A priest at the only Roman Catholic parish in Gaza has said there has been no bread for many weeks and what little flour there is contains "worms".
Fr Carlos Ferraro from the Holy Family Church said he was told that bread from some aid trucks has entered Gaza, but said he "has not seen that yet".
Israel said it allowed 100 trucks also carrying baby food and medical equipment into the territory yesterday, but Palestinian officials said the aid let in so far is nowhere near enough to make up for shortages caused by an 11-week blockade.
"Some bakeries will begin receiving flour to produce bread, and we expect the distribution of bread to begin later today," Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations Network in Gaza, has said, adding that just 90 aid trucks had got through.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Fr Ferraro said the level of bombing has increased and the Israeli army has issued evacuation orders for neighbourhood in the north of Gaza.
"There is no flour, no beans or tins ... the prices are sky high and every time there are less and less items," he told said.
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"Flour is not there. People were telling me about two or three days ago that a bag of flour went from 100 shekels to 1,000 and something shekels, but now you don't find it.
"And we're talking about flour with worms, with these insects that develop inside. But now you don't find it. People go around calling for somebody who has that, they want to buy it, they shout on the streets but you don't find it.
"Everything is less and less and it's more difficult to have a meal."
Fr Ferraro said his parish would distribute a small amount of aid but they have very little left.
"Nobody cares about what the people are suffering ... the ones responsible who are provoking or fighting, they don't look very much at the suffering of the common society here," he said.
"The majority of the people here are civilians, they don't have anything to do with one or the other. The more you hurt somebody, the more you get revenge. You are provoking more than solving."
Fr Ferraro said he is "very encouraged" by what Pope Leo XIV has said about Gaza.
He said the pope has spoken "very strongly" several times about the conflict.
"We are in his mind and his heart, we know that ... everybody here knows that Pope Leo has already talked many times about it," he said.
"People follow news as much as they can and they're encouraged about that. We can say that the pope has become part of our family, part of our parish here."
Fr Ferraro is one of a community of three priests in Gaza after he chose to go there with Fr Gabriel Romanelli.
"Of course we are staying here willingly and we try to do our part, our best, helping the people, giving hope to everybody. If we could also be a word of peace, as much as we can, we are ready to do it."
