At the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, there is no more room in the morgue for people killed in Israel’s bombardment of the territory, so staff have placed 20 bodies in an in ice cream van still decorated with pictures of happy children licking cones.

At least 10 bodies wrapped in sheets were laid on nearby ground. At the hospital morgue, Hosny Abu Sheira said his sister’s house was destroyed in an air raid. “I saw her body and that of her son and several others. They are still bringing out dead people from under the rubble. So far there are nine bodies.”

Inside the hospital, Kholoud, 27, a wounded relative, lay on a bed, her hair and face still covered in dust. She blamed herself for the deaths of family members who had taken refuge in her home. “They wanted to go back to their house but I stopped them. I made them stay to die.”