Gaza officials say deaths top 24,000 as Israeli bombardment rages on
Gaza - Health officials in Gaza reported on Monday more than 24,000 deaths as Israel's military campaign passed the grim 100-day milestone, sending shockwaves across the region.
Deadly violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and along Israel's border with Lebanon as well as fighting between US forces and Yemenis in the Red Sea have raised fears of an escalation beyond the Gaza Strip.
Israel's ongoing assault has created a humanitarian catastrophe for the 2.4 million people in the besieged strip, the United Nations and aid groups warn, and reduced much of the territory to rubble.
The health ministry in Gaza reported more than 60 "martyrs" and dozens more wounded overnight, in what the group's media office described as "intense" Israeli bombardment across Gaza.
The Hamas government media office said two hospitals, a girls' school, and "dozens" of homes were hit overnight.
Hospitals in Gaza have been hit repeatedly, and the World Health Organization (WHO) says most of them are no longer functioning.
The Israeli military accuses Hamas militants of operating out of civilian facilities or from tunnels under them, a charge the group denies. A Washington Post investigation determined there was not sufficient evidence to support these claims used to justify the Israeli bombardment of al-Shifa hospital.
The latest strikes hit the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, as well as areas around Gaza City, the Hamas media office said.
The UN says more than three months of fighting have displaced roughly 85% of the territory's population, crowded into shelters and struggling to get food, water, fuel, and medical care.
"There's no food, no water, no heating. We are dying from the cold," said Mohammad Kahil, displaced from northern Gaza to Rafah, on the southern border with Egypt.
"Living in hell"
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has launched a relentless military campaign that has killed at least 24,100 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry. The Israeli military has also ramped up attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, which is not controlled by Hamas.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said people in Gaza were "living in hell," echoing earlier UN warnings of a fast-approaching famine.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the WHO, World Food Programme (WFP), and UNICEF said "a fundamental step change in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza is urgently needed."
They called for "safer, faster" supply routes to be opened, warning that the current levels of aid "fall far short of what is needed to prevent a deadly combination of hunger, malnutrition and disease."
The WFP said an aid convoy brought food to the territory's north on Thursday, the first such delivery since a one-week truce ended on December 1.
Cindy McCain, the UN agency's director, said: "People in Gaza risk dying of hunger just miles from trucks filled with food. Every hour puts countless lives at risk."
Israel has faced international pressure over surging civilian casualties in Gaza, including in a landmark genocide case before the International Court of Justice filed by South Africa.
Violence escalates across the region
Violence across the region has surged since October.
In Yemen, the US military said its fighter jets had shot down a cruise missile fired at an American destroyer in the Red Sea.
Attacks by Yemen's Houthis, who say they act in solidarity with Gaza, have disrupted shipping in the vital maritime trade route, triggering strikes in recent days by US and British forces, including fatalities. There have also been large public protests in the US calling for an end to American military intervention in the Middle East.
On the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli forces and Hezbollah have traded near daily fire.
A missile strike on Sunday killed two Israeli civilians, medics said, and three militants who had crossed in from Lebanon died in a gun battle, according to the army.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Israel "has not achieved any real victory" in Gaza and will be forced to end the fighting and negotiate a diplomatic solution.
International efforts to avoid escalation on Sunday saw China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi visiting Egypt, where he called for "an international summit for peace" and Palestinian statehood.
Australia's top diplomat Penny Wong is due in Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, and the United Arab Emirates this week to "support international diplomatic efforts towards a durable peace in the Middle East," her office said.
In Turkey, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, authorities have accused Israeli footballer Sagiv Jehezkel of "incitement" after he celebrated a goal with a message written on a bandage on his left wrist, which read "100 days. 07/10" along with a Star of David.
A Turkish court on Monday released the player, who local media said was expected to return to Israel.
In a testimony to the police, reported by private news agency DHA, 28-year-old Jehezkel – sacked by his Turkish team after Sunday's match – said he "believes that this 100-day period should end now. I want the war to end."
Cover photo: AFP