UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who is speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today's programme, says the joint statement from the UK, France and Canada is "robust words".

"It's a dialling up of the collective humanitarian situation," he says.

But he says the "real test" is whether the UN can get more aid in, following the 11-week blockade.

He says the UN is "demanding" that the world "back us" in pushing Israel to let more aid in and reach people who are "starving".

The UN's Tom Fletcher is speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme now - listen live at the top of the page. We'll have all the key lines on this page.

Image source, EPA

On Sunday, Israel announced it would allow aid into Gaza, ending an 11-week blockade. It said the blockade was designed to increase pressure on Hamas, which it accuses of misusing aid.

But Tom Fletcher, the UN's under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said Israel had not done enough.

"Today, nine of our trucks were cleared to enter, via the Kerem Shalom crossing," Fletcher said on Monday evening.

"But it is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed, and significantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza, starting tomorrow morning [Tuesday]."

He added: "The limited quantities of aid now being allowed into Gaza are of course no substitute for unimpeded access to civilians in such dire need...

"To reduce looting, there must be a regular flow of aid, and humanitarians must be permitted to use multiple routes. Commercial goods should complement the humanitarian response."

Fletcher is being interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme at 08:10 - listen live at the top of the page.

Israel's prime minister has hit back at the joint statement from the UK, France, and Canada.

"By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed, and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities," he says.

He adds: "The war can end tomorrow if the remaining hostages are released, Hamas lays down its arms, its murderous leaders are exiled and Gaza is demilitarised.

"No nation can be expected to accept anything less and Israel certainly won't.

"This is a war of civilisation over barbarism. Israel will continue to defend itself by just means until total victory is achieved."

Image source, Reuter

The latest air strikes on Gaza came as the UK, France, and Canada demand Israel changes course.

In a joint statement, Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Mark Carney said: "If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response."

The leaders also called on Hamas to release the hostages it took in the "heinous attack" on 7 October.

But they added: "We have always supported Israel's right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate."

Image source, Reuters

Rushdi Abualouf
Gaza correspondent, reporting from Cairo

At least 38 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip in just half an hour, according to Palestinian medics.

A spokesman for the Hamas-run civil defence agency said Israeli warplanes struck a school in eastern Gaza City; an abandoned fuel station sheltering displaced families in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza; and a three-story residential building in Deir al-Balah in southern Gaza.

He added that rescue teams were facing major difficulties reaching the wounded due to a lack of equipment and the intense pace of the bombardment.

According to local activists in Gaza City, 10 people were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit classrooms at the Musa bin Nusayr School, where hundreds of displaced people were sheltering.

In central Gaza, 15 people were reported killed in a strike on tents at an abandoned fuel station in Nuseirat.

Meanwhile, local journalists said 13 Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on the Abu Samra family’s three-story home in central Deir al-Balah.

Separately, Israeli jets launched a "fire belt" of 10 airstrikes on the Shejaiya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City.

Local reports described the blasts as causing tremors similar to an earthquake. The strikes are believed to have targeted Hamas military tunnels.

Image source, EPA

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

We've heard from Israel's foreign ministry that trucks of baby food, flour and medical supplies will be allowed to enter the territory "immediately".

But so far, we have not received reports that any of the trucks have arrived.

The UN has warned that Gaza is on the brink of famine, and people we have been speaking to say they are struggling to cope with hunger.

Doctors at hospitals that are still running in the territory tell us they are rapidly running out of essential medical supplies.

“Me and my kids are so hungry,” one man in southern Gaza said to me earlier, blaming both Israel and Hamas for the situation in the territory.

A journalist in Khan Younis, in the south, described the situation there as “very bad”, saying he had seen nothing enter so far.

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Residents of the southern city of Khan Younis are headed west to al-Mawasi after Israel ordered evacuations ahead of an incoming "unprecedented attack" (more on that here).

News of further attacks in Gaza followed Israel's announcement that it would bring an end to its 11-week blockade by allowing "minimal" aid into the territory.

