The United Nations has warned that supplies of aid are at risk of running out in Gaza as Israel blocks deliveries to put pressure on Hamas.
Israel halted aid shipments 11 days ago and has disconnected the only power line to a water desalination plant in the Palestinian territory as part of its efforts to push Hamas into agreeing to its terms in truce talks.
After a ceasefire went into effect on 19 January, the United Nations made progress with bringing food and medicine into Gaza and getting its damaged hospitals up and running, said Tom Fletcher, head of the UN humanitarian affairs bureau.
But now nothing is getting in, he told a news conference.
"Eleven days is already 11 days too long to prevent aid reaching civilians who so badly need it," said Mr Fletcher.
"The supplies are clearly running out very, very fast," he said, forcing the UN to ration stocks to make them last longer.
"The fact that we're not getting fuel in means that incubators are being switched off," said Mr Fletcher, adding that Gaza will quickly become a humanitarian crisis again.
Mr Fletcher said he visited Gaza last month and while he tried to prepare himself, things were much worse than he had anticipated.
He said one of his biggest shocks was seeing dogs fattened from eating corpses as they sniffed through the rubble of Gaza.
"And you notice that the people are thin, and then you see that for miles and miles and miles. And I don't think anything can prepare you for that," said Mr Fletcher.
ICJ hearing next month on Israel aid obligations to Palestinians
Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice will hold hearings next month on Israel's humanitarian obligations towards Palestinians, after the Israeli government blocked aid access to Gaza earlier this month.
The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution in December requesting that the world body's top court give an advisory opinion on the matter.
The hearings will open on 28 April at the court's seat in The Hague, it said in a statement.
The resolution, submitted by Norway in October, was adopted by a large majority.
It calls on the ICJ to clarify what Israel is required to do to "ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population".
Although the ICJ's decision are legally binding, the court has no concrete means to enforce them. But they increase the diplomatic pressure on Israel.
Last July, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion stating that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory was "illegal" and must end as soon as possible.
Israel strictly controls all inflows of international aide vital for the 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza hit by a humanitarian crisis.
Israel halted aid deliveries to war-torn Gaza on 2 March after a deadlock over a fragile ceasefire, which since 19 January has reduced hostilities following 15 months of relentless fighting.
Norway's initiative was triggered by an Israeli law banning from the end of January the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil and coordinating with the Israeli government.
The Israeli authorities accuse some UNRWA employees of taking part in the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 by the Islamist militant group Hamas.
