T he announcement was an admission of failure. On July 26th the Israel Defence Forces ( IDF) said that it would parachute food into Gaza and implement daily “humanitarian pauses” in parts of the still depopulated areas of the devastated strip, allowing international aid organisations to bring in convoys.

Humanitarian aid organizations and international bodies have warned that Gaza is facing "critical" levels of hunger and that famine is "imminent" in parts of the strip.

The leading international authority on food crises predicted "widespread death" in Gaza without immediate action.