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The Israeli army killed around 70 Palestinians in Gaza during the last 24 hours and wounded 104 others, while the UN raised fresh concerns that the hunger crisis is worsening as Israel continues to block emergency aid.

According to the Palestinian ministry of health, the death toll from Thursday included women and children, and many others who are still stuck under the rubble as civil defence teams struggle to retrieve their bodies.

Overnight, at least one Palestinian was killed and two others wounded west of Khan Younis as Israeli air strikes targeted various locations.

It is becoming more difficult to record and keep track of death tolls due to incessant Israeli bombardment, an Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground noted, adding that this is a particular issue in the north.

The healthcare system in the north of the Gaza Strip has almost totally collapsed amid an intensified siege and brutal Israeli strikes targeting hospitals.

The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has announced that the hunger crisis is drastically worsening in Gaza amid a siege restricting the supply of aid and resources such as fuel. 

A new report from the organisation states that their humanitarian partners in central Gaza exhausted all their supplies on Sunday, and Israel continues to block the majority of requests to allow food aid in through checkpoints.

Around 120,000 metric tons of food aid are stuck outside of Gaza, a quantity which would have been sufficient to provide full rations to the population of the Strip for three months.

Several rights groups have warned about the deteriorating situation, including the World Food Programme (WFP) which said that as of Monday, only five of 20 bakeries they support in Gaza City were still functioning.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency also reported over 50 community kitchens which provide around 200,000 meals a day in south and central Gaza could close in the coming days if the situation continues.

Death toll mounts

A study from The Lancet medical journal said the actual number of Palestinians killed by Israel since October 2023 may be 40 percent higher the current official figures given.

The study is based on figures from the Palestinian ministry of health, social media posts mourning loved ones and online data and surveys.

On Thursday, the Gaza health ministry said that the death toll from over 15 months of Israeli war on Gaza had reached 46,006. Over 109,000 have been wounded.

The actual number of those killed, the study says, is likely to be between 55,298 and 78,525.

The figures came as US President Joe Biden said that "real progress" had been made in efforts to reach a ceasefire deal. However, Israel has continually scuppered attempts to reach a deal in the past, insisting on maintaining a permanent presence in the Gaza Strip.

There were protests recently in Israel, demanding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ends the war and secures a ceasefire and captive exchange deal.

The Israeli army on Friday confirmed the death of 22-year-old Hamza Ziyadne, who was reportedly held captive in Gaza.

He was retrieved from a tunnel in Rafah with the Israeli army forensic teams later identifying his body.

However, it remains unclear if he was killed in Israeli bombardment, as some Israeli captives had been before.