Mencer accused Hamas of preventing the distribution of aid and seizing supplies for its own benefit or to sell at inflated prices. “Aid has been flowing into Gaza,” he said, but blamed the United Nations and its partners for failing to retrieve cleared truckloads of essential goods sitting on the Gaza side of the border.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog visited the Gaza strip on Wednesday and told soldiers that there were “intensive negotiations” about returning the hostages in Gaza, adding that he hopes that they will soon “hear good news”.

Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinians near food distribution hubs in southern Gaza, witnesses and Gaza hospital officials say.

Reversing deepening hunger crisis will require more than short-term aid, says Doctors Without Borders' official, urging steady flow of enough diverse food - Anadolu Ajansı

Even though Israel eased a 2-½-month blockade on the territory in May, aid groups say only a trickle of assistance is getting into the enclave and that Palestinians face catastrophic levels of hunger 21 months into the Israeli offensive launched after Hamas' Oct.

Since May -- when the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation picked up the lion's share of food distribution in Gaza -- nearly 1,000 people have been killed. Elizabeth Palmer reports.