Eight more Palestinians including three children were starved to death by Israel in Gaza on Wednesday as the Israeli military said it had approved the "framework" for the expansion of its operations in the enclave.
This has brought the total number of Palestinians starved to death by Israel in Gaza to 235, including 106 children, according to the territory's Health Ministry.
Israel also killed another 123 Palestinians, including 21 aid seekers in attacks across Gaza in the last 24 hours.
Confirming that at least 100 children have died of hunger and malnutrition in Gaza, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said, "Children are children. No one should stay silent when children die, or are brutally deprived of a future, wherever these children are, including in Gaza."
In a post on X, Lazzarini informed that Israel has so far killed and injured at least 40,000 children in various attacks across Gaza.
Besides, at least 17,000 children have been orphaned or separated from their families and over 1 million have been deeply traumatized due to the relentless genocidal attacks and are out of education.
Meanwhile Israeli settlers on Wednesday shot and killed a 35-year-old Palestinian in the town of Duma, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, reported Wafa news agency.
Settler violence in the occupied territories have increased since October 2023, with the 'Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission' reporting at least 30 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers residing in illegal settlements.
Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has so far killed at least 61,722 Palestinians, more than half of it being women and children. Israel has also targeted and killed over 270 journalists, over 1000 healthcare workers and aid workers.
'Complete occupation'
Israeli armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir "approved the main framework for the IDF's operational plan in the Gaza Strip," a statement released by the army said.
Prime Benjamin Minister Netanyahu's government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter Gaza City, where thousands have taken refuge after fleeing Israel's genocidal attacks on other areas of the enclave.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director general of the Hamas government media office in Gaza, told AFP on Wednesday that "the Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out aggressive incursions in Gaza City."
"These assaults represent a dangerous escalation aimed at imposing a new reality on the ground by force, through a scorched-earth policy and the complete destruction of civilian property," he added.
Sabah Fatoum, 51, who lives in a tent in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City told AFP by phone that "the explosions are massive" in the area.
There are "many air strikes and tanks are advancing in the southern area of Tal al-Hawa with drones above our heads," she said.
"The tanks are still there, and I saw dozens of civilians fleeing" to the west of the city, she added.
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Gaza City have intensified in recent days, with the residential neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra hit "with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings."
AFP footage from Gaza City on Tuesday showed Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes on the Zeitoun and Asqoola using overladen carts, vans and bikes.
"I didn't bring a mattress or anything and we just escaped death and now we're running away and we don't know where to go," said displaced Palestinian Fidaa Saad.
Israel's plans for complete occupation of the Palestinian territory come as diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal has stalled for weeks, after Tel Aviv broke a ceasefire agreement with Hamas and resumed attacks on Gaza in March this year.
Egypt said Tuesday it was working with fellow Gaza mediators Qatar and the United States to broker a 60-day truce "with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions".
Hamas said early Wednesday that a senior delegation had arrived in Cairo for "preliminary talks" with Egyptian officials.
Israel's plans to completely occupy Gaza have sparked international outcry as well as domestic opposition.
Reserve and retired pilots who served in the Israeli air force on Tuesday rallied in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the conflict.
"This war and expansion will only cause the death of the hostages, death of more Israeli soldiers, and death of many more innocent Palestinians in Gaza," said Guy Poran, a former Israeli air force pilot.
(With inputs from AFP)