Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

I've been catching up overnight with 31-year-old Adham al-Batrawi, who was telling me last week of the "creative ways" people in Gaza had found to survive, including turning pasta into an imitation of bread.

"Honestly, I don't really know how to describe the situation here, it's extremely bad," Adham, a graphic designer displaced in central Gaza, said by WhatsApp.

"There's a major shortage of food. I spent the whole day today searching for flour and couldn't find any. Things are getting harder every single day."

He adds the war "has shown us things I never thought I'd witness. I've had to do things I never imagined I'd have to in my entire life. It's heart-breaking".

Some 15 people have been killed in Gaza in Israeli air strikes since midnight, the Hamas-run Civil Defence service says.

The figure includes 11 who were killed during a strike in Jabalia in northern Gaza - with 13 more injured.

Two further people, including a child, were killed in a separate strike on the town.

In two separate strikes that took place in areas to the east of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, two more people died and others were injured.

The agency specifies these figures relate to deaths since midnight local time.

Separately, the AFP news agency reports that 19 have been killed overnight in total.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

I’ve been receiving more messages from people in Gaza, who have been telling me about their struggles with hunger as they wait for food and other aid to arrive.

As a reminder, Israel does not allow international journalists free access to Gaza, so many of our interviews are conducted over phone calls and messages, as well as by trusted Palestinian freelancers working with the BBC.

“We are in tents under the scorching heat, struggling with empty stomachs," a nurse in southern Gaza tells me over WhatsApp.

"My children are crying from hunger. I don’t know what to do - as a mother, I stand helpless. I can’t protect them from the missiles, or the hunger, or the heat, or the insects and crawling creatures."

A father of two in Khan Younis writes: “I am not well, neither I nor my children."

Image source, EPA

Nothing but domestic and international political pressure will convince Benjamin Netanyahu to pull back from a renewed offensive in Gaza, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Yesterday, the UK government announced it had suspended talks on a trade deal with Israel, summoned the country's ambassador and imposed fresh sanctions on West Bank settlers. It also ed other nations in condemning the situation in Gaza and calling for more aid to enter the territory.

Olmert, a critic of the current Israeli leadership, says the pressure is "not insignificant" but "not sufficient yet", suggesting US President Donald Trump "maybe" could tip the balance for Netanyahu.

On the UK's action, he says "carry on the political condemnation as much as you can", but adds "don't punish the Israeli citizens with economic sanctions", arguing many are calling for an end to the war.

"I consider the condemnation