More than 1,000 people have also been killed by Israeli gunfire near aid distribution sites in Gaza, according to the United Nations. Most of those are operated by GHF, which opened its aid distribution sites on May 27.

President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France would become the first Western member of the United Nations Security Council to recognise a Palestinian state in September has caused diplomatic ructions from the Middle East through Europe to Washington.

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany said Friday the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the Gaza Strip "must end now", as the war-ravaged Palestinian territory faces a deepening crisis. "We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and urgently allow the UN and humanitarian NGOs to carry out their work in order to take action against starvation,

Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists waved flags and unfurled banners on Wednesday as the Tour de France peloton rode through Dieulefit, a southeastern French town honoured as a "Town of the Just" for sheltering Jewish people during World War Two.

The United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy will hold an emergency call on Friday to talk about the deteriorating conditions in Gaza as more than 100 aid groups warn mass starvation is fast approaching,

News agencies including AFP, AP, BBC and Reuters issued a joint statement about Gaza journalists unable to feed themselves amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions on Thursday.

Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff said he is recalling the U.S. negotiating team from Doha, Qatar, for consultations, saying Hamas showed a “lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza,” in the latest roadblock to the Trump administration’s drive to end the war between Israel and Hamas.