Concerns raised in a confidential planning document appear prescient, with humanitarian groups, possible donors and some senior IDF officers questioning the plan.

After 19 months of pounding Gaza, Israel is now under growing pressure from unlikely quarters – some of its closest Western allies.

Pope Leo XIV says the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, "the heartbreaking price of which is paid by children, the elderly, the sick," must end and food must be allowed in.

A U.S.-backed organization aims to start work in the Gaza Strip by the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave, but the United Nations says the plan is not impartial or neutral,

Army denies Hamas claim that targeted gunmen were 'members of the aid security and protection teams… who were performing purely humanitarian tasks'; US formally lifts Syria sanctions

In a piece for The Guardian, Mr Husic says Australia "can and should be doing more" to pressure Israel, as it faces criticism from the United Nations and some former allies for only allowing "minimal" aid into war-torn Gaza.

UN chief Antonio Guterres today decried the "teaspoon of aid" Israel has authorised for Gaza, emphasising that a "flood of assistance is required." He again signalled the UN's refusal to join a new US-backed distribution plan.