Aid efforts intensify for famine-stalked Gaza

Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories: Efforts mounted on Thursday to get more aid into the war devastated Gaza Strip, where the UN warns of famine and...

Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories: Efforts mounted on Thursday to get more aid into the war-devastated Gaza Strip, where the UN warns of famine and desperate residents have stormed relief convoys.

After mediators failed to reach a truce between Israel and Hamas for the holy month of Ramadan, which started Monday, fighting continued with at least 69 deaths over the previous 24 hours, Gaza health ministry said.

Hamas authorities reported more than 40 air strikes across Gaza, from Beit Hanoun in the north to Rafah in the south, where most of Gaza's population has sought refuge and Israel is threatening a ground assault.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday doubled down on pledges to invade Rafah, saying: "There is international pressure to prevent us from entering Rafah and completing the job.

"I will continue to repel the pressures and we will enter Rafah... and bring complete victory to the people of Israel," he added during a visit to a field intelligence base.