The White House has urged Israel to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian relief into Gaza amid UN claims that Israel could be guilty of a war crime if it is preventing access to food.
The call comes as efforts to negotiate a temporary ceasefire in Gaza intensified after months of war that have devastated the Palestinian enclave and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will arrive in the Middle East on his sixth visit to the region since the October 7 attacks, said everyone in Gaza was now in need of humanitarian aid.
The head of the UN human rights committee Volker Turk said Israel was blocking aid and conducting the conflict in a way that might amount to the use of starvation as a method of war.
In a statement on access to aid in Gaza, referencing the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, President Michael D Higgins said: "It is in the interests of the most basic humanity and in the interest of all in the international community that the full facts are established, responded to, and that all of the aid is made urgently available.
"In order to achieve this basic fact-finding, it would surely be of immense value for an international group to be allowed access to all of the points at which aid is located and to report their findings to all sides, including all of those anxious to be involved in feeding the people of Gaza, including through the UN, and that appropriate actions follow.
"Such action would have the obvious benefit of being in keeping with the findings of the International Court of Justice and its instruction that civilians must be protected.
"The establishment of what are the facts as to the availability of the necessities of life itself should be not only welcomed by all, but insisted upon by all of the international community, its actors and agencies.
"Failure to do so should not be rewarded with the immunity of silence."
Israeli troops were nonetheless pressing ahead with an assault on Gaza's biggest hospital which they allege is being used by Hamas for military purposes, saying more than 50 fighters had been killed, and 180 suspected militants taken prisoner.
Israel has also said that it will flood Gaza with humanitarian aid through several crossing points. A second ship from Cyprus carrying food aid is expected to be launched shortly through a newly established maritime corridor.
The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a ground offensive on Rafah will happen.
However, the White House has said that an Israeli delegation which will work with the Americans to avoid civilian casualties will arrive in Washington, but not until early next week.
Israel hits Rafah from the air as food crisis deepens
Meanwhile, at least 14 people were killed in overnight Israeli air strikes in Rafah, Palestinian medical officials said, as the US urged a rethink of a promised ground sweep in the city on the southern tip of Gaza, where more than a million displaced people are sheltering.
Palestinians displaced by the five-month-old Israeli assault have relocated to Rafah, which abuts Gaza's border with Egypt.
Israel says one-sixth of Hamas' combat strength - four battalions of the rifle and rocket-wielding fighters - is in Rafah and must be crushed before the war can conclude.
But the prospect of a spiralling civilian toll has raised alarm abroad.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the overnight strikes on several buildings in Rafah.
With a new round of mediated talks under way on a possible release of hostages Hamas took during the 7 October attack on Israel that sparked the war, the White House said it would confer with its ally before any troops or tanks move into Rafah.
"Our position is that ... a major ground operation there would be a mistake," US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters after a call between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday.
"Most importantly, the key goals Israel wants to achieve in Rafah can be done by other means," Mr Sullivan added, without elaborating.
He said Israeli delegates were due in Washington soon to hear US concerns and "lay out an alternative approach".
At least 31,819 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
Israeli officials said their forces have killed around 14,000 Gaza combatants.
Around 1,200 people were killed, and 253 kidnapped, by Hamas on 7 October, according to Israeli tallies.
Gaza population at 'severe levels of acute food insecurity' - Blinken
The entire population of Gaza is experiencing "severe levels of acute food insecurity", Mr Blinken has said, underscoring the urgency for increasing the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.
"According to the most respected measure of these things, 100% of the population in Gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity," Mr Blinken told a press conference in the Philippines, where he is on an official visit.
"That's the first time an entire population has been so classified."
Mr Blinken's remarks came on the eve of his return to the Middle East, this time to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to discuss efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and ramp up aid deliveries.
A United Nations-backed food security assessment warned that half of Gazans are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, with famine projected to hit the north of the territory by May unless there is urgent intervention.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said that he was horrified by the UN report.
In a post on X, he said: "Horrified by UN report that half of Gaza's population face catastrophic food insecurity & imminent famine.
"This is entirely man-made. Israel bears responsibility for restrictions on food, water & health supplies. These must be lifted immediately; a huge increase in aid is needed."
Yesterday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that the UN assessment was "an appalling indictment of conditions on the ground for civilians".
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization has called on Israel to allow food and aid to begin entering Gaza through different border crossings in order to speed up the distribution of essential supplies.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Tarik Jasarevic said a completely preventable famine is imminent in Gaza, particularly in the north.
He said that malnutrition was not an issue in Gaza before the war between Israel and Hamas began.
"Gaza did not have a problem with malnutrition and food security before October," Mr Jasarevic said.
"This is completely preventable. And we call on Israel to make sure that food can come in two different border crossings, especially land land crossing so we can avoid what our teams have seen, basically, babies in hospitals in north Gaza dying of hunger."
Mr Biden has supported Israel since the 7 October attacks, sending billions of dollars in military aid, but has become increasingly frustrated by Mr Netanyahu's failure to curb civilian deaths or let in vital aid.
The US president also faces growing political pressure at home, with opposition among Arab-Americans and young voters posing a risk to his re-election chances in November.
Mr Netanyahu said in a statement after the Biden call that he had reiterated "Israel's commitment to achieving all of the war's objectives".
He cited the objectives as eliminating Hamas, winning the release of all hostages held by the group and "ensuring that Gaza will never present a threat to Israel".
He also pointed to the provision of "essential humanitarian aid that helps achieve these aims".
Mr Biden was caught on a hot mic just over a week ago saying he would have a "come-to-Jesus meeting" with Mr Netanyahu.
He also praised a "good speech" last week by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calling for new elections in Israel.
With the UN warning of imminent famine in Gaza, Mr Biden earlier this month ordered the US military to start airdrops of food into the enclave and has sent a temporary US port there to speed up delivery of maritime aid.
Additional reporting from AFP
