Israeli attacks kill four as famine risk looms in Gaza

Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed four Palestinians, including a child, in the past 24 hours, as warnings grow that the enclave could face another famine.

Gaza hospitals reported the four deaths on Thursday, bringing the death toll since the October "ceasefire" to 1,538, with 5,498 injured. The dead included a young girl killed by Israeli gunfire in northern Gaza. Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud reported a strike on a vehicle in Gaza City, while a separate strike killed a man on a bicycle in the southern city of Khan Younis. A fourth person died of wounds sustained earlier.

The Israeli military continues to expand its control inside Gaza, with Al Jazeera's maps showing nearly two-thirds of the territory under Israeli military control or subject to access restrictions. "Israel is expanding their control inside Gaza," Mahmoud said, noting that displaced people cannot return to their homes and most buildings in Israeli-controlled areas have been left in ruins.

The strikes come as Palestinians face an escalating food crisis. The Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor warned on Thursday that Gaza could face another famine, accusing Israel of "deliberately depriving" Palestinians of adequate nutrition after commercial goods deliveries were suspended.

The UN says supplies of fresh food and basic staples have rapidly evaporated. "Food disappeared suddenly -- no vegetables, no fruit, no meat, no eggs, no bread -- prices skyrocketing," one Gaza City resident told Al Jazeera.