Children 'wasting away', UN warns - as Israel 'kills nearly 100 people' waiting for aid

Military pause could only last 'week or so', UN aid chief says, making next days 'make or break'

The UN's aid chief says the agency has the capacity to reach every person in Gaza but can only do so if it has more time to operate in the enclave.

Tom Fletcher tells the BBC that Israel's pause in military action in three areas of Gaza could only last "a week or so", making the next few days "make or break" for agencies hoping to deliver aid.

"We need weeks, months to build up supplies again," he says.

Describing the process of delivering aid via convoy, Fletcher said humanitarian workers have to "run the gauntlet", driving down roads where they are often targeted by "desperate" and "starving" civilians.

He says "most of the lorries" that delivered aid in Gaza yesterday had flour taken from them.

"We work with community kitchens so that what gets through is distributed and so the armed groups, including Hamas, don't get it," he adds.

UK government will recognise Palestinian state 'in this parliament'

A senior government minister has told Sky News that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state within this parliament, but warned it must not be a "tokenistic" gesture.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky's Breakfast presenter Wilfred Frost that ministers "want to" and "will" recognise a Palestinian state.

"The question is - how can we use that in a way that gives a genuine breakthrough to a real peaceful process?" he said.

"I know many countries around the world have already done this. To be frank, to be candid, it hasn't stopped the appalling scenes that we're talking about this morning.

"So we've got to use this moment - you can only do it once. Use it in a way that gets the breakthrough that we need. And the US is really important in that."

 Should aid be dropped into Gaza?

Israel and other countries have resumed sending aid into Gaza from the sky, but questions remain over whether airdrops are a suitable method of distribution.

Jordan and the UAE said they have so far delivered 25 tonnes of food into the enclave since Israel opened up the skies to planes delivering aid.

But drops are not targeted and can often fall into the wrong hands, aid agencies have warned.

The head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, said parachuted aid is "expensive, inefficient, and can even kill starving civilians" if it goes awry, urging Israel to allow more deliveries by trucks.

IDF pauses fighting in three areas

Israel has begun a 10-hour pause in fighting in three areas of Gaza for a second day.

The IDF said its operations in Muwasi, Deir al Balah and Gaza City would be halted daily from 10am to 8pm local time (8am to 6pm UK time) until further notice to allow aid to enter the enclave.

Trump: What I would do if I were Israel 'isn't appropriate to say'

Donald Trump has emphasised the importance of securing the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza after ceasefire talks broke down in Qatar last week.

During a meeting with the EU chief Ursula von der Leyen yesterday, Trump said Hamas "don't want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision".

"I know what I'd do, but I don't think it's appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision," he added.

Last week, Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would be "hunted down" after ceasefire talks ended with the US and Israel withdrawing their negotiating teams.

"I think they want to die... And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job."

Trump also complained that nobody has thanked him for sending millions in aid to Gaza. 

He claimed the US had sent $60m (£45m) worth of food to Palestinians in Gaza and "nobody even acknowledged it".

He added: "You really want at least someone to say 'thank you'. No other country gave anything. It makes you feel a little bad when nobody talks about it."

He added: "We're giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything. If we weren't there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it's not like they're eating well."

Nearly 100 killed seeking aid in Gaza yesterday, health ministry says

Close to 100 people were killed while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave.

It comes as Israel announced a "one-week scale-up of aid" and declared military operations in three areas of Gaza would be halted for 10 hours daily until further notice to support this.

The ministry said 67 people were killed in northern Gaza and six others in Khan Younis in the south. 

The Israel Defence Forces said that troops "fired warning shots in order to remove an immediate threat posed to them" after "a gathering of thousands of Gazans was identified in the northern Gaza Strip".

"The IDF is aware of the claim regarding casualties in the area, and the details of the incident are still being examined," it added, without disclosing casualty figures.

Crowd attacked by 'Israeli tanks and snipers'

The UN's World Food Programme said a 25-truck convoy carrying food crossed the Zikim border yesterday morning aiming to reach communities in northern Gaza.

It said the convoy encountered "large crowds of civilians anxiously waiting to access desperately needed food supplies".

"As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire".

There were further reports of Israeli attacks in other areas of Gaza not covered by the military pauses. 

The IDF issued a warning to residents in northern Gaza, including the cities of Beit Lahia and Jabalia, calling the areas "active combat zones and extremely dangerous".

Israel begins 'scale-up of aid' in Gaza - but UN chiefs warn more needed to stop famine

The United Nations says it welcomes Israel's decision to support a one-week scale-up of aid in Gaza but warned more action is needed to "stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis".

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher made the remarks as Israel said it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and allow aid corridors to "refute the false claim of intentional starvation".

Jordan, the UAE and Egypt said they delivered aid into Gaza by land and air - with Jordan and the UAE saying "25 tonnes of food aid and essential humanitarian supplies" were delivered by aid airdrops.

It comes at a critical time. Fletcher welcomed the up-scale of aid but said one in three people in Gaza "hasn't eaten for days" and "children are wasting away".

"This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis," he said.

Other aid agencies made similar comments. 

Medecins Sans Frontieres said the pause in fighting and aid drop is "not enough" and there should be a distribution list "so that everybody knows that they're going to receive their own parcel".

Unicef said the aid boost was an "opportunity to reverse this catastrophe" but said more humanitarian corridors needed to be opened to allow aid trucks through.

-SKY NEWS