Flour and other food aid will start reaching some of Gaza's most vulnerable people after Israel let some humanitarian aid trucks through, but nowhere near enough to make up for shortages caused by an 11-week blockade, Palestinian officials said.
Israel said it allowed 100 trucks also carrying baby food and medical equipment into the enclave on Wednesday, two days after announcing its first relaxation of the restrictions under mounting international pressure.
Israel imposed the blockade on all supplies in March, saying Hamas was seizing deliveries for its fighters — a charge the group denies
The United Nations said a quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million people were at risk of famine.
Trucks carrying aid have begun entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Source: Getty / Amir Levy
He said just 90 trucks had entered.
"During the ceasefire, 600 trucks used to enter every day, which means that the current quantity is a drop in the ocean, nothing," he said.
Workers produce bread for distribution at the World Food Programme bakery after a limited amount of flour entered the Gaza Strip. Source: Getty / Anadolu
"The idea is to try and reach the most needy families, those who are desperate, as it is just the start," Shawa said.
Palestinian health minister Majed Abu Ramadan said on Thursday that 29 children had died from "starvation-related deaths" in Gaza in recent days and that many more were at risk.
Palestinians have been scrambling for basic supplies, with Israel's blockade leading to critical food and medicine shortages.
Umm Talal al-Masri, 53, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza City, described the situation as "unbearable".
"No one is distributing anything to us. Everyone is waiting for aid, but we haven't received anything," she said.
"We barely manage to prepare one meal a day."
UN agencies have said that the amount of aid entering Gaza falls far short of what is required to ease the crisis.
"I am tormented for my children," Hossam Abu Aida, another resident of the Gaza Strip, told AFP.
"For them, I fear hunger and disease more than I do Israeli bombardment," the 38-year-old added.
Israel orders evacuation of parts of northern Gaza
The Israeli army issued an evacuation warning on Thursday for 14 neighbourhoods of northern Gaza, as it pressed a renewed offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
In an Arabic-language statement on Thursday, the military said it was "operating with intense force" in 14 areas in the northern Gaza Strip, accusing "terrorist organisations" of operating there.
Israeli strikes have continued along the Gaza Strip. Source: AAP / Mohammed Saber/EPA
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reports.
It has repeatedly said it seeks to avoid civilian casualties and targets militants.
In Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of the enclave, a tank shell hit a medicine warehouse inside Al-Awda Hospital and set it ablaze, the health ministry said.
Rescue workers had been trying to extinguish the fires for hours, it added.
Tanks are stationed outside the hospital, medics say, effectively blocking access to the facility.
The Gaza healthcare system has been barely functioning, with most of the medical facilities out of order, because of repeated Israeli military strikes, raids and the ban on the entry of medical supplies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel would be open to a temporary ceasefire to enable the return of hostages taken by Hamas-led fighters.
But if they were not returned, he said it would press ahead with a military campaign to gain total control of Gaza.
"Netanyahu continues to stall and insist on pursuing the war. There is no value to any agreement that doesn't stop the massacres in Gaza permanently," senior Hamas official Sami Ab Zuhri said in response to Netanyahu's comments.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in October 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's campaign has since killed more than 53,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip, where aid groups say signs of severe malnutrition are widespread.
