TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip,” the leading international authority on food crises said in a new alert Tuesday, predicting “widespread death” without immediate action.

The local pause in fighting came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in doubt.

Dozens of rabbis were arrested Tuesday morning after staging a protest at the office of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, calling for aid in Gaza and an end to what they called the Israeli government’s “blockade” of the enclave.

The leading international authority on food crises says the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza" and it predicts "widespread death" without immediate action.

Senate Democrats are imploring President Donald Trump's administration to step up its role in addressing suffering and starvation in Gaza.

Israel ended a truce in Gaza in March, hoping to break Hamas. The move has heightened suffering for Palestinians but achieved few, if any, Israeli goals.

With Biden gone, and faced with indescribable famine, the Democratic consensus on Israel and Gaza shifts - NEWS ANALYSIS: A wave of key party condemnations makes it clear: a tide is finally shifting among DC Democrats as Israel starves Gaza,

Israel has allowed more aid to flow into Gaza, under intense pressure over Palestinians starving to death, but the U.N. says much more is still needed.

The U.N.-developed panel, known as IPC, said conditions “worsened dramatically” in recent months, with food consumption at its lowest level since the conflict began.