- Aid groups say many aid trucks have been held up at border crossing, not yet reached people in need
- WFP says 15 trucks carrying flour have been looted, cites 'hunger, desperation and anxiety'
- Israel intensifies airstrikes, hitting 75 targets in Gaza overnight
The Israeli military said 107 trucks carrying flour and other foodstuffs as well as medical supplies entered the Gaza Strip from the Kerem Shalom crossing point on Thursday. But getting the supplies to people sheltering in tents and other makeshift accommodation has been fitful.
So far, an umbrella network of Palestinian aid groups said, 119 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Israel eased its blockade on Monday in the face of an international outcry. But distribution has been hampered by looting by groups of men, some of them armed, near the city of Khan Younis, the network said.
"They stole food meant for children and families suffering from severe hunger," the network said in a statement, which also condemned Israeli airstrikes on security teams protecting the trucks.
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed 20 people on Friday across the Palestinian territory, where Israel has ramped up its military offensive in recent days.
The toll from "Israeli strikes in various areas across the Gaza Strip since midnight" totalled 20 dead, agency official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said.
He said there were also dozens of people wounded in the attacks, which mainly hit the centre and south of the territory.
In Gaza's north, Al-Awda hospital reported Friday that three of its staff were injured "after Israeli quadcopter drones dropped bombs" on the facility.
The aid groups network also said the amount of aid coming into Gaza was still inadequate and only included a narrow range of supplies. It said Israel's agreement to allow trucks to enter the war-shattered enclave was a "deceptive manoeuvre" to avoid international pressure calling for the lifting of the blockade.
The UN World Food Programme said 15 trucks carrying flour to WFP-supported bakeries had been looted.
"Hunger, desperation and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming is contributing to rising insecurity," WFP said in a statement, calling on Israel to get far greater volumes of food into Gaza faster, more consistently and safely.
"As WFP has said previously, two million people are facing extreme hunger and famine without immediate action," it added.
So far, Israel says it has allowed around 300 trucks to enter Gaza, a fraction of the number that aid groups say would be needed to relieve hunger among the population. But many of the trucks have been held up at the Kerem Shalom crossing and not yet reached people in need, and there has been mounting international pressure to get supplies in more quickly.
A German government spokesperson said the aid was "far too little, too late and too slow," adding that delivery of supplies had to be increased significantly.