Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas negotiators since July 6 as they scramble to end nearly two years of war in Gaza where fears of mass starvation are growing. Through 21 months of fighting both sides have clung to long-held positions preventing two short-lived truces being converted into a lasting ceasefire.

A six-week-old infant and three other children have died of starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, local health officials said, with malnutrition and starvation now killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war.