Israel has only authorised for Gaza what "amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required," United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said, who again signalled that the UN will not take part in a new US-backed distribution plan.
"Without rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access, more people will die - and the long-term consequences on the entire population will be profound," Mr Guterres told reporters.
Israel says about 300 trucks of aid have entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Gaza on Monday, but Mr Guterres said that so far only about a third of those truckloads have been transported from the crossing to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.
Israel has allowed aid deliveries by the UN and other aid groups to briefly resume until a new US-backed distribution model - run by the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) - is up and running by the end of the month. The UN says the plan is not impartial or neutral, and that it will not be involved.
This is my appeal for life-saving aid for the long-suffering people of Gaza:
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 23, 2025
Let's get aid to a desperate population.
Let's do it right.
And let’s do it right away.https://t.co/ejaVRcoYas
Israel said its blockade had been aimed in part at stopping Palestinian militants Hamas from diverting and seizing aid supplies. Hamas has denied stealing aid.
The GHF plan involves using private security contractors to transport aid to so-called secure hubs for distribution by civilian humanitarian teams.
"The United Nations has been clear: We will not take part in any scheme that fails to respect international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality," Mr Guterres said.
The UN and its partners have a plan to get the aid needed into Gaza, he said.
"The supplies - 160,000 pallets, enough to fill nearly 9,000 trucks – are waiting," Mr Guterres said.
"This is my appeal for life-saving aid for the long-suffering people of Gaza: Let's do it right. And let's do it right away," he added.
Strikes kill six Palestinians protecting aid trucks, says Hamas
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least six Palestinians guarding aid trucks against looters, Hamas officials said, underlining the problems hindering supplies from reaching hungry people in Gaza following Israel's 11-week-long blockade.
The Israeli military said 107 trucks carrying flour and other foodstuffs, as well as medical supplies, entered Gaza from the Kerem Shalom crossing point.
However, getting the supplies to people sheltering in tents and other makeshift accommodation has been fitful.
So far, an umbrella network of Palestinian aid groups said, 119 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Israel eased its blockade on Monday in the face of an international outcry.
However, distribution has been hampered by looting by groups of men, some of them armed, near the city of Khan Younis, the network said.
"They stole food meant for children and families suffering from severe hunger," the network said in a statement, which also condemned Israeli airstrikes on security teams protecting the trucks.
A Hamas official said six members of a security team tasked with guarding the shipments were killed.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
The aid groups network also said the amount of aid coming into Gaza was still inadequate and only included a narrow range of supplies.
It said Israel's agreement to allow trucks to enter the war-shattered enclave was a "deceptive manoeuvre" to avoid international pressure calling for the lifting of the blockade.
The UN World Food Programme said 15 trucks carrying flour to WFP-supported bakeries had been looted.
"Hunger, desperation and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming is contributing to rising insecurity," WFP said in a statement, calling on Israel to get far greater volumes of food into Gaza faster, more consistently and safely.
"As WFP has said previously, two million people are facing extreme hunger and famine without immediate action," it added.
So far, Israel says it has allowed around 300 trucks to enter Gaza, a fraction of the number that aid groups say would be needed to relieve hunger among the population.
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But many of the trucks have been held up at the Kerem Shalom crossing and not yet reached people in need, and there has been mounting international pressure to get supplies in more quickly.
A German government spokesperson said the aid was "far too little, too late and too slow," adding that delivery of supplies had to be increased significantly.
The Israeli military said it had conducted more strikes in Gaza overnight, hitting 75 targets, including weapons storage facilities and rocket launchers.
Palestinian medical services said at least 25 people had been killed in the strikes.
Israel imposed its blockade on Gaza in early March, accusing Hamas of stealing aid intended for civilians, shortly before breaking a two-month-old ceasefire after the two sides deadlocked on terms for extending it.
Hamas has rejected the accusation and says many of its own fighters have been killed protecting the trucks from looters.
'Systematic' destruction
WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said that 2.1 million people in Gaza were "in imminent danger of death".
"We need to end the starvation, we need to release all hostages and we need to resupply and bring the health system back online," he said.
"All hostages should be released. Their families are suffering. Their families are in pain," he added.
The WHO said Gazans were suffering acute shortages of food, water, medical supplies, fuel and shelter.
Four major hospitals have had to suspend medical services in the past week, due to their proximity to hostilities or evacuation zones, and attacks.
Only 19 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain operational, with staff working in "impossible conditions", the UN health agency said in a statement.
"At least 94% of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip are damaged or destroyed," it said, while north Gaza "has been stripped of nearly all health care".
It said that across the Palestinian territory, only 2,000 hospital beds remained available - a figure "grossly insufficient to meet the current needs".
"The destruction is systematic. Hospitals are rehabilitated and resupplied, only to be exposed to hostilities or attacked again. This destructive cycle must end," it added.
British plastic surgeon Dr Tom Potokar in Gaza said nowhere is safe in the enclave due to regular Israeli bombardment.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said that trying to find intensive care beds is difficult at the moment, but patients on ventilators were able to be transferred elsewhere.
He said bombardments are causing skeletal and soft tissue injuries and people are arriving at hospitals with open wounds, traumatic brain injuries and burn injuries.
Dr Potokar said people had not eaten meat, fruit and vegetables for months and were mainly eating rice, cereal, pasta, but added that those foods are in short supply.
Read more: Gaza health system at 'breaking point' amid shortages
'Wrong side of history' - Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the leaders of France, Britain and Canada of wanting to help Hamas after they threatened to take "concrete action" if Israel did not stop its latest offensive in Gaza.
The criticism, echoing similar remarks from Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar yesterday, was part of a fightback by the Israeli government against the increasingly heavy international pressure on it over the war in Gaza.
"You're on the wrong side of humanity and you're on the wrong side of history," Mr Netanyahu said.
