Israel to allow foreign aid to parachute into Gaza but continues bombardment despite growing global pleas for ceasefire
Horror scenes of mass starvation have sparked an international outcry after Israel restricted supplies to the territory.
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Aid groups warned this week Palestinians are on the brink of famine with one in five children suffering from malnutrition, with UN warning civilians are becoming "walking corpses".
But Israel has denied responsibility, blaming Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's population.
Aid drops into the territory will be managed by Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, an Israeli official said.
Despite the concession, Israel is keeping up its heavy bombardment in the face of global ceasefire please and huge protests in Tel Aviv.
Explosions from fresh overnight strikes rocked the besieged coastal strip, with Israeli Defence Forces troops continuing to advance on Hamas lairs.
The terrorists are still hiding out within civilian communities after the cornered Islamist group repeatedly rejected ceasefire terms.
French president Emmanuel Macron yesterday ramped up pressure on Israel to halt fighting by announcing his nation would become the first in The West to recognise a Palestine state.
Macron held emergency talks over the crisis today with UK PM Sir Keir Starmer who called conditions in the 25-mile enclave 'unspeakable and indefensible'.
Starmer has already declared statehood is Palestinians' 'inalienable right' but has yet to officially declare recognition.
Humanitarian workers have reported seeing children 'emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying' without urgent treatment, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UNRWA relief agency said.
Starmer said: 'We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe.
'The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible. While the situation has been grave for some time, it has reached new depths and continues to worsen.'
Gaza's health ministry - which is controlled by Hamas - said 82 of 113 hunger-related deaths recorded there so far are Palestinian children.
But scores of desperate, innocent civilians have been killed queuing for food aid amid claims of IDF atrocities.
US and Israeli negotiators in Qatar walked out of ceasefire talks on Thursday after Hamas submitted a list of 'impossible' demands.
They reportedly included the release of more prisoners in exchange for hostages, including captured commandos involved in the October 7 attacks.
Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff branded Hamas 'selfish' and suggested that the group 'does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith'.
He added that the terror group's 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza' was the reason US negotiators had been recalled.
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Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv's Habima Square on Thursday for a protest demanding Israel's strongman PM Benjamin Netanyahu end the Gaza war and return the hostages.
Netanyahu has been accused of prolonging the bloodbath to save his political skin - and deflect blame for the security lapses which enabled Hamas to carry out the October 7 horror.
The rally, which began with a moment of silence for fallen soldiers, was joined by parents of hostages, parents of soldiers, and reservists demanding and end to the war.
Retired military commander Major General Noam Tibon said at the rally: 'In the beginning, this was a just war after 22 months, this war no longer has a security purpose.
'The war has turned into a political war, and while the best of us are falling in Gaza.'
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