GAZA, April 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 97 Palestinians were killed and 138 others wounded by Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, Gaza-based health authorities said on Thursday.

A number of victims remain under the rubble and on the roads, unable to be reached by ambulances and civil defense crews, the health authorities said in a press statement.

So far, at least 1,163 Palestinians have been killed and 2,735 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes on March 18 across the Gaza Strip, it added.

In another statement, the health authorities warned of severe deterioration of the health sector in Gaza due to the escalating Israeli "aggression" and the tightened blockade, which has led to the near-total collapse of the health system, at a time when medical and humanitarian needs are increasing at an unprecedented rate.

The health authorities said that hospitals and health facilities in Gaza are operating beyond their capacity amid a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies, and a lack of fuel, threatening the lives of thousands of patients and wounded, especially children, pregnant women, and the elderly.

The statement called for support from international medical teams and the opening of humanitarian corridors to transport the wounded and sick for treatment in Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank or abroad.

Also on Thursday, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said that there are 39,384 children in the Gaza Strip lost one or both parents amid the ongoing conflict with Israel. These children are living in tragic conditions, with many of them forced to take refuge in torn tents or destroyed homes, in the near-total absence of social care and psychological support.

It said children constitute 43 percent of the Palestinian population, and that the large number of orphans in the Gaza Strip is "the largest orphan crisis in modern history."

Meanwhile, the Israeli army called on residents of some areas in the east of Gaza City to evacuate and head to shelters west of the city.

In a statement, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee released a "serious and urgent warning" to residents of the Shuja'iyya area and some other neighborhoods.

"For your own safety, you must evacuate these areas immediately and move to the known shelters in western Gaza City," he said. Enditem

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