The Ministry of Health announced 14 deaths due to hunger in the last 24 hours

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Monday that 14 deaths had been recorded in hospitals in the Strip over the past 24 hours, as a result of famine and malnutrition.

This brings the total number of deaths caused by famine and malnutrition to 147, including 88 children.

For his part, Tom Fletcher, the UN Relief Coordinator, warned on Monday that the coming days would be crucial for humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

Responding to Israeli allegations that UN agencies were not distributing aid on pallets, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The UN is relentlessly focused on getting that aid out.”

He added: “We wouldn’t leave aid on pallets if we could. But to get there, our drivers face bureaucratic constraints, they face enormous security constraints.”

He said: “We have a plan. We can reach every person in Gaza in the next two weeks with our aid, with life-saving aid.

We can save as many survivors as possible.” He added that the UN brought in “a fair amount of food” yesterday, but “much of it was looted.”

Fletcher described the dangers faced by humanitarian workers who “have to face the challenge” of transporting aid along roads where civilians, whom he described as “hungry,” know the aid is coming.

He said, “They know we’re coming and they’re desperate.” He added that this situation is what “keeps us up at night.”