International aid agencies warn that plans presented by Israel to control aid distribution in Gaza will only increase suffering and death in the devastated Palestinian territory.

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee outlined an American-Israeli plan to funnel humanitarian aid into parts of Gaza that he acknowledged will initially feed only about 60% of the population.

The US has confirmed that a new system for providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza through private companies is being prepared, as Israel's blockade continues for a third month. The US ambassador to Israel said "distribution centres" protected by private security contractors would provide food and other supplies to up to a million people initially,