Israel has long restricted aid to Gaza on the argument that Hamas steals it to use as a weapon of control over the population. On Saturday, the Israeli military announced new airdrops of aid.

Two senior Israeli army officers have told The New York Times there is no evidence that Hamas looted UN humanitarian aid in Gaza, undermining a central Israeli justification for severely restricting food deliveries to over two million people and driving the population towards famine.

The study's acknowledgment of severe limitations, combined with extensive documentation of Hamas aid diversion from multiple sources, raises serious questions about the reliability of its findings. A deeply flawed US government analysis,

Scores of aid groups say starvation is fast spreading in Gaza, and Israel suspended some military operations to allow the movement of relief convoys.