Palestinians in the sealed-off Gaza Strip struggled to find any safe area on Wednesday as Israeli strikes demolished entire neighbourhoods, hospitals ran low on supplies and the territory’s only power plant ran out of fuel, deepening the misery of a war sparked by a stunning and deadly assault by Hamas militants.

Airstrikes smashed entire city blocks to rubble in the tiny coastal enclave and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath mounds of debris. The bombardment raged on even though militants are holding an estimated 150 people snatched from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults.

The war, which has already claimed at least 2,200 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate — and compound the misery of people living in Gaza.

After the attack, Israel stopped the entry of food, water, fuel and medicine into the territory, home to 2.3 million Palestinians. The sole remaining access from Egypt was shut down on Tuesday after airstrikes hit near the border crossing.

As Palestinians crowded into UN schools and a shrinking number of safe neighbourhoods, humanitarian groups pleaded for the creation of corridors to get aid in.

“There is no safe place in Gaza right now,” journalist Hasan Jabar said after three Palestinian journalists were killed in the bombardment of a downtown neighbourhood home to government ministries, media offices and hotels.

Gaza’s only power plant ran out of fuel on Wednesday afternoon, forcing it to shut down after Israel cut off supplies, the energy ministry said. That leaves only generators to power the territory — but they also run on fuel that is in short supply.

The WHO said that supplies it had pre-positioned for seven hospitals had already run out amid the flood of wounded. Doctors Without Borders said surgical equipment, antibiotics, fuel and other supplies were running out at two hospitals it runs in Gaza.