Israel and Hamas battle over a city in Gaza, leading to another exodus

More than 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to territory health officials, and much of the region’s housing stock has been damaged or destroyed. According to the United Nations, nearly 1.9 million people, or about 85 percent of Gaza’s total population, have fled their homes and crowded into an area covering less than a third of the territory.

The war has also put enormous strain on the area’s battered health care system. A major hospital in Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital, has run out of space and supplies to treat injured patients in the emergency room, said Dr. Mohammad Abu Moussa, a radiologist.

“The number of injured is in the dozens, and it is impossible for us to treat all these victims,” said Dr. Abu Moussa. “It’s not just that we can’t treat them; we can’t even diagnose them.”

No aid has arrived in Khan Younis and the surrounding area because of the fighting, the United Nations said, while areas immediately north of the city have been cut off due to Israeli restrictions on movement on main roads. It said all access to northern Gaza, including Gaza City, ended when the ceasefire collapsed.

The Biden administration has urged Israel to show more restraint and do more to prevent civilian casualties, but has refused to criticize Israel’s warfare.

Hoping to alleviate some of the humanitarian crisis, the United States on Tuesday pledged an additional $21 million for food, shelter, medical care and other supplies in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, on top of the $100 million President Biden provided in October had announced. .

“Citizens are disproportionately affected by the war, and food, water and fuel remain inadequate, and that is unconscionable,” Samantha Power, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, said at a news conference Tuesday after arriving in El- Arish, Egypt.

Reporting was contributed by Farnaz Fassihi, Talya Minsberg, Jos Holder, Adam Goudman, Yara Bayoumy And Gaya Gupta.