Famine fears and the new death toll are grim milestones in a conflict that began almost two years ago when Hamas attacked Israel.

For months, humanitarian aid organizations and international bodies have warned that Gaza is facing "critical" levels of hunger and that famine is "imminent" in parts of the Gaza Strip. An increasing number of deaths due to malnutrition have also been reported and gut-wrenching images have emerged of suffering children and long food lines.