GAZA/GENEVA - The UN World Food Programmed called on Tuesday for immediate action to avert famine in the Gaza Strip, warning that the humanitarian crisis there could soon worsen amid what it said were severe restrictions on aid flows.

A global monitor warned this month that the whole of the Palestinian enclave remained at risk of famine, with Israeli military operations adding to concerns and hampering humanitarian access.

"Now, as the situation in northern Gaza continues to deteriorate, the likelihood of a larger group being impacted by famine will surely increase unless conditions on the ground improve," said WFP, the United Nations' food agency.

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WFP said that it had approximately 94,000 tonnes of food standing by in Egypt and Jordan that could feed 1 million people for four months, but that could not bring it into Gaza because too few entry points were open and others were not safe enough.

Since Israel seized the Rafah crossing with Egypt in May - months after it began its offensive in Gaza following the Ham as-led attack on Israeli communities on Oct 7, 2023 - all routes into Gaza have been controlled by Israel.

"Restrictions on humanitarian aid coming into Gaza are severe," WFP said, adding that only 5,000 tonnes had entered the Gaza Strip this month.

Other constraints that needed to be addressed to improve aid flows in Gaza include approval of trucks and truck drivers and delays at check points, it said.

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Also on Tuesday, at least 93 Palestinians were killed and 40 others missing in an Israeli bombing of a residential building in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said.

The Israeli army shelled a five-story residential building belonging to the Abu Al-Nasr family, where over 200 civilians, including women and children, were present, the media office said in a press statement.

The statement added that the attack came in conjunction with Israel's plan to "bring down the health system in northern Gaza and destroy four hospitals there to render them nonfunctional."

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The office also accused Israel of preventing access to treatments, medicines, and medical supplies in the north, calling on the international community to immediately bring in surgical medical teams, ambulances, and civil defense vehicles.

Local sources and eyewitnesses said Israeli warplanes had targeted the residential building with at least one missile, leading to its complete destruction.

Dozens of dead people were transported by donkey carts for burial amid the disruption of ambulance and civil defense services, eyewitnesses added.

Paramedics expected the number of victims to rise due to the large number of missing people under the rubble, indicating that the rescue teams were facing difficulty searching for the missing.

READ MORE: Reports: At least 30 Palestinians killed by Israeli bombing in N. Gaza

Marwan al-Hams, director of field hospitals with the Gaza-based health authorities, called on surgeons to return to Kamal Adwan Hospital, where dozens of wounded were in desperate need of treatments. The director warned that most of those wounded in northern Gaza may die due to a lack of medical capabilities.

Meanwhile, the Civil Defense in Gaza said in a press statement that it had received appeals for help to save the lives of the wounded.

It noted the Civil Defense system had been completely paralyzed by the ongoing Israeli targeting, the arrest of its cadres, and the displacement of others.

In a press statement following the attack in Beit Lahia, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, official spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, attributed the ongoing Israeli violence against Palestinians to US support, saying it provided Israel with the cover to continue its killings.

No comment has been made so far by the Israeli side.

READ MORE: '53 killed' in Israeli strikes across Gaza

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 43,061, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.