The development followed an update from the head of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, that more than 14,500 youngsters have been reportedly killed in Gaza. Many thousands more are believed buried under the rubble.

Meanwhile, famine “continues to loom in the north” and humanitarian access remains “severely restricted”, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, in a post on social media.

“Virtually all 1.1 million children in Gaza are in urgent need of protection and mental health support,” she added, amid media reports that Israeli military activity in the last 24 hours has left at least 69 Palestinians dead, from Beit Lahia in the north to Rafah in the south.