Earlier, aid agencies criticised Israel's airdrop plan arguing it would deliver very little and and endanger civilian lives.

Palestinian health officials and the local ambulance service say Israeli airstrikes and gunfire have killed at least 42 people in Gaza.

Israel and its U.S. allies are now considering "alternative" options to bring their hostages home from Gaza and end the rule of Hamas in the territory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday,

The UN's humanitarian agency warns only a "trickle" of aid is getting into Gaza - Israel says 800 trucks are inside Gaza waiting for collection.

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany demanded Israel allow unrestricted aid into Gaza to end a “humanitarian catastrophe," after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will become the first major Western power to recognize a Palestinian state.

This month, the hunger that has been building among Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinians passed a tipping point into accelerating death, aid workers and health staff say. Not only children — usually the most vulnerable — are falling victim under Israel’s blockade since March, but also adults.

US President Donald Trump blamed Hamas for the breakdown of Gaza ceasefire talks, saying, “Hamas wants to die,” and urged Israel to “finish the job,” signalling full support for an intensified Israeli military offensive.

Israel’s military took journalists on Thursday to the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing to show what they claim is humanitarian aid awaiting collection.