Israel has closed crossings into northern Gaza, cutting the most direct route for aid to reach hundreds of thousands of people at risk of famine, as airstrikes and shelling killed dozens more people in the devastated Palestinian territory.

Food has become extremely scarce in Gaza since a tight blockade on all supplies was imposed by Israel throughout March and April, threatening many of the 2.3 million people who live there with a “critical risk of famine.”

Since the blockade was partly lifted last month, the UN has tried to bring in aid but has faced major obstacles, including rubble-choked roads, Israeli military restrictions, continuing airstrikes and growing anarchy.

Reaching the north, where the need is greatest, has been hardest but became much easier when Israel opened the Zikim crossing, allowing wheat and other basics to be transported there directly.

However, the Israeli government ordered the closure of the northern crossing points after footage surfaced on social media showing armed men guarding a shipment of aid.

Israeli rightwing rivals to Netanyahu claimed they were Hamas, but aid workers and others in Gaza said the guards were loyal to a council of local community leaders who had organised protection for a convoy of much-needed supplies.

Aid officials in the territory described Thursday’s closure of Zikim, which Israel said was necessary to stop Hamas seizing aid, was “very problematic” and would directly impact aid distribution.

Multiple UN officials have refuted Israel’s claims that Hamas steals humanitarian aid.

New food distribution points set up by the US- and Israel-backed private organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation are located in central and south Gaza, out of reach of most of the million people estimated to be in the north.

The move to close the crossings will increase diplomatic pressure on Israel as attention shifts from its brief conflict with Iran, back to the violence and grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

After a more than two-month blockade of essential goods entering Gaza, the Israeli government announced it was allowing aid to re-enter the enclave in May.

However, due to Israeli restrictions, the amount of aid entering has been minimal, with aid agencies referring to it as a “drop in the ocean.”

Uptick Of Preventable Diseases Plague Gaza

Meanwhile, United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) warned that preventable diseases in Gaza are on the rise and killing civilians due to the lack of desperately needed medicine and clean water.

OCHA in a statement said that in the past two weeks, “more than 19,000 cases of acute watery diarrhoea have been recorded, alongside over 200 cases each of acute jaundice syndrome and bloody diarrhoea.”

The agency added that these outbreaks are directly linked to the lack of clean water and sanitation in Gaza, underscoring the urgent need for fuel, medical supplies, and water, sanitation and hygiene items to prevent further collapse of the public health system.

Israel’s blockade on fuel entry into Gaza has paralysed the territory’s desalination plants and water system.

Israeli military has destroyed much of Gaza, displaced nearly the entire population of the territory and placed a suffocating siege on the enclave.

Besides the dire humanitarian conditions, the Israeli military continues to kill dozens of Palestinians in Gaza daily.