The head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has accused Israel of inflicting a "manmade and politically motivated" starvation on the people of Gaza as Israel's total siege, preventing the entry of all humanitarian aid, nears its eighth week.
Israel imposed a complete blockade on goods entering Gaza on 2 March. Supplies of food, fuel, medicine and aid are rapidly dwindling, prompting the UN to warn of the gravest humanitarian crisis yet in the besieged territory.
The World Food Programme said Friday that its food stockpiles have been completely depleted while the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA has warned that there are now severe shortages of medicine and hospital equipment.
UNRWA says there are 3,000 trucks waiting at the border to enter Gaza but they have been prevented from doing so by Israel.
Global outrage over the blockade is increasing, with some Western officials now demanding Israel allow food and aid into Gaza as a result.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and the head of the World Health Organisation yesterday joined diplomats from European nations in condemning the siege.