At least 3,785 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began bombarding the coastal enclave.
This is according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry said on Thursday.
Some 1,524 children and 1,000 women are among those killed in the relentless Israeli air strikes, the ministry said, adding another 12,493 people have been injured.
“The pace of death, of suffering, of destruction cannot be exaggerated,” UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said about the situation in the crowded territory of 2.4 million people.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in war-torn Gaza on Thursday eagerly awaited aid trucks promised in a deal struck by US President Joe Biden with Egypt and Israel, as the army struck more Hamas targets.
The war, sparked by the bloody October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that officials said has claimed more than 1,400 lives, has set off fury across the Middle East against Israel and its Western allies.
There are fears of worse to come if Israel launches an anticipated ground invasion to destroy Hamas and rescue Israeli and foreign hostages, whose known number Israel on Thursday revised up to 203.
Biden, on a flying visit to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet on Wednesday, reiterated strong US support for its long-time ally but also stressed the need to address the plight of Palestinian civilians.
He said he had agreed a deal for an initial 20 trucks carrying relief goods to pass through the shuttered Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza, with the first deliveries expected Friday at the earliest.
