Israel has defended its efforts to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, following sharp criticism of its handling of the humanitarian crisis unfolding inside the Palestinian territory, AFP reports.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that conditions in the territory are “deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications”.

Israeli NGO B’Tselem went as far as accusing Israel of “deliberately starving the population” to pressure Hamas.

Elad Goren, an officer with the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, COGAT, insisted Israel was making every effort to get aid in.

“We are trying to expand the humanitarian aid, and over 60,000 tonnes of aid have entered through Rafah. We would like the international community to increase its capabilities,” he told reporters.

“We are allowing hundreds of trucks into Gaza. It’s just a matter of logistics and what the UN can take and distribute inside Gaza,” he said.