The Israeli military launched one of the biggest waves of strikes in Gaza for weeks on Tuesday, residents said, and health officials issued a new warning that healthcare faced total collapse from Israel's blockade of all supplies.

Gaza's health ministry said a UN-backed polio vaccination campaign meant to target over 600,000 children had been suspended, putting the enclave at risk of the revival of a crippling disease that once had been all-but eradicated.

In diplomacy to end the conflict, a Hamas delegation was expected to arrive in Cairo for talks. Two sources familiar with the mediation effort said the delegation would discuss a new offer which would include a truce for 5 to 7 weeks following the release of all hostages and an end to fighting.

Gaza residents said Israeli forces bombed several areas across the enclave from tanks, planes, and naval boats. The attacks hit houses, tent encampments and roads, they added.

Israel has imposed a total blockade on all supplies to Gaza since the start of March and relaunched its military operations on March 18 after the collapse of a ceasefire.

Since then, Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,600 Palestinians according to the Gaza health authorities, and hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes as Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone of Gaza land.

The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced on Tuesday that the Gaza Strip is facing "the worst humanitarian situation" since the start of the Israeli assault on Oct. 7, 2023, due to Israel’s continued obstruction of humanitarian aid deliveries, a QNA report said.

Deputy spokesperson for OCHA, Jens Laerke, stated that humanitarian aid has not entered the Strip for 50 days, while commercial goods have been halted for even longer.

He stated that a steady slide into a full-blown catastrophe can clearly be seen in Gaza. Right now, the humanitarian situation in Gaza may be the worst it has been since the war began.

Israel's 18-month bombing campaign has rendered nearly all buildings in the Gaza Strip uninhabitable, and Gaza's 2.3 million people now mostly live in the open under makeshift tents. Since the total blockade was imposed last month, all 25 UN-supplied bakeries making bread have been shut.