Daily SumUp

Israel has announced it will allow a "basic amount of food" to enter Gaza to ensure that "no starvation crisis develops" after blockading the territory for 10 weeks.

A statement from the prime minister's office said the move was made on recommendation of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and based on the need to support its renewed military offensive against Hamas.

The announcement came hours after Israel's military said it had begun "extensive ground operations" throughout Gaza.

Israel has come under increasing pressure to lift its blockade, during which no food, fuel or medicines have been allowed in.

Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among Gaza's 2.1 million population, as footage and accounts emerge of emaciated children suffering malnutrition.

French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot called on Israel to allow the "immediate, massive and unhampered" resumption of aid to Gaza.

The statement from Netanyahu's office said that Israel would allow "a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population" of Gaza to "make certain no starvation crisis develops" – adding that such a situation would jeopardise its new offensive, named Operation Gideon's Chariot.