Israel has killed another five Palestinians as its genocidal war on Gaza continues unabated amid a widening regional conflict triggered by joint United States-Israel strikes on Iran two weeks ago.

Sources at hospitals in Gaza told Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground on Saturday that the five deaths occurred in Gaza City and Khan Younis overnight since Friday evening.

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The Israeli military attacks Gaza relentlessly, despite an October 10 “ceasefire”, it has violated hundreds of time.

Seven people have been killed since Thursday morning, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said early on Saturday, with 658 people killed in the besieged enclave since the “ceasefire”.

Israeli forces on Saturday also attacked a police post in Khan Younis, killing two police officers and wounding others.

Meanwhile, sandstorms have swept across the Gaza Strip, worsening conditions and piling on the misery for tens of thousands of displaced people.

Witnesses reported that the dust-laden winds swept through the camps, worsening the plight of families living in worn-out tents.

‘Why can’t I walk?’

Meanwhile, Palestinians are also suffering with the ongoing closure of the Rafah border crossing, which Israel has shut amid its attacks on Iran.

Nearly six months into the “ceasefire”, thousands of wounded Palestinians, many of them children, are still waiting for urgent medical evacuation. Only a trickle of people have managed to leave for treatment overseas since Israel partially opened the crossing before slamming it shut again.

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Hamdi is one such child waiting for treatment abroad after he was severely injured during Israel’s bombardment.

At the age of 12, he is learning how to walk again, with much of his day spent in physical therapy sessions.

“Every day he watches kids playing football and starts crying. He asks me, why am I not like them? Why can’t I walk?” Amer Hamadi, the boy’s father, told Al Jazeera.

Doctors say early and intensive treatment is critical for patients with severe spinal and nerve injuries, but more than two years of Israeli bombardment have decimated Gaza’s healthcare system.

“We bring him here for physiotherapy while we wait for approval to travel abroad to remove the shrapnel from his body. Doctors say that if he can have the surgery, there is still a chance he could walk again,” said Hamadi.

While Hamdi has permission to leave, he is still trapped in Gaza due to Israel’s closure of Rafah.

“After a long wait, we finally managed to get him a referral for treatment abroad, but then the crossing closed,” Hamdi’s mother, Sabreen Mazen, told Al Jazeera.

The Rafah crossing, located on Gaza’s southern border, had reopened only last month allowing a limited number of Palestinians to leave for the first time in months, including patients in urgent need of medical care. Thousands remain blocked from travelling for treatment.