The White House has quickly welcomed Israel’s announcement that it would allow “temporary” aid deliveries into famine-threatened northern Gaza, hours after the United States warned of a sharp shift in its policy over Israel’s offensive against Hamas, AFP reports.

The White House said the move came “at the president’s request” — and said it “must now be fully and rapidly implemented”.

Israel has come under mounting international pressure over the toll inflicted by its six-month offensive against Hamas, and has drawn increasingly tough rebuke from its main backer Washington.