Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has said some food would be allowed into Gaza, which has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March, to avoid a "starvation crisis".

Axar.az reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the decision was "based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas".

The statement from the prime minister's office said it would "allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip".

"Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation 'Gideon's Chariots' to defeat Hamas," it added.

"Israel will act to deny Hamas's ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists."