Senior United Nations official Tor Wennesland has said Israel’s steps to allow aid into Gaza are “far short of what is needed”, AFP reports.

“The delivery of humanitarian aid in the [Gaza] Strip continues to face nearly insurmountable challenges,” said Wennesland, the organisation’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.

“Amid displacement at an unimaginable scale and active hostilities, the humanitarian response system is on the brink. Limited steps by Israel … are positive, but fall far short of what is needed to address the human catastrophe on the ground. “