No aid scale-up yet in Gaza, aid agencies say

Three Israeli officials said Israel had decided to restrict aid and delay plans to open the border crossing to Egypt at least through Wednesday, because Hamas had been too slow to turn over bodies of dead hostages

Displaced Palestinians with their belongings pass by destroyed buildings as they return to their homes in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City. Picture: Jehad Alshrafi/AP

A major ramp-up of aid needed to ease famine and suffering in Gaza after two years of war has yet to happen, the Red Cross and UN agencies said on Tuesday, as Israeli authorities warned of slower aid flows as the southern Rafah crossing remained shut.

Three Israeli officials said Israel had decided to restrict aid into the shattered Gaza Strip and delay plans to open the border crossing to Egypt at least through Wednesday, because Hamas had been too slow to turn over bodies of dead hostages. The militant group has said locating the bodies is difficult, as not all burial sites amid the widespread rubble of Gaza are known.