Thousands of Palestinians from the southern Gaza Strip gathered at the shore after aircraft dropped food aid.

Despite some of the aid dropped on Tuesday landing in the sea, people waded into the water to try to retrieve it while others boarded small boats.

Residents of the Gaza Strip, totalling about 2.3 million, face dire circumstances, with food supplies growing scarce. Israel’s blockade of the enclave prevents aid from entering northern Gaza, while only dribs and drabs are being delivered across the rest of the territory.

Famine is “imminent” in northern Gaza, the World Food Programme has warned. Aid agencies report they have been unable to deliver supplies there since January 23, as Israel continues its five-month war against the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

Amid the struggle of aid agencies to cope, other bodies have called for help. The aid on Tuesday was dropped with the participation of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths last week wrote to the Security Council calling on members to act to prohibit “the use of starvation of civilian population as a method of warfare”.

Nearly two million Palestinians have been internally displaced within the territory, which has been under an Israeli blockade for 17 years.

A rise in malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women poses a grave threat to health, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on February 19.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas-led attack on October 7. Nearly 30,000 people are reported to have been killed to date.

About 60 percent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN. There are acute shortages of clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.