Emboldened by a U.S. veto in its favor, Israel kept pounding a famine-threatened Gaza on Wednesday, while truce talks resumed in Cairo.
The bombardment of the besieged enclave continued a day after a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire was blocked by a U.S. veto.
Washington, which argued the resolution would have imperiled ongoing efforts to free hostages, sent top White House official Brett McGurk to Cairo for renewed talks involving mediators and Hamas.
Global concern has spiraled over the high civilian death toll and dire humanitarian crisis in the war sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion of Israel.
Combat and chaos again stalled the sporadic aid deliveries for desperate civilians in Gaza, where the U.N. has warned the population of 2.4 million is on the brink of famine and could face an "explosion" of child deaths.
The U.N. World Food Programme said it was forced to halt aid deliveries in north Gaza because of "complete chaos and violence" after a truck convoy encountered gunfire and looting.
More Israeli strikes pounded Gaza, leaving 103 people dead during the night, according to the Health Ministry, which put the overall death toll at 29,313.
"We can't take it anymore," said Ahmad, a resident of Gaza City, where entire blocks are in ruins and cratered streets are strewn with rubble.
