Gaza is the hungriest place on earth, says Jens Laerke at the UN's coordination body for humanitarian aid (Ocha).
It is the only defined area, country or defined territory where the entire population is at risk of hunger. One hundred percent of the population is at risk of hunger, he says at a press conference.
Of the 900 trucks with emergency aid that have been cleared to enter Gaza since Israel lifted its blockade, only 600 have been unloaded on the other side of the border. Only a smaller proportion of the aid has been reloaded for further transport, according to Laerke.
"Operational straitjacket"
He describes the aid effort as "an operational straitjacket" and one of "the most complicated" in the world in recent years. Looters are a major problem.
I don't blame them, not for a second, for taking the aid that is in principle already theirs - but it's not distributed in the way we want, says Laerke.
Several witnesses tell of chaos at the three distribution sites run by the new and Israel-backed foundation GHF, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. GHF has been tasked with handling food distribution in Gaza despite opposition from the UN and several humanitarian groups.
Unrest broke out when one of the warehouses had been emptied of goods.
I came to get a sack of flour, a can of sardines or something. I have no food to give my children, said Mahmoud Ismael, who had walked several kilometers on crutches but had to turn back empty-handed, to AP.
Reports of gunfire
In central Gaza, smoke was seen from bombs near a distribution center and gunfire was heard from an Israeli tank located nearby. According to witnesses, Israeli soldiers opened fire to keep the crowds away.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the south reports that it took care of two people who were shot at a distribution center on Thursday.
GHF stated in a statement on Thursday that no shots had been fired at any of their distribution centers in the past three days.
On Wednesday, four people were killed when they tried to break into one of the UN's food warehouses in Gaza.
