Wounded Palestinians lie on the floor in al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, after arriving from al-Ahli Hospital following an explosion there, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. The Hamas-run Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike caused the explosion that killed hundreds at al-Ahli, but the Israeli military says it was a misfired Palestinian rocket. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled) 
Palestinians look for survivors in a building destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Rafah refugee camp in Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair) 
Israeli security forces inspect a damaged residential building after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) 
People hold placards showing the portraits of people missing after the Hamas attack, during a support rally outside of the Jewish central synagogue in the coastal town of Larnaca, Cyprus, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. Relatives of Israelis who are missing and believed abducted by Hamas attackers during the militant group’s Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel appealed to world leaders to intercede in hopes that their loved ones are returned safely. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) 
Wounded Palestinians lie on the floor in al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, after arriving from al-Ahli Hospital following an explosion there, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. The Hamas-run Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike caused the explosion that killed hundreds at al-Ahli, but the Israeli military says it was a misfired Palestinian rocket. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled) 
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool) 
A man sits outside his building which was destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Rafah refugee camp in Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair) 
Palestinian families rush out of their homes after Israeli airstrikes in their neighborhood in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled) 
Mourners attend the funeral of the Israeli woman Celine Ben David-Nagar, killed by Hamas militants while attending a music festival, at a cemetery in Holon, central Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
With airstrikes intensifying and diplomats struggling for answers, the war between Israel and Hamas raged on for an 11th day, with no refuge available from pain and grief.
Inside Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, blood-soaked victims of a devastating explosion at a nearby medical center lined the halls, desperate for care. Hamas officials said an Israeli airstrike was responsible for the blast at al-Ahli hospital, which killed hundreds. The Israeli military denied responsibility, blaming a rocket misfired by Palestinian militants.
In the Israeli city of Holon, mourners who gathered for the funeral of a young woman slaughtered during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on a music festival, wept openly and clung to one another for support.
And while the families of Israelis being held hostage in Gaza appealed to world leaders to intercede, Palestinian families locked in the enclave where supplies are running desperately low, lined up to collect water needed to survive.