Israel began repatriating its nationals from quake-hit Nepal Monday, including two groups of babies born to surrogate mothers in Kathmandu whose fathers are homosexual Israelis, officials said.

Three of the newborns arrived on a military plane in the morning, and five others landed at noon on an aircraft commissioned by Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency medical service, which had brought medics to Nepal on Sunday.

The United States is sending a total of $10 million in relief to help the victims of the Nepal earthquake, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday as the death toll passed 4,000.

The top U.S. diplomat sent his "deepest condolences" to the people of Nepal, and in the region, who had been affected by the disaster, adding "the images that everybody has seen are gut-wrenching, extraordinary devastation."

Hundreds of thousands of Nepalis spent another night in the open Monday after a massive quake which killed more than 4,000, as officials warned the final toll could yet rise sharply once rescuers reach cut-off areas.

With fears rising of food and water shortages, Nepalis were rushing to stores and petrol stations to stock up on essential supplies in the capital Kathmandu, left devastated by Saturday's 7.8-magnitude quake.

Taiwan's foreign minister said Monday the government of earthquake-devastated Nepal had rejected its offer of a 20-man rescue team, but denied diplomatic pressures were behind the decision.

The Taipei-based crew was put on standby Sunday with much of the Nepalese capital in ruins and more than 3,500 confirmed dead, but were told aid was being prioritized from neighboring countries.

Climbers stranded for two days were plucked Monday from high altitudes on Mount Everest following a deadly quake-triggered avalanche, as exhausted and emotional mountaineers said they were thankful to be alive.

Rescue teams in three helicopters were running missions to Camps One and Two on the world's highest peak following Saturday's avalanche that killed 18 people further down the mountain at base camp, officials said.

The U.N. food agency said Monday it was preparing a large-scale aid operation to earthquake-ravaged Nepal, with a first plane set to arrive Tuesday.

"This will be a large, massive operation," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N.'s World Food Program, told AFP.

Almost one million children urgently need help after an earthquake claimed more than 3,200 lives in Nepal, the UN children's agency said, as relief workers raced to help the most vulnerable.

With thousands of children camping out in the open in the capital Kathmandu after their homes were destroyed in Saturday's quake, UNICEF warned of the risk of disease.

Nepalis started fleeing their devastated capital on Monday after an earthquake killed more than 3,800 people and toppled entire streets, as the United Nations prepared a "massive" aid operation.

With fears rising of food and water shortages, people were also rushing to stores and petrol stations to stock up on supplies in the capital, ripped apart by Saturday's 7.8-magnitude quake.

Nine Greek climbers who were robbed by a sherpa guide in Kathmandu told Sunday of their lucky escape after heading home from Nepal the day before an earthquake triggered the deadliest disaster in Mount Everest's history.

"We arrived in Kathmandu last week and there we discovered that our sherpa had disappeared with the money we had given him," Nerit Sophoclis Paitis, one of the climbers told Nerit, Greek public television.

Israel said Sunday it planned to airlift 25 infants from quake-hit Nepal born to surrogate mothers, along with their Israeli parents, most of them homosexual couples.

Officials said Israel was sending a military delegation to offer aid and help repatriate its citizens from Nepal following the quake that has claimed more than 2,500 lives.