52 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza strip since dawn this morning, the civil defence agency in the territory has said. 

The strikes are part of Israel’s ramped up military offensive in recent days. 

They come as some aid has finally made it into the strip. 

United Nations (UN) teams collected 90 lorry loads of humanitarian aid today, three days after Israel announced that it would be easing what was an 11-week blockade to vital supplies going into Gaza. 

A UN spokesperson said last night that the agency “collected around 90 truckloads of goods from the Kerem Shalom crossing and dispatched them into Gaza”. 

The aid included baby food, flour, and medical equipment, but the UN has been clear in saying that it is nowhere near the supplies that are needed, as the entire 2.1 million population in Gaza is currently at risk of famine. 

A UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has said that half a million people face starvation in the coming months. 

Meanwhile, the Israeli army has issued an evacuation warning today for 14 neighbourhoods in northern Gaza in a renewed offensive which has been slammed by world leaders. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he would consider a temporary ceasefire, but that the aim of military operations is to bring the entire strip under Israeli control. 

Israel claims that terrorist organisations are operating in the neighbourhoods its military forces are concentrating on. 

Netanyahu said that allowing aid into the strip is necessary to “avoid a humanitarian crisis” in order to preserve Israel’s “freedom of operational action” in Gaza. 

People on the ground scrambling for supplies

Umm Talal al-Masri, 53, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza City, described the situation as “unbearable”.

“No one is distributing anything to us. Everyone is waiting for aid, but we haven’t received anything,” she said.

“We barely manage to prepare one meal a day.”

UN agencies have said that the amount of aid entering Gaza falls far short of what is required to ease the crisis.

“I am tormented for my children,” Hossam Abu Aida, another resident of the Gaza Strip said. 

“For them, I fear hunger and disease more than I do Israeli bombardment,” the 38-year-old added.

Death toll rises

Yesterday Netanyahu said that Israel would be ready to agree to a temporary ceasefire if it would mean hostages would be freed, as he noted that at least 20 of the people being held by Hamas are believed to be alive. 

Gaza’s health ministry said today at least 3,613 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,762, mostly civilians. 

- On the ground reporting from AFP.