Humanitarian crisis in war-torn Gaza: Children, half the population, live in ‘desperate conditions’

Fighting raged 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 United States 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. The war was triggered by the unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 presumed dead, according to Israel. Since the war began, hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been displaced within the narrow coastal territory. Nearly 1.5 million people now packed into the far-southern city of Rafah, where Israel has warned it plans to launch a ground offensive. Those who remain in northern Gaza have been facing an increasingly desperate situation, aid groups have warned. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on the plight of civilians in war-torn Gaza, with children representing half of the population, FRANCE 24’s Nadia Massih is joined by Tess Ingram, UNICEF Spokesperson and Communications Specialist.