Israel shows no sign of slowing down, launching new strikes in central and southern Gaza

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• Amna Nawaz:

  Israel's ground offensive in the Gaza Strip continues to expand, as does the human cost. Health officials say the 11-week-long war already claimed the lives of more than 21,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

  As Israeli tanks bombard the Gaza Strip, the peace plan proposed by Egypt and Qatar seems far from reach. Last night, a Hamas official said they have received cease-fire proposals from multiple countries.

• Osama Hamdan, Hamas Spokesperson (through interpreter):

  The battle and the movement are always open to all initiatives that achieve a comprehensive cessation of aggression against our people and to everything that achieves the highest interests of our people. Our people do not wait for temporary truces.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Israel, meanwhile, shows no sign of slowing down its offensive. The New York Times verified this video from a photographer embedded with Israeli soldiers. It shows a large group of detained Palestinians stripped to their underwear. Some appear to be children or elderly.

  Other recent videos and photos of strip-searched detainees have sparked outrage. Military officials say they must search for weapons, but human rights groups say this violates international detention standards.

  Today, the Turkish president went as far as comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

• Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President (through interpreter):

  Is what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing any less than Hitler? No. As of now, Hitler was not as rich as this one. This one is richer compared to Hitler. He is receiving support from the West.

  All sorts of support comes from America. And with all this support, what did they do to more than 20,000 Gazans? They killed them.

• Amna Nawaz:

  As the death toll rises, Gazans still desperately need basics to survive. Aid trucks roll in, but many Palestinians are starving or without water. An Israeli official claimed that United Nations agencies are enabling Hamas.

• Eylon Levy, Israeli Government Spokesman:

  Unfortunately, to date, the U.N. aid mechanism in Gaza has been woefully unsuccessful, because it goes through UNRWA. Aid simply isn't reaching the people who need it because Hamas hijacks it and UNRWA covers up for it.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Israel announced yesterday it will now consider United Nations employee visas on a case-by-case basis, instead of automatic admission.

  In corners of Gaza, life or some version of it goes on. Tareq Al-Nuami lost his teaching job and home to the war, but volunteered to hold English lessons in this shelter.

• Tareq Al-Nuami, Volunteer English Teacher (through interpreter):

  Since the beginning of the war, we see our children distressed, their faces pale, sad about the damage and destruction and pain they see. We thought of cheering them up. We suggested the idea of classes in the tents. They liked the idea and developed a passion for it.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Islam Aziz is 10 years old, and says she misses her school.

• Islam Aziz, Displaced Palestinian (through interpreter):

  We have the right to an education just like all the children around the world. It has been 81 days since we have been to proper schools.

• Amna Nawaz:

  In this room, a glimmer of a normal childhood, while, outside, a war rages on.

• Children:

  Please stop war. Please stop war.