Gaza: War deaths exceed 30,000

As famine looms

GAZA STRIP (AFP) – Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians since war broke out in the enclave nearly five months ago, the Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry said yesterday.

While mediators say a truce deal between Israel and Hamas could be just days away, aid agencies have sounded the alarm of a looming famine in Gaza’s north.

Children have died “due to malnutrition, dehydration and widespread famine” at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, said the Health Ministry, whose spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra has called for “immediate action” from international organizations to prevent more of these deaths.

Citing the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, United States Agency for International Development head Samantha Power said Israel needed to open more crossings so that “vitally needed humanitarian assistance can be dramatically surged.”

“This is a matter of life and death,” Power said in a video posted on social media platform X.

The latest overall toll for Palestinians killed in the war came after at least 79 people died overnight across the wartorn Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said yesterday.

Israel declared the current war after Hamas attacked the south of the country on Oct. 7 and killed nearly 1,200 people. Some 250 hostages were also taken, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 presumed dead, according to Israel.

Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas, which runs Gaza.

Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US have been seeking a six-week pause in the war.

Negotiators are hoping a truce can begin by the start of Ramadan, the holy Muslim month, that kicks off March 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar.

The proposals reportedly include the release of some Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for several hundred Palestinians detained by Israel.

Short of the complete withdrawal Hamas has called for, a source from the group said the deal might see Israeli forces leave “cities and populated areas,” allowing the return of some displaced Palestinians and humanitarian relief.