The World Food Programme (WFP) made the appeal after two girls and a woman died in a stampede outside a bakery in central Deir el-Balah on Friday, Al Jazeera reports.

The agency said it mourned the “tragic loss” and that “this incident unfolded in a moment of desperation as people anxiously tried to get access to scarce food supplies in Gaza”.

The agency said Israel’s refusal to allow the entry of aid as well as increasing violence on the ground has restricted its ability to bring food into Gaza in recent weeks.

“WFP has tried to keep famine at bay for the past year, but the lack of food aid and the absence of the commercial sector, are driving people into hunger,” it said. “WFP urges authorities to provide the secure conditions needed for our operations to reach those in need.”