Israel stood accused tonight of inflicting ‘mass starvation’ on Gaza amid reports that at least ten people have died of malnutrition in 24 hours. It brought the toll of deaths from hunger in recent weeks to 111, including 80 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Harrowing scenes among crowds at aid points have shown desperate women and children pleading for food while photos inside hospitals have revealed starving babies and children. The United Nations has estimated nearly 100,000 women and children in Gaza are approaching malnutrition.

More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups issued a joint letter blaming Israel for the deteriorating situation. Agencies such as Save the Children, Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) led the calls for a ceasefire, for land crossings to be reopened and for food, water and medical supplies to be restored. They wrote: ‘Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions. As mass starvation spreads across Gaza, our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away.

As mass starvation spreads across Gaza, our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away. As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families.’ However, Israel denied the claims, insisting that almost 1,000 trucks of aid await distribution by aid agencies to Gazan civilians. Its foreign ministry accused the groups of ‘echoing Hamas propaganda’ and said it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks to enter Gaza since lifting a complete blockade in May. It insisted that more than 700 lorries are waiting to be picked up and distributed by the UN. That’s an average of around 70 a day, the lowest rate of the war and far below the 500 to 600 trucks a day the UN says are needed and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year. The agencies said only 28 trucks a day are getting through because Israel is blocking these organisations from ‘accessing and delivering’ supplies.

They described Israeli aid drops as ‘symbolic’ and a ‘smokescreen for inaction’ while such measures ‘cannot replace legal and moral obligations to protect civilians’. At least 100 Palestinians were said yesterday to have died across the enclave in the previous 24 hours. The move by the agencies appeared to have paid off on Wednesday night as Donald Trump intervened to add pressure on Israel. The White House claimed the US President was distressed by the latest ‘mass casualty event’ on Sunday when 79 civilians were killed after Israeli troops opened fire at an aid station.

Mr Trump has dispatched US peace envoy Steve Witkoff to lead talks in Rome tomorrow, with Israeli minister of strategic affairs Ron Dermer and Qatari envoys representing Hamas. The appeal by the agencies also came as the UN claimed more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed as they queued for aid in Gaza in the previous two months.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has described the situation in Gaza as ‘a horror show’ and added: ‘We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles.’

The Vatican has expressed growing frustration at the killings in Gaza ‘of children queueing for a handful of rice’. Meanwhile, the American Jewish Committee lobby group condemned a post by US Republican Representative Randy Fine suggesting starvation was a legitimate tactic. He wrote: ‘Release the hostages. Until then, starve away.’