Israel-Hamas war pushing Gaza towards famine: UNO

The Israel-Hamas war is pushing Gaza towards famine, the United Nations warned ahead of an expected Security Council vote Friday on a resolution to address the plight of civilians without calling for a ceasefire.

Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack against Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing about 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

The militants also took around 250 hostages, of whom 105 have been released and several killed, including by friendly fire.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has relentlessly bombarded Gaza and sent in ground troops in an offensive that has killed 20,057 people, mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian territory's Hamas government.

On day 77 of the war, here are five key developments from the past 24 hours:

UNSC tries again to pass Gaza text -

Diplomats at the UN Security Council were locked in negotiations on how to frame a draft resolution on the Gaza Strip they could put to the vote without it being vetoed by Israel's closest ally the United States.

The talks have dragged on all week, amid Israel's US-backed rejection of any explicit call for a ceasefire.

The latest draft seen by AFP calls for "urgent steps to immediately allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and also for creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities".

It does not call for an immediate end to fighting.

 US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters that Washington would support the resolution if it "is put forward as is".

 Food 'emergency' -

The entire population of Gaza faces "an imminent risk of famine", according to a UN-backed global hunger monitoring system.

"We have been warning for weeks that, with such deprivation and destruction, each day that goes by will only bring more hunger, disease and despair to the people of Gaza," UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths posted on X, formerly Twitter.

 Aid via Israel crossing suspended -

The UN secretary-general's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said aid deliveries through the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza had been suspended after an Israeli "drone strike".

After weeks of pressure, Israel approved the temporary reopening of the crossing last week to enable aid deliveries directly to Gaza, rather than through the Rafah crossing from Egypt.

Israeli officials did not respond to requests from AFP for comment.

 Hopes of new hostage exchange fade -

Hopes faded that Israel and Hamas could be inching towards a new truce and an exchange for the remaining 129 hostages as the belligerents remained far apart.

Hamas's military wing said further hostage releases depend on a "cessation of hostilities", after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be no ceasefire until "the elimination of Hamas".

 Lebanon PM floats border offer -

Lebanon is ready to implement a UN resolution that would help end Hezbollah's cross-border attacks on Israel if Israel also complies and withdraws from disputed territory, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, called for the removal of armed personnel south of Lebanon's Litani River, except for UN peacekeepers and Lebanese state forces.