No aid has yet reached Gaza's population, representative and country director of World Food Programme, Antoine Renard, warned, as Palestinians in the enclave were left waiting for the promised arrival of food on Wednesday (May 21) despite mounting international and domestic pressure on the Israeli government to allow more aid to reach a population on the brink of famine after an 11-week blockade.
Holding empty cooking pots and pans, men and women waited with their children outside a makeshift soup kitchen in Khan Younis on Wednesday, hoping to receive lunch meals. But those who spoke to Reuters said that they failed to get any food at all.
Fewer than 100 aid trucks have entered Gaza, according to Israeli military figures, since Monday (MAY 19), when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government agreed to lift the blockade that has forced Gazans into a desperate struggle to survive.
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With air strikes and tank fire continuing to pound the enclave, killing dozens of people on Wednesday, local bakers and transport operators said they had yet to see fresh supplies of flour and other essentials.
The resumption of the assault on Gaza since March, following a two-month ceasefire, has drawn condemnation from countries that have long been cautious about expressing open criticism of Israel. Even the United States, the country's most important ally, has shown signs of losing patience with Netanyahu.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on Oct 7, which killed some 1,200 people by Israeli tallies and saw 251 hostages abducted into Gaza.
The campaign has killed more than 53,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip, where aid groups say signs of severe malnutrition are widespread.
(Production: Hatem Khaled, Sinan Abu Mayzer, Bassam Masoud, Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh, Dina Sakr, Kinda Makieh, Joelle Kozaily)