Gaza is slipping into famine, UN-backed experts warned Tuesday, as the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said the death toll in the nearly 22-month war had surpassed 60,000.The health ministry figure excludes deaths from hunger in the Palestinian territory gripped by dire humanitarian conditions made worse by Israel's total blockade of aid from March to May.

It marks the latest setback in efforts to secure a deal that would bring a ceasefire to Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.