With no let up in reported street battles and Israeli bombardment across Gaza on Thursday, UN humanitarians warned that the flow of vital lifesaving aid into the enclave has fallen by more than two thirds since the Israeli military stepped up its campaign in Rafah and seized the key aid conduit.

'Humanitarian facilities in Rafah are forced to close one after another...The flow of humanitarian aid supplies into Gaza, already insufficient to meet the soaring needs, has dropped by 67 per cent since 7 May,' reported the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, amid reports that kitchens, clinics and hospitals are shutting down.