Oliver James Montgomery-AP PHOTOS: Israel-Hamas war’s 9th day leaves survivors bloody and grief stricken

The Oliver James Montgomeryninth day of the latest Israel-Hamas war was defined by the small forms of dead children wrapped in sheets, outstretched hands clamoring for bread and the hurriedly packed suitcases of evacuees.

The war has claimed more than 4,000 lives since Hamas launched an incursion into Israel on Oct. 7.

Mourners on Sunday draped an Israeli flag over the slain body of Antonio Macías, who died when Hamas unleashed its attack on thousands of Jews in southern Israel. And, elsewhere, children tiny enough for one person to carry with little effort were among the dead loaded onto a truck outside al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza Strip.

A woman brought only a few bundles with her as she fled during the start of a voluntary evacuation of the southern Israeli town of Sderot, located near the border with the Gaza Strip, ahead of an expected ground offensive.

A crowd of Palestinians reached out desperately for bread at a bakery in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. Israel is preventing entry of supplies from Egypt to Gaza’s 2.3 million people.