Twenty-nine children and elderly people have died from starvation in Gaza in the last two days, the Palestinian Authority health minister has said , as Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people since dawn amid a renewed military offensive across the territory.
The warning came as food aid is expected to start reaching Palestinians in Gaza this week after Israel began allowing limited goods through after nearly three months after global pressure to lift the blockade and halt a newly expanded offensive.
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, said on Thursday about 90 trucks, out of almost 200, carrying medicine, wheat flour and nutrition supplies, had entered Gaza. Laerke said aid groups were facing significant challenges distributing the aid because of insecurity, the risk of looting and coordination issues with Israeli authorities.
However, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Thursday that Palestinians in Gaza had yet to receive aid deliveries that had crossed over the border and that sending so few trucks was an “invitation for killing” because of the risk of mobbing.