As Gazans await the delivery of aid, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will take "control of all areas" in the Strip and prevent looting from Hamas.

Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich has also said that the military is "destroying everything that remains of the Strip".

Israel's blockade has been condemned by aid agencies and world leaders - Keir Starmer today called the situation "intolerable" while the EU's Ursula von der Leyen called for a ceasefire.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says 136 people have been killed in the past 24 hours, bringing its total death toll since the start of the war on 7 October 2023 to 53,475.

Israel, meanwhile, says it is trying to return hostages held by Hamas - some 58 hostages remain in Gaza, up to 23 are believed to be alive.

Our live coverage will shortly be coming to an end today, but before we go we'll leave you with a closing post from Alice Cuddy, who is reporting from Jerusalem and has been speaking to people in Gaza and Israel throughout the course of the day.

Image source, EPA

Let's briefly bring you some international reaction now.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described the situation in Gaza as "intolerable".

Standing alongside him at a UK-EU Summit this afternoon, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the blockade "needs to be lifted now".

She also calls for the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza and a ceasefire.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Supplied by family

The Israeli military said on Sunday "the only thing that will stop [the military operation in Gaza] is returning the hostages home". There are 58 hostages in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.

The Hostage Families Forum, the main group representing relatives of those held captive in Gaza, has called on the Israeli government to reach a deal to secure the hostages’ return.

I’ve been speaking in recent days to relatives of some of those still held in Gaza, who are desperate to be reunited with their loved ones.

“Every day, we live in uncertainty - anger, fear, exhaustion - and also camaraderie with other hostage families, and a sense of purpose and mission,” said Emilio Lavi, whose brother-in-law Omri Miran was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen on 7 October 2023 from his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

“We’ve fought, spoken out, travelled, advocated - just to keep Omri’s name alive, to stop the world from forgetting, and to push for a viable hostage deal. “

Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod, an Israeli soldier, was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October 2023, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “go for a permanent ceasefire and a hostage deal”.

“We are worried about [Nimrod], and we want it to end,” he said.

As we have been reporting, Israel launched "extensive ground operations" in Gaza over the weekend, as part of what it calls Operation Gideon's Chariot.

As we've been reporting, Israel has today agreed to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza.

This will bring an end to its 11-week blockade on the territory, which has led to extreme levels of food shortages.

Thousands of aid trucks have been stuck outside of Gaza in recent months, according to the UN.

Agencies will now be hoping that these trucks will be allowed to enter Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing, in the south, and the Erez crossing, in the north.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

We’ve been catching up over the phone with the mother of Siwar Ashour, the severely malnourished baby whose story my colleague Fergal Keane has been following in recent weeks.

Five-month-old Siwar cannot absorb regular formula milk and doctors say the Israeli blockade means that supplies of the formula she needs are scarce.

She is being discharged today from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, as she is now maintaining her weight, her mother says. But, she adds, the milk formula she has been given will expire next month.

"I’m happy to leave the hospital. I feel mentally drained from staying there," Najwa says.

Najwa plans to stay with family displaced in Khan Younis, living between a tent and a partially destroyed room. Siwar’s father is still at their home in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.

The area Najwa's family are staying in is not under the Israeli evacuation orders issued today.

Wyre Davies
Reporting from Sderot, near the Gaza border

Image source, Nick Woolley / BBC

Throughout the day the sound of Israeli artillery and air attacks has been constant.

From my vantage point on the border, near the Israeli town of Sderot, you can see the dark plumes of smoke in the distance as, only a few miles away, Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and other parts of northern Gaza are hit.

Also noticeable are the long clouds of dust being thrown up as columns of Israeli armour make their way towards the built up areas of the north.

Israel has promised "unprecedented" attacks as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots - that would be quite something to contemplate, mindful of the fact that the last 20 months of war have been described as one of the largest bombardments in military history.

More than 130 people are reported to have been killed by Israeli attacks over the last day alone. If Israel fulfils its threat to control "all of Gaza", sending in thousands of troops to "destroy" Hamas, the impact on Gaza and its population of 2.1m will be significant.

More now from Khan Younis as the first pictures emerge of residents fleeing the area, heading to al-Mawasi along the coast.

Images show civilians leaving with their belongings strapped to donkeys and makeshift carts.

Earlier today, Israel's military urged residents in the area to leave immediately ahead of an "unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organisations".

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

As we have been reporting, there are evacuation orders in place for huge swathes of Gaza.

The BBC has been speaking to people affected in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

“Everyone is evacuating…we don’t know where to go,” Ghassan Al Ruqab says.

The Israeli military has told people to head to al-Mawasi, but Ghassan says: “There is no tent for us there or anything… there aren’t any transport [options] and people don’t have money to ride a cart.”

Through tears, 13-year-old Tasneem Barakeh says: “Enough war. We are exhausted… we are tired of getting displaced in the streets… we are exhausted of being displaced and humiliated here and there.”

Image source, Getty Images

The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that "two million people" in Gaza are "starving" as Israel begins to lift its aid blockade today.

Addressing a meeting of WHO delegates from around the world, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the Israeli blockade, evacuation orders and "shrinking humanitarian space" is hindering a health system "that's already on its knees".

“People are dying from preventable diseases as medicines wait at the border," he warns.

The WHO chief adds that since 2023, the organisation has evacuated more than 7,300 patients from Gaza, but stresses that "more than 10,000" must still be helped to leave the Strip.

Image source, Getty Images

Not everyone in the Israeli administration agrees with the blockade on Gaza being lifted.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir describes the decision as a "grave and serious mistake".

In a social media post, he says that he has consistently been "strongly opposed" to allowing aid into the Strip because as well as the civilian population it will also "reach the hands of Hamas".

"It must be explained to President Trump that this humanitarian aid is endangering the lives of our soldiers," he says.

Israel's foreign ministry says it will begin letting trucks carrying baby food into Gaza today.

"Today, Israel is facilitating the entry of trucks with baby food into Gaza," foreign ministry director general Eden Bar Tal tells reporters.

"In the coming days, Israel will facilitate the entry of dozens of aid trucks."

Among the items to be supplied "immediately" to Gaza's population include flour to the main bakeries, supplies of items to central kitchens (both operated by international organisations), baby food and medical supplies, the foreign ministry adds.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

We’ve just been speaking on the phone to Mohammed Abu Rjileh, whose Shabab Gaza (Gaza Youth) charity has distributed around 2,500 meals today.

He said the number of meals served was far less than usual, and that it had been a struggle to find ingredients. Unable to find food items in storage, he sourced them at high prices from markets.

He said he was in the process of evacuating one of his kitchens, with volunteers heading to al-Mawasi, following Israeli military orders.

He told us last week that his charity was working on a "day by day" basis to find food to serve people in Gaza.

Organisations including World Central Kitchen, external and the World Food Programme , externalhave closed food distribution programmes in recent weeks because of stock shortages.

As we have been reporting, the Israeli government says it will now allow "basic" amounts of food into Gaza following the 11-week blockade.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Israeli President Isaac Herzog says he welcomes the Israeli cabinet's decision to resume aid to Gaza, which he says is "critical for maintaining basic human conditions".

Speaking at the 17th Plenary of the World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem, Herzog says ending the blockade is a "vital" step "for Israel to maintain its military capabilities, to operate in accordance with international law, and most importantly - in order for us to maintain our humanity within this tragedy".

Herzog adds: "Israel is facing a cruel, sinister enemy, that has tortured innocent lives, burned and maimed and abducted our sisters and brothers. But we are better. We will not allow our enemy to dehumanise us.

"We must be better. We will always lead with our humanity."

As a reminder, earlier Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a "minimal, basic bridge" was needed - "just enough to prevent hunger". He also accused Hamas of "looting" earlier aid.