The Israeli military siege on the northern Gaza Strip has left about 5,000 Palestinians dead or missing after 100 days of brutal attacks that have only intensified amid talks of a potential mediated agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Another 9,500 Palestinians were injured as a result of the Israeli military operation in the north that was launched in early October, a medical source told Al Jazeera on Sunday.

Gaza’s Government Media Office on Sunday described the Israeli siege as “the most horrific form of ethnic cleansing, displacement and destruction” that has affected hundreds of thousands in the war-ravaged area.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said north Gaza is now a “ghost area” of vast destruction and rubble, but some people have managed to stay alive there, refusing to leave.