Israeli strikes and gunfire kill dozens in Gaza amid 'famine'

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday, including people sheltering in tents or seeking scarce food, local hospitals said as a famine in Gaza's largest city sparks new pressure on Israel over its 22-month offensive.

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Israel has rejected the data-based famine declaration as “an outright lie.”

Ceasefire efforts are on hold as mediators await Israel's next steps.

Israeli strikes killed at least 17 people in southern Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to morgue records and health officials at Nasser Hospital.

The officials said the strikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis.

In northern Gaza, Israeli gunfire killed at least five aid-seekers near the Zikim crossing with Israel, where UN and other truck convoys enter the territory, health officials at Sheikh Radwan field hospital told reporters.

Eleven people were killed in attacks elsewhere, according to hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israel's military said it was not aware of a strike in Khan Younis at that location and was looking into the other incidents.