Nearly a thousand people have died in Gaza since Israel began
airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave Saturday in response to Hamas' attacks,
the Gaza Ministry of Health said Wednesday.
Some 950 people have been killed and 5,000 others have been
wounded in the strikes on Gaza, the ministry said.
Since Saturday, at least 1,200 people have died in
Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Humanitarian crisis: Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered
a “complete siege” of Gaza, and said he would halt the supply of electricity,
food, water and fuel to the enclave.
The Hamas-controlled government in Gaza said on Wednesday
that electricity supply "will completely stop within hours," limiting
the ability to provide basic services.
On Monday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
said it has been forced to close all 14 of its food distribution centers in
Gaza and “as a result half a million people have stopped receiving vital food
aid.”
Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on Earth,
where some 2 million people live in an area of 140 square miles. More than half
of its population lives in poverty and is food insecure, with nearly 80%
relying on humanitarian assistance.