The northern Gaza Strip is still heading toward a famine, the deputy UN food chief has said, appealing for a greater volume and diversity of aid to be allowed into the enclave and for Israel to allow direct access from its Ashdod port through Erez crossing.

According to Reuters, Israel pledged three weeks ago to improve aid access after US President Joe Biden demanded steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying the US could place conditions on support if Israel did not act.

“We certainly welcome those commitments and some of them have been partly implemented. Some remain to be implemented,” World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau told reporters, adding that for WFP there had been an “uptick” in getting aid in and some progress in accessing northern Gaza.

“But it’s far from enough. We need volume and we need diversity of goods and we really need consistency,” he said. “We’re still heading towards a famine (in the north).”