Palestinians search for survivors of the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, on Sunday.

Hatem Ali/AP

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Hatem Ali/AP

Palestinians search for survivors of the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, on Sunday.

Hatem Ali/AP

TEL AVIV, Israel — The plight of Palestinian refugees, hemmed in and minimize off by Israeli fight operations in Gaza, is changing into extra acute as infrastructure is destroyed and civilian deaths rise within the wake of a cease-fire that ended final week, help officers mentioned Monday.

“People have lost everything and they need everything,” UNRWA, the United Nations reduction company that oversees the Palestinian territories, mentioned in a post on X, previously known as Twitter. “Gaza’s population will soon begin dying from diseases as well as Israeli bombardment.” More than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed for the reason that begin of the battle, in accordance with the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. That determine consists of greater than 6,000 youngsters and 4,000 ladies.

The Gaza well being ministry additionally says greater than 300 Palestinians have been killed and a whole lot extra wounded for the reason that combating resumed 4 days in the past.

The heightened considerations come as video posted to social media seems to point out Israeli tanks and troopers pushing farther south in pursuit of Hamas. On Oct. 7, the Palestinian Islamist militant group launched a shock assault on southern Israel that killed 1,200 individuals, Israel says. Israel responded with large airstrikes and a floor invasion of Gaza.

Over the weekend, Israel’s navy robocalled Palestinians in and round Gaza’s second-largest metropolis of Khan Younis, directing them to maneuver to “safer zones” to keep away from intensified fight operations. It was unclear what number of Palestinians in Gaza obtained the calls on their cell telephones or had been in a position to make sense of the knowledge.

Earlier this week, Israel’s navy directed residents in Gaza to discuss with a web-based map to search out areas freed from combating. However, many discovered the map complicated or had bother accessing it due to connectivity points. The map additionally directed individuals into more and more overcrowded areas, doubtlessly exacerbating the humanitarian disaster.

Ashraf Al Nahal, 43, took refuge in Khan Younis two weeks in the past however says it is not protected there. “They are bombing the area,” he advised NPR.

He has since left, heading south close to the border with Egypt. “They are bombing houses,” he mentioned. “We took the women and children and fled to Rafah.”

A photograph taken from southern Israel close to the border with the Gaza Strip on Monday reveals an Israeli air power assault helicopter firing a missile.

Jack Guez/AFP by way of Getty Images

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Jack Guez/AFP by way of Getty Images

A photograph taken from southern Israel close to the border with the Gaza Strip on Monday reveals an Israeli air power assault helicopter firing a missile.

Jack Guez/AFP by way of Getty Images

However, Israel was additionally finishing up airstrikes in some areas of Rafah and the humanitarian state of affairs was removed from good, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) mentioned. In its newest replace, OCHA mentioned the Rafah governorate “was the one [area] in Gaza where limited aid distributions, primarily of flour and water, took place” on Sunday.

“In the adjacent Khan Younis governorate, aid distribution largely stopped due to the intensity of hostilities,” it mentioned.

UNRWA mentioned that 1.1 million internally displaced individuals — half of Gaza’s complete inhabitants — had been registered in 156 U.N. amenities throughout Gaza. “Another 191,000 IDPs are estimated to be staying in 124 public schools and hospitals, as well as in other venues such as wedding halls, offices, and community centers.”

The company warned that they’ve witnessed “significant increases in some communicable diseases and conditions such as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, skin infections and hygiene-related conditions like lice. There are also initial reports of disease outbreaks, including hepatitis A.”

In the primary weeks of the battle, Israeli forces concentrated fight operations on the north of the Gaza Strip, warning individuals residing there to flee south. However, within the days for the reason that cease-fire collapsed on Friday, the main target of fight operations has more and more shifted south. The impact has been to power civilians into an ever-smaller space of Gaza.

On Sunday, Israel’s navy mentioned it had destroyed greater than 60% of the 800 Hamas tunnel shafts that it has recognized for the reason that begin of the battle.

“The tunnel shafts were located in civilian areas, many of which were near or inside civilian buildings and structures, such as schools, kindergartens, mosques and playgrounds,” the navy mentioned. “IDF soldiers located large quantities of weapons inside some of the shafts. These findings are further proof of how Hamas deliberately uses the civilian population and infrastructure as a cover for its terrorist activity inside Gaza.”