Gaza aid stuck at Rafah border crossing

The United Nations estimates Gaza requires about 100 trucks a day to meet the needs of residents, almost half of whom are believed to have been displaced by Israel's bombing campaign.

But it was only over the weekend that the first supplies were allowed to reach Gaza, a narrow enclave of some 2.4 million inhabitants, under blockade for years and complete seige by Israel after the latest violence spiraled into war.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths has called the deliveries into Gaza a "small glimmer of hope" but warned its people would "need more, much more".

The United States has vowed a continued flow of aid under a deal brokered by President Joe Biden with Egyptian and Israeli leaders.

More than 4,650 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in relentless Israeli bombardments in retaliation for the attacks, according to the latest toll from the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza.

Three convoys of aid totalling about 50 trucks have cleared the Rafah crossing since Saturday, reaching a populace in dire need of food, water and medical supplies.

The first of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the war-torn and besieged Gaza Strip on October 21 through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, said AFP correspondents on both sides.