Gaza death toll nears 30,000 as truce talks underway

Fighting raged on Wednesday in the besieged Gaza Strip, where the reported death toll neared 30,000 as mediators insisted a truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict could be just days away.

The Hamas-ruled territory's Health Ministry reported another 91 deaths in overnight Israeli bombardment in Gaza, bringing the total death toll to at least 29,954, mostly women and children.

Meanwhile, UN agencies sounded the alarm on dire humanitarian conditions and food shortages.

On Tuesday, the UN humanitarian agency – the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – said a quarter of people in Gaza were one step away from famine, warning that such a disaster would be "almost inevitable" without action.

Aid supplies

The OCHA told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that relief agencies face "overwhelming obstacles" including restrictions on movement, crossing closures, access denials and onerous vetting procedures, though Israel said there is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.

Rare aid deliveries into northern Gaza have been chaotic, with convoys of trucks often mobbed by desperate people as they arrive.

Most aid trucks have been halted, but foreign militaries have air dropped supplies over southern Gaza.

Some 160 packages of food and medical equipment have been airdropped into the southern Gaza Strip and the Jordanian field hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza.

The U.S. is considering airdropping aid from U.S. military planes into Gaza as land deliveries become increasingly difficult, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

Truce talk underway

Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. have been trying to find a path to a ceasefire amid the bitter fighting, seeking a six-week pause in the nearly five-month conflict.

After a flurry of diplomacy, mediators said a deal could finally be within reach – reportedly including the release of some Israeli hostages held in Gaza since Hamas' October 7 attack in exchange for several hundred Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

Hamas had been pushing for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza – a demand rejected outright by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But a Hamas source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the deal might see the Israeli military leave "cities and populated areas," allowing the return of some displaced Palestinians and humanitarian relief.

Doha has suggested the pause in fighting would come before the beginning of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month which starts on March 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar.

Hamas called on Wednesday for Palestinians to march to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque at the start of Ramadan, raising the stakes in ongoing negotiations for a truce in Gaza.

Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem's old city, one of the world's holiest sites for Muslims and the most sacred for Jews, has long been a flashpoint for potential violence, particularly during religious holidays.

With fighting raging in Gaza, Israel has said it may set limits to worship at Al-Aqsa during Ramadan, according to its security needs. Many Palestinians reject any such restrictions on their access to the site.

"This is a call on our people in Jerusalem and the West Bank to march to Al-Aqsa since the first day of Ramadan," said Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Israeli government spokesperson Tal Heirich described Haniyeh's remarks as "very unfortunate" and accused him of trying to drag both Israel and Hamas to conflicts on other fronts.

(With input from agencies)