US-backed Gaza aid group says people 'desperately need more aid'

A privately run aid organisation brought in to distribute food rations in war-hit Gaza last month with US and Israeli backing said on Saturday that people in the Palestinian territory "desperately need more aid".

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations at the end of May when Israel eased a two-month blockade on Gaza that the United Nations said had produced famine-like conditions.

The foundation's operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns, while many Gazans have been left with few other options to obtain food.

In a statement on Saturday, GHF interim executive director John Acree said that the organisation was "delivering aid at scale, securely and effectively... But we cannot meet the full scale of need while large parts of Gaza remain closed."

He added: "The people of Gaza desperately need more aid and we are ready to partner with other humanitarian groups to expand our reach to those who need help the most."

"We are working with the government of Israel to honour its commitment and open additional sites in northern Gaza."

According to figures issued on Saturday by the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire while seeking aid since late May, many near GHF sites according to rescuers.

GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points, contradicting statements from witnesses and Gaza rescue services.

It has said deaths have occurred near UN food convoys.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday that Israeli troops had killed another eight people who were seeking food.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire in the southern Gaza Strip, with another five killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving rations from a GHF centre.

Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities.

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

On Tuesday, the UN's World Health Organization pleaded for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its remaining hospitals running, warning the Palestinian territory's health system was at "breaking point".