JERUSALEM (AP) — An official disclosed on Saturday that Israel plans to soon stop or limit humanitarian aid to areas of northern Gaza as it ramps up its military campaign against Hamas, following the announcement of Gaza City as a combat zone.

This move is expected to attract more international criticism towards Israel’s government, amid increasing dissatisfaction both domestically and internationally regarding the harsh conditions faced by Palestinians and hostages remaining in Gaza after nearly 23 months of conflict.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous due to not having authorization to speak to the press, informed The Associated Press that Israel intends to cease airdrops over Gaza City in the coming days and lessen the influx of aid trucks reaching the north of the territory as it gears up to relocate hundreds of thousands of individuals southwards.

On Friday, Israel terminated the recently implemented daytime pauses in hostilities meant to facilitate aid deliveries, labeling Gaza City as a Hamas bastion and asserting the continued use of a tunnel network despite prior extensive raids. According to the United Nations and allied organizations, these pauses, airdrops, and other measures recently enacted have been insufficient compared to the 600 trucks of aid deemed necessary each day in Gaza.

Overnight AP video captured several significant explosions across Gaza. Recently, Israel’s military has intensified its assaults on Gaza City’s outskirts, where food shortages have been documented and declared by global food security authorities.

The exact timing of when the reduction or cessation of aid deliveries will start remains uncertain. As of Saturday, there had not been any airdrops over Gaza for several days, diverging from the previously almost daily deliveries of the past few weeks.

Israel’s army didn’t respond to a request for comment about the airdrops or say how it would provide aid to Palestinians during another major shift in Gaza’s population of over 2 million people.

Red Cross warns against Israel’s evacuation of Palestinians

“Such an evacuation would trigger a massive population movement that no area in the Gaza Strip can absorb, given the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and the extreme shortages of food, water, shelter and medical care,” Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a statement Saturday.

It’s impossible that a mass evacuation of Gaza City can be done in a safe and dignified way, she said.

Hundreds of residents have begun leaving Gaza City, piling their few remaining possessions onto pickup trucks or donkey carts. Many have been forced to leave their homes more than once.

Also Saturday, Israeli gunfire killed four people trying to get aid in central Gaza, according to health officials at Al-Awda Hospital, were the bodies were taken. Gaza’s Health Ministry said 15 people were killed and at least 206 others wounded seeking aid over the past 24 hours.

The Health Ministry also said 10 people died as a result of starvation and malnutrition over the past 24 hours, including three children. It said at least 332 Palestinians have now died from malnutrition-related causes during the war, including 124 children.

At least 63,371 Palestinians have died in Gaza during the war, said the ministry, which does not say how many of the dead are fighters or civilians but says around half have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.

“There is no food and even water is not available. When it is available, it is not safe to drink,” said Amer Zayed, as he waited for food from a charity kitchen in the southern city of Deir Al-Balah on Friday.

“The suffering gets worse when there are more displaced people,” he added.

Israelis will rally again to demand truce and freedom for hostages

Israelis waited to hear the identity of the remains of a hostage that Israel on Friday said had been recovered in Gaza. It also said it recovered the remains of hostage Ilan Weiss.

Forty-eight hostages now remain in Gaza of the over 250 seized in the Hams-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war. Israel had believed 20 of the hostages are still alive.

Their loved ones fear the expanding military offensive will put them in even more danger, and they prepared to rally again Saturday evening to demand a ceasefire deal to bring everyone home.

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Shurafa reported from Deir-al-Balah, Gaza Strip.

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