At least 42,010 people have been killed and 97,720 wounded in Israeli military attacks in Gaza since last October, according to Gaza's health ministry.
Israel’s offensive has decimated Gaza’s health sector, forcing most of its hospitals to shut down and leaving the rest only partially functioning.
The figures, which show women and children make up the majority of those killed, are regarded as reliable by the United Nations and non-government organizations.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 45 Palestinians have been killed and 130 wounded in Israeli attacks during the latest 24-hour reporting period.
North hit by heavy shelling
On Wednesday, the war-torn Palestinian territory’s civil defence agency said the Israeli army targeted northern Gaza with intense shelling and closed roads preventing the delivery of aid.
At the weekend, the Israeli army announced it had surrounded the Jabalia area of northern Gaza and reissued new evacuation orders Tuesday, as analysts suggested Hamas was regrouping, despite a year of continuous strikes and intense fighting.
Jabalia is the largest refugee camp for Palestinians in Gaza.
"The shelling is intensifying, targeting civilians and their homes, causing significant fear and terror among the residents," said Ahmad al-Kahlut, the agency’s director in north Gaza.
The director said the Israeli army also was targeting the northern towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanun along with Jabalia.
"Roads have been closed, and there has been a continuous siege for the fourth consecutive day, with no supplies entering the North Gaza Governorate," Kahlut said.
According to the director, "a large number" of people died in northern Gaza during the fighting.
But he said counting the casualties had been complicated by the "difficulty of recovery and access to all areas.”
He added that his agency had been receiving calls for help from various parts of northern Gaza, but staff had been unable to enter these areas for security reasons.
On Tuesday, the Gaza health ministry issued an appeal to the international community to provide medical centres with fuel, saying hospitals were at risk of having to "stop providing services.”
The Israeli army on Wednesday said operations were ongoing "throughout Gaza.”
It said Israeli troops had "eliminated" 20 Palestinian combatants in the Jabalia area and had dismantled a weapons storage facility a day earlier.
‘No end to hell’
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, posted on X Wednesday that there was "no end to hell" in northern Gaza.
He said that Israel’s evacuation orders "forcing people to flee again are again, especially from Jabalia Camp."
Lazzarini said many are refusing to leave, knowing there is no safe place in Gaza.
In his post, he added that UNRWA shelters and services are closing, some for the first time since the war began. This is impacting a polio vaccination campaign for children and also contributing to rising food shortages, he said.
As for ceasefire efforts, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is heading to Saudi Arabia Wednesday for talks to end Israeli attacks on Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, his ministry said.
Araghchi will visit the Gulf kingdom "in furtherance of our diplomatic efforts, in coordination with countries of the region", ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei posted on X.
He said the trip would focus on stopping "the Israeli regime’s genocide & aggression and to alleviate the pain and suffering of our brothers and sisters in Gaza and Lebanon.”
