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Death toll 'horrific': As Israel-Hamas war rages, 'hard' to put civilian casualties 'in perspective'

Israeli forces severed northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged territory ahead of an expected push into the dense confines of Gaza City. Palestinians held a mass funeral on Monday for dozens of people killed in strikes in the south, where Israel has urged people to seek refuge. Troops are expected to enter the city soon, Israeli media reported, and militants who have prepared for years are expected to fight street by street using a vast network of tunnels. Casualties will likely rise on both sides in the month-old war, which has already killed more than 9,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Some 1,400 Israelis have died, mostly civilians killed in the brutal incursion by Hamas that started the conflict. Both tolls are unprecedented in decades of fighting. The Israeli military said late Sunday that it had cut off northern Gaza from the south, calling it a “significant stage” in the war. It said a one-way corridor for residents to flee south would remain available for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who remain in Gaza City and other parts of the north. Some 1.5 million Palestinians, or around 70% of Gaza's population, have fled their homes since the war began. Food, medicine, fuel and water are running low, and U.N.-run schools-turned-shelters are beyond capacity, with many sleeping on the streets outside. For in-depth insight and a deeper perspective on the brutal war between rapidly rising civilian death toll FRANCE 24's William Hilderbrandt is joined by Toby Fricker, UNICEF spokesperson.