The Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres said that Gaza is facing "the cruelest phase of the conflict," and that only a "teaspoon" of aid is getting in. 

Guterres said: “Palestinians in Gaza are enduring what may be the cruelest phase of this cruel conflict. For nearly 80 days, Israel blocked the entry of lifesaving international aid. As the world's leading hunger assessment found, the entire population of Gaza is facing the risk of famine.”

Meanwhile, the deputy of the International Refugee Organization said that the current aid to Gaza is insufficient and does not meet the needs of the crisis-stricken population in the region.

Hardin Lang, vice president for programs and policy at the International Refugee Organization, said: “Maybe a hundred trucks make their way in over the last couple of days, it's just the very tip of what is required. We need four, five, six hundred trucks moving a day. And not only do they need to be getting into Gaza, you need to distribute them inside. So, we saw over the past 24 hours at least one case where a World Food Program truck or convoy was looted.”

Israel continues its ongoing siege and bombardment.

Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch also say Israel is using starvation as a weapon.

Omar Shakir, director for Israel and Palestine at Human Rights Watch, said: “Israel as the occupying power has a duty to facilitate and provide for the civilian population. All warring parties amid hostilities cannot block aid. Starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime. To deliberately deprive the civilian populations of food, of medicine, of objects indispensable for their survival amounts to an act of genocide.”

A new program, supported by the US, designed to distribute aid in southern Gaza, is planned to be implemented by private contractors, but the details are still unclear.

The United Nations has stated it will not cooperate with this plan, as it considers the initiative conditional on Israel’s political and military goals.