In a concerning escalation of the ongoing conflict, Israeli troops and armored units pushed further into the northern Gaza Strip on Monday.

This advancement has now reached densely populated areas, raising alarms from the United Nations and medical personnel, who report that Israeli airstrikes are dangerously close to hospitals.

These medical facilities have become shelters for tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, many of whom are wounded.

This ground operation comes on the heels of a significant humanitarian aid delivery on Sunday, with 33 trucks carrying food, medicine and other essential supplies entering Gaza from Egypt.

It was the largest humanitarian convoy since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.

However, aid workers on the ground stress that this assistance is still insufficient to address the urgent needs of Gaza's population, which has endured weeks of siege.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 8,000, primarily consisting of women and children.

This devastating loss of life follows Israeli tanks and infantry pursuing what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to as a "second stage" in the conflict, initially sparked by Hamas' incursion on Oct. 7.

The toll in this conflict is unprecedented in decades of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On the Israeli side, over 1,400 people have lost their lives, with the majority being civilians who were tragically killed during the initial attack, marking an unprecedented figure in this context.

Israeli forces are visibly advancing further into Gaza from the north, with military videos released on Monday showing armored vehicles navigating through urban areas and soldiers taking positions inside residential buildings.

The exact location was not disclosed, but earlier military footage from Saturday depicted troops moving through open, sandy areas near Gaza's northern border fence.

The Israeli military has reported that its troops have successfully neutralized numerous Hamas members who were operating from within buildings and tunnels.

These operations included strikes that demolished a structure being used by Hamas as a staging area.

Over the last few days, more than 600 alleged Hamas targets, including weapon depots and anti-tank missile launching sites, have been struck.

However, it is important to note that independent verification of these targeting claims is challenging.

Hamas stated that they engaged in clashes with Israeli forces who entered the northwest Gaza Strip, armed with small arms and anti-tank missiles.

The restoration of communication services to most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents on Sunday was a welcome development after more than a day without phone and internet connectivity during intense bombardments that residents described as the most severe during the entire conflict.

Israel has repeatedly issued evacuation orders for most Gaza residents, directing them to the southern part of the besieged territory.

However, hundreds of thousands remain in the north due to Israeli bombings, even within so-called safe zones.

Over 1.4 million people in Gaza have been displaced from their homes.

While the arrival of 33 trucks carrying food, water and medicine from Egypt on Sunday was a step forward, it still falls short of meeting the growing needs in Gaza.

Humanitarian organizations have stressed the requirement for hundreds of trucks daily to address the escalating crisis adequately.

In a concerning development, crowds of people breached four facilities belonging to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and seized food supplies.

This marks a worrying sign of a breakdown in civil order, according to Thomas White, UNRWA's Gaza director, who noted that people in Gaza are growing increasingly scared, frustrated and desperate.

Notably, the warehouses that were entered did not contain fuel, which has been in critically short supply due to Israel's cessation of shipments.

Israel has argued that Hamas would use fuel for military purposes and accuses the group of stockpiling significant fuel reserves in the territory. However, these claims remain unverified.

The protracted Israeli blockade has brought Gaza's infrastructure to the brink of collapse, with no central power supply for weeks.

Hospitals are struggling to maintain emergency generators to operate incubators and other life-saving equipment, while UNRWA is working tirelessly to keep water pumps and bakeries running.

U.N. officials have warned that hunger is rapidly increasing among Gaza's population.

U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the immediate and significant need for increased humanitarian aid in a recent call.

Israeli authorities have committed to allowing more aid to enter Gaza, though specific quantities were not disclosed.

Additionally, two water lines in southern Gaza were reportedly opened within the past week, but independent verification of their functionality is pending.

In the midst of these dire circumstances, hospitals in northern Gaza are facing growing threats.

The U.N. reported that recent strikes hit near Gaza City's Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals, as well as the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza.

All ten hospitals still operating in northern Gaza have received evacuation orders in recent days.

These facilities are currently housing around 117,000 displaced people, in addition to patients and staff.

Residents have reported strikes near Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in Gaza, which is providing shelter to tens of thousands of civilians.

Israel has accused Hamas of operating a secret command post beneath the hospital, but concrete evidence supporting this claim has yet to be provided and Hamas denies the allegations.

Near Al-Quds Hospital, strikes occurred within 50 meters (165 feet) of the facility after it received two evacuation orders from Israeli authorities.

The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service reported damage, with some windows blown out and rooms covered in debris. The hospital is currently providing shelter to 14,000 people.

Israel initially ordered Al-Quds Hospital to evacuate over a week ago, but medical facilities have refused, fearing that evacuation would result in the deaths of patients reliant on ventilators.

The International Committee of the Red Cross's Director-General, Robert Mardini, strongly condemned the bombing of hospitals, emphasizing that hospitals should never be targeted.

A tragic incident on Sunday saw an Israeli airstrike hit a two-story house in Khan Younis, resulting in the deaths of at least 13 people, including 10 from a single family.

The bodies were brought to Nasser Hospital, underscoring the dire humanitarian situation on the ground.

The ongoing military escalation is mounting domestic pressure on Israel's government to secure the release of 239 hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 incursion.

Hamas has offered to release all hostages if Israel releases thousands of Palestinians held in its prisons.

While some family members of the Israeli captives expressed support for an exchange in a meeting with Netanyahu, Israel has dismissed the offer, citing the need for military pressure on Hamas to drive negotiations forward.

Although the Israeli military has refrained from labeling its expanding ground operations as a full-scale invasion, casualties on both sides are expected to increase significantly as Israeli forces and Hamas engage in combat within densely populated residential areas.

Israel maintains that it targets Hamas forces and infrastructure but contends that the group operates among civilians, putting innocent lives at risk.