Last week marked the deadliest in Gaza since the truce collapsed in March.
In preparation for its extensive ground offensive, Israel said it struck 670 Hamas targets in Gaza over the past week.
The Hamas-run health ministry reported that at least 464 Palestinians were killed in intensified airstrikes during the week leading up to yesterday.
Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for UN OCHA, speaking to RTÉ from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, described the latest wave of bombardment as a "very heavy few days". She spoke of intensified strikes around where she lives, with "explosions heard nonstop".
Announcing its new expansive ground operation yesterday, the Israeli Defence Forces said it "will intensify the military control in the Strip by segmenting it and relocating the population for their own protection".
But the UN OCHA spokesperson said no place in Gaza offers such protection. "The humanitarian zones designated by the Israeli military were never safe," she said, citing the Al-Mawasi camp near Khan Younis in southern Gaza as an example.
According to Gaza authorities, 24 people, including women and children, were killed in the camp during an airstrike yesterday night.
The escalation has forced many Palestinians in northern Gaza to flee their homes once again. According to Ms Cherevko, 63,000 people have been displaced in the last three days alone. More than 500,000 have been uprooted since the ceasefire collapsed on 18 March.
According to the UN, 90% of Gaza residents have been displaced at least once since the war began in October 2023.
Hospitals have come under increased fire while being overwhelmed by the surge in patients. Gaza's health ministry said the Indonesian Hospital, one of the largest partially functioning medical facilities in northern Gaza, had ceased operations.
"The medics work under unbelievable stress and pressure and continue coming to work," said Ms Cherevko. "Some medical staff told me they never know whether they’ll be next."
Ms Cherevko, who worked in Gaza from 2014 to 2017 before returning last year during the current conflict, said, "Life was never easy in Gaza," but no one could have imagined "how bad it would get".
The violence and deprivation are taking a devastating toll on children. "They have been deprived of every shred of childhood since this war began, having to grow up very quickly," she said.
The education system in Gaza has collapsed, and UN workers are trying to offer some form of schooling to displaced children.
"One girl I met in a shelter told me her favourite thing used to be waking up for school and going to class, dreaming of becoming an artist," Ms Cherevko recalled.
"The only thing she’s left to do now is try not to get killed - and wake up every morning to join the queue for water or food."
After 11 weeks of complete humanitarian blockade - with no food, fuel, or medicine allowed into Gaza - UN OCHA has now distributed the last of its food stocks, Ms Cherevko said.
With hot-meal kitchens shutting down rapidly, aid workers have seen a 75% drop in the number of meals prepared.
"We went down from one million meals a day three weeks ago to just 250,000-290,000. The portions and variety of the remaining meals have been significantly reduced."
Late last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel will allow "a basic amount of food for the population to ensure that a hunger crisis does not develop" in Gaza.
It remains unclear when the aid will resume or what exactly constitutes a "basic amount" for a population of two million.
