Martin Griffiths, the UN’s humanitarian chief, called for Israel to allow unfettered access for aid to the besieged Palestinian territory, saying there was “no time to lose”.

“The international community should hang its head in shame for failing to stop this,” he said.

US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said the findings were “alarming”, and revealed a “heartwrenching” picture of “children who are starving”.

“That is why we believe so strongly that everything must be done to scale up the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” he said.