Gaza death toll nears 30,000 as UN warns of ‘imminent’ famine on strip

Fighting continues in Gaza Strip as mediators work towards a ceasefire amid dire humanitarian conditions and food shortages.

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 war could be just days away.

The Hamas-ruled territory's Health Ministry reported another 91 deaths in overnight Israeli bombardment in Gaza, while UN agencies sounded the alarm on dire humanitarian conditions and food shortages.

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 war.

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's October 7 attack in exchange for several hundred Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

Qatar was "hopeful, not necessarily optimistic, that we can announce something" before Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said on Tuesday.

U.S. President Joe Biden said a day earlier that "my hope is by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire", but "we're not done yet".

Mr. Ansari also cautioned that "the situation is still fluid on the ground".