Palestinians in Gaza were still waiting for aid to arrive, U.N. officials said on Wednesday, two days after the Israeli government said it had lifted an 11-week-old blockade that has brought the Palestinian enclave to the brink of famine.

The Israeli PM says if there is an opportunity for a temporary ceasefire and a hostage release deal, Israel will be open to this.

Two of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals have been encircled by Israeli troops, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the facilities.

Benjamin Netanyahu says war will continue until Hamas is destroyed and Gaza is under full Israeli control; reiterates opposition to permanent ceasefire - Anadolu Ajansı

One aid group said the “ridiculously inadequate amount of aid” Israel was allowing into Gaza was simply “a smokescreen to pretend the siege is over.”

A fat cat senior Hamas official is facing backlash within Gaza after he claimed the growing Palestinian death toll is nothing more than “material calculations” for the terror group.

Newly inaugurated Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday made an appeal to end hostility in Gaza and called for humanitarian aid to enter the war-torn territory with reports suggesting a worsening outlook.

A heated debate was sparked after the United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said that 14,000 babies in Gaza would die within 48 hours unless aid reached them.

Israel lets limited aid into Gaza, easing its blockade as Netanyahu says his allies can't tolerate "images of mass famine" in the war-torn Palestinian territory.

United Nations officials and humanitarian groups say it will not have the ability to deal with the humanitarian