The death toll in Gaza rose above 5,000 people on Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, as civilians in the besieged territory come under heavy Israeli air strikes.
An estimated 5,087 people in Gaza have been killed in the conflict, including 2,055 children, 1,119 women and 217 elderly, Gaza’s health ministry reported Monday.
An additional 15,273 individuals have been wounded, per the ministry, as hospitals and humanitarian agencies warn of dwindling medicine and medical supplies, along with limited access to food, fuel and water.
Israel’s strikes are in retaliation for the unprecedented attack by Hamas two weeks ago, when militants invaded several towns by land, sea, and air along with a barrage of rocket fire from Gaza. The massacre killed over 1,400 people in Israel — including hundreds of civilians in their homes, at a bus stop and at a music festival.
The United States has largely support Israel’s pledge to eliminate Hamas in response to the attacks, drawing a parallel to America’s war on terror after the 9/11 attacks.
During a visit to Tel Aviv last week, President Biden announced an agreement to allow for a small shipment of aid to enter Gaza. Two aid convoys carrying food, water and medical supplies were allowed to enter Gaza over the weekend using the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
The aid did not include fuel, which is needed for water pumps, sanitation systems and hospitals.
A United Nations agency providing humanitarian aid in Gaza is expected to run out of fuel in the coming days, Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), said Sunday.
Lazzarini said Gaza needs much more aid than the convoys were able to provide over the weekend and called for a “significant scaling up of a supply line into Gaza.”
Israel has yet to launch an expected ground offensive into Gaza, but has issued repeated orders for over 1 million Palestinians to flee their neighborhoods in the north and head south.
However, many people in Gaza lack the ability to travel south, and Hamas has told residents not to leave and to stay in their homes.
Fears of an invasion were further fueled late last week after Israel’s defense minster told infantry on the Gaza border to “get organized,” and “be ready,” for an order to move into the region.
In the U.S. over the past week, there have been growing calls for the Biden administration to push for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Pressed by CBS “Face the Nation” anchor Margaret Brennan about why the U.S. is not calling for a cease-fire, Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized Israel’s right to defend itself and that “no country can be expected to tolerate” Hamas’s attacks.
Blinken said it’s important to “do everything possibly to get assistance to those who need it,” including food, water and medicine.
–The Associated Press contributed to this report.