JERUSALEM – Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said the country would keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering the war-battered Gaza Strip, where intense aerial and ground assaults have resumed. “Israel’s policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population,” Katz said in a statement, amid a major humanitarian crisis following Israel’s decision to prevent the entry of aid since 2 March.

“No one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and there are no preparations to enable such aid,” he said.

The United Nations warned on Monday that Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began in October 2023.

“The humanitarian situation is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities,” said the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In a statement, OCHA said no supplies had reached Gaza for a month-and-a-half, and medical supplies, fuel, water and other essentials are in short supply.

“Due to the closure of the crossings, compounded by restrictions within Gaza, dwindling supplies have forced them (aid workers) to ration and reduce deliveries to make the most of the remaining stocks,” OCHA said.

Israel resumed its intense military offensive in the Palestinian territory after a ceasefire deal that came into effect on 19 January fell apart two months later over differences regarding its next phase. Hundreds of thousands of people have since been displaced.

Israel tightly controls the entry of vital international aid for the 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza