footage posted on the Internet by Palestinian photographer Motasem Mortaja shows the devastation as residents survey the damage.

Germany on Monday expressed concern over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza in the face of intense Israeli airstrikes, calling it “catastrophic.”

“In view of the catastrophic humanitarian situation, it is important that as many humanitarian goods as possible, food, medicine, water and also fuel, reach the Gaza Strip,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said at a routine press conference.

“We have made it clear several times that together with the UN, the EU partners, together with our partners in the United States, we are working intensively to ensure that there are more extensive border openings and that significantly more aid deliveries reach Gaza,“ he added.

Fischer’s remarks come at a time when Germany is resisting calls for a humanitarian ceasefire for Gaza.