More than 16,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the two months since fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas began.

Hamas fighters stormed into the Israeli territory on October 7. The Israeli government says they killed more than 1,200 people, including civilians, and took over 240 others hostage.

The Israeli military launched an operation against Hamas in retaliation.

On Thursday, the Israeli forces announced that they engaged with a Hamas cell that exited from a tunnel shaft and killed two fighters during their operations in the main city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The forces suspect Hamas's top leader Yahya Sinwar has been hiding in the city, and are continuing their search for him.

The Israelis also continue fierce airstrikes in northern Gaza after they said they had put the area under their control.

Israel is poised to continue its offensive to eliminate Hamas and secure the release of all 138 remaining hostages. Major Israeli media Haaretz says that the country's operations in northern Gaza will likely continue for a few more days and those in Khan Younis for a few more weeks.

Health authorities in Gaza say 16,248 people have been killed and more than 43,000 others have been injured over the past two months.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNRWA, says about 1.9 million people, or over 80 percent of Gaza's population, have been displaced across the strip, and deliveries of food, fuel and medical supplies have been insufficient.

The agency warns that people are at a higher risk of dying from infectious diseases amid worsening humanitarian situation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Security Council to unite in a call for a full humanitarian ceasefire under Article 99 of the UN Charter. He invoked Article 99 for the first time since he took office in 2017. The Security Council is expected to take a vote on a drafted resolution on Friday.