Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday. At least 77 were killed over the past 24 hours, most while seeking food.

At least 112 people were killed in the 24 hours before late Tuesday morning, 22 while trying to get aid, the ministry says.

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.