By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Emma Farge

(Reuters) -Palestinian health authorities say Israel's ground and air campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 60,000 people, with nearly a third of the dead under the age of 18.

After a two-month ceasefire earlier this year, Israel resumed an all-out air and ground campaign against Hamas in March. Palestinian health officials say more than 8,500 have been killed since then.

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023 when Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israeli communities. Israel says the militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people into captivity in Gaza.

A new update released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Tuesday put the number of those killed in Gaza during the war at 60,034 people, ranging from a newborn baby to a 110-year-old. Of those, 18,592 or 30.8% were under 18.

The official Palestinian Health Ministry death toll dwarfs those killed in previous bouts of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza since 2005, according to data from Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem.

An international monitoring group warned on Tuesday a worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in Gaza and immediate........

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