The focus on air drops into Gaza is a "grotesque distraction" that will not reverse the territory's deepening starvation crisis, aid agency leaders have warned. Israel's military said it would allow aid to be dropped into Gaza on Saturday night, while also announcing humanitarian corridors for UN aid convoys.

The IDF said in a statement that it was taking several actions, including dropping "seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food" at the behest of the Israeli government to "refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip."

The statement issued late Saturday came after increasing accounts of starvation-related deaths in Gaza following months of experts’ warnings of famine.