After day 24 of the Israeli military's assault on Gaza, the aggressive operation continued to threaten the lives of thousands of Palestinians. The Palestinian death toll continues to rise with countless wounded. The number of deaths has risen to 1,374, as of Thursday afternoon, and the killings of innocent Palestinians in Israeli strikes continue unabated. The Israeli military operation also led to serious concern for the repercussions for Palestinians on the ground. Yet there has been no solid reaction from the international community. The world is still keeping silent and ignoring the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. The escalating Israeli violence against civilians in Gaza is causing more human suffering. The assault has aggressively targeted civilians, which is leading to a humanitarian disaster in Gaza - civilian infrastructure such as water systems, sanitation and health services have been severely damaged and Palestinians are running out of water and food. Communications networks are not functioning properly and there is also no electricity after Israel's military on Tuesday broadened its offensive, bombing Gaza's only power plant, which is needed to pump water and sewage systems. According to Oxfam, "The people of Gaza are extremely vulnerable due to the Israeli blockade; they have no access to essential services such as healthcare and education." During the three weeks of its offensive, Israel has urged many Palestinians to leave their homes in the battle zone by sending text messages. However, there is no place for them to hide in order to survive as Gaza is surrounded by Israel, Egypt, and the sea. Egypt has refused to open the Rafah border crossing in order to help save many Palestinian lives. Many of them took refuge in the U.N.-run school that had been sheltering some 3,300 displaced Gazans in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. However, at least 16 Palestinians were reportedly killed during the heavy attack from the Israeli military on the school. As Israel continues to destroy buildings and hospitals, many of the wounded, many of them women and children, can no longer be properly treated. According to U.N. reports, 1,370 homes in Gaza have been destroyed and 20,000 people are now refugees and are seeking shelter. Since the start of the Israeli operations, the international community has failed to stop the violence. Only Turkey and Latin American countries have spoken out against Israel's aggression toward Palestinians. Many Western countries, primarily Germany and the U.S. have disregarded "war crimes" being committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip while defending Israel's right to self-defense. So far, the international responses to the Gaza crisis have not been productive or progressive in their efforts to put an end the conflict. Only Turkey, Ghana, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador and Peru, have been increasingly vocal about the continuing violence in the Gaza Strip. Giving a series of tough diplomatic measures, Latin American countries have recalled their ambassadors, issued sharply worded statements and put restrictions on visas for Israelis. As these countries have urged for an international probe into the Gaza situation, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday condemned Israel's attacks on homes, schools, hospitals and U.N. facilities while calling it "deliberate defiance" of international law. "The same pattern of attacks is occurring now on homes, schools, hospitals and U.N. premises. None of this appears to me to be accidental," she said, while urging Israel to respect international human rights law.