The Palestinian Authority has pledged to give greater backing to NGOs in Gaza as it warned that 300,000 families in the beleaguered territory are “marginalised” and need assistance, AFP reports.

The authority held a meeting with about 15 NGOs and aid groups who have complained about increasing problems getting aid into the Gaza Strip and distributing food and other essentials around the territory where Israel has been fighting Hamas for more than eight months.

While the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the occupied West Bank, has virtually no influence in Gaza, the authority’s emergency relief minister Basil al-Kafarna acknowledged the mounting dangers and said: “We are here to support the non-governmental organisations and the agencies for humanitarian relief in the Gaza Strip.”

Read more here.