Israel's defense minister has ordered all remaining Palestinians to leave Gaza City, saying it is their "last opportunity." Israel's defense ministry said Wednesday that anyone who stays will be considered a militant supporter and face the "full force" of Israel's latest offensive. At least 21 Palestinians were killed across the territory, according to local hospitals, as Hamas weighed a new proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war and returning the remaining captives taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered it. A senior Hamas official says there are some points in the proposal that are unacceptable and must be amended, without elaborating.

The director of the U.N. World Food Program says it's "very evident" after a visit to Gaza that there is not enough food and that mothers and children are starving. Cindy McCain, the program's executive director, tells The Associated Press that she spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and says he is "concerned" about the issue. International experts have declared a famine in Gaza City and say it is likely to spread without a ceasefire and the full restoration of humanitarian aid. Israel rejects the famine declaration and has called claims of starvation a propaganda campaign by Hamas.

Israel struck one of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip and then hit the facility again as journalists and rescue workers rushed to the scene. Health officials said the attack on Monday killed at least 20 people and wounded scores more. It was among the deadliest of several Israeli strikes that have hit both hospitals and journalists over the course of the 22-month war sparked by Hamas' 2023 assault. The strikes came as Israel plans to widen its offensive to heavily populated areas. The first strike hit a top floor of a building at Nasser Hospital. Minutes later, witnesses said, a second projectile hit as journalists and rescuers rushed up an external staircase.

Hamas says it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in Gaza that would still need Israel's approval. Israel indicates its positions haven't changed. Gaza's Health Ministry meanwhile says the Palestinian death toll has passed 62,000 from 22 months of war. Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks appeared to break down last month. Those plans have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining hostages taken in the 2023 attack that sparked the war. A widened military offensive will worsen the humanitarian crisis.

More than 100 charity and human rights groups said in a letter that Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip toward starvation. Israeli strikes, meanwhile, killed another 29 people overnight and into Wednesday, according to local health officials. The Trump administration's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, was set to meet with a senior Israeli official about ceasefire talks, a sign that lower-level negotiations that have dragged on for weeks could be approaching a breakthrough. Experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and offensive, which were launched in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.

U.N. officials, aid groups and experts have warned for months that Palestinians in Gaza are on the brink of famine without formally declaring one. Even though Israel eased a 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May, aid groups say only a trickle of assistance is getting into the enclave. Palestinians face catastrophic levels of hunger 21 months into Israel's offensive, which was launched after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. The leading international authority on hunger crises has warned of famine, but has not yet obtained data that would meet its conditions for declaring one.