Meanwhile Israel's defence minister threatens that "the gates of hell" would be opening unless Hamas agrees to disarm and release all hostages.

Israeli defense minister Israel Katz threatened to turn Gaza City "into Rafah and Beit Hanoun," meaning leaving it in ruins, unless the militant group Hamas agrees to Israel's conditions for ending the war.

The famine declaration comes as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to order the occupation of Gaza City, while also saying he wants to negotiate the release of the last remaining hostages held by Hamas after its 7 October attack on southern Israel, which killed around 1,200 people.

A key mediator on Tuesday stressed the urgency of brokering a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after Hamas showed a “positive response” to a proposal from Arab countries, but Israel has yet to weigh in as its military prepares an offensive in some of the territory's most populated areas.