The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has revealed that 82 per cent of humanitarian aid movements in Gaza were denied by the Israeli military in the week of March 18 to 24, Al Jazeera reports.

“Tasks as critical as picking up essential supplies or refuelling bakeries are effectively blocked,” OCHA said in a short post on social media.

Israel’s three-week-long blockade of all aid entering Gaza and its denial of safe movement for aid agencies inside the war-torn territory comes as the UN’s World Food Programme warns that “hundreds of thousands” of people in Gaza again face severe hunger and malnutrition.

“The expansion of military activity in Gaza is severely disrupting food assistance operations and putting the lives of aid workers at risk every day,” WFP said in a statement.