Israel’s government has publicly dismissed warnings of extreme food shortages after it blocked aid deliveries, but an internal analysis concluded that a crisis looms if food supplies are not restored.

One in five people in the Gaza Strip are facing starvation as the entire territory edges closer to famine, a new United Nations-backed report warns, after nearly three months of Israel’s blockade of critically needed humanitarian aid.

The Gaza Strip is facing an imminent famine as Israel’s blockade and military campaign continue to restrict food, water, and medical aid, according to global food security experts. Nearly half a million Palestinians are living in “catastrophic” hunger,

The dead included local journalist Hassan Samour, who worked for the Hamas-run Aqsa radio station and was killed along with 11 family members when their home was struck, the medics said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military,

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation seeks to create an alternative aid system, but other groups have raised doubts about the feasibility of its plan.

By Michelle Nichols and Daphne Psaledakis UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S.-backed humanitarian organization said on Wednesday that it would launch operations in Gaza by the end of May and has asked Israel to allow aid to start flowing into the enclave now under existing procedures until it is set up.

A new humanitarian organization with U.S. backing says it expects to begin aid operations in Gaza before the end of the month