Israel to continue blocking food and medicine from entering Gaza, defence minister says

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz has said his country will continue blocking crucial humanitarian aid from entering the war-battered Gaza Strip.

"Israel's policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population," Katz said in a statement Wednesday.

"No one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and there are no preparations to enable such aid."

Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have cited military pressure as the only way to secure the release of the 58 hostages held in Gaza.

"Hamas will continue to suffer blow after blow. We insist that they release our hostages, and we insist on achieving all of our war objectives," Netanyahu told Israeli troops in northern Gaza on Tuesday.

For more than six weeks, Israel has refused to allow lifesaving supplies, including food, medicine, fuel, and cooking oil, from entering the strip.

On Monday, the United Nations warned that Gaza was facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began in October 2023.

"The humanitarian situation is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities," said the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.