Over 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, said the health ministry in the besieged territory on Friday, reported the Associated Press.

The deaths amount to 1% of the total population of Gaza. Among those killed include at least 8,000 children and 6,200 women, according to Al Jazeera.

The war, triggered after Palestinian militant group Hamas’ incursion into southern Israel, has continued for nearly 11 weeks. Hamas’ attack on Israel had killed 1,200 people and the group had taken over 200 people hostage.

Israel’s unprecedented air and ground strikes in Gaza have caused a humanitarian crisis in the territory as nearly 85% of the population has been displaced, several aid agencies have pointed out.

A report by the United Nations and other agencies released on Thursday stated that over half a million people in Gaza – a quarter of the population – are starving due to insufficient aid entering the territory.

The report warned that the risk of famine is “increasing each day”.

“It does not get any worse,’’ said Arif Husain, chief economist for the United Nations World Food Program. “I have never seen something at the scale that is happening in Gaza. And at this speed.”

Despite the looming crisis, the United Nations Security Council postponed a key vote on boosting humanitarian aid for Gaza for the third time.

The revised draft resolution is reportedly a watered-down version as it does not include a call for “the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities”.

The United States has agreed to support it is put to vote, said US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, reported the Associated Press.

This came as the Israeli military said on Thursday that it is sending more ground forces, including combat engineers, to Khan Younis – Gaza’s second-largest city – to target Hamas militants. It also t ordered tens of thousands of residents to leave their homes in Burej, an urban refugee camp in the south.

Israel has claimed that its offensive is aimed at destroying Hamas’ capabilities and that it has killed 7,000 Hamas fighters. However, Tel Aviv is yet to provide any evidence to back its claim.