Starving Gaza children queue for hours for food, as pressure mounts on Israel

Footage released by the UN shows children in Gaza City queuing for food for hours on Tuesday, as pressure mounts on the Israeli government to allow more aid to reach a population on the brink of famine after an 11-week blockade.

No humanitarian aid has yet been distributed in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations said on Wednesday (May 21), two days after Israel began allowing limited deliveries into the enclave through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Mohammad Al-Helou, a supervisor at a community kitchen in Gaza City, told the UN they cook 500 meals a day but that half of those who come leave without food.

"I’ve been here since early morning. I tried to rush in to get some food, but I can’t,” Mais, a displaced child waiting by the kitchen, said in footage filmed by the UN.

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.

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.

Britain has suspended talks with Israel on a free trade deal, and the European Union said it will review a pact on political and economic ties over the "catastrophic situation" in Gaza.

Britain, France and Canada have threatened "concrete actions" if Israel continues its offensive.

(Production: Amy McConaghy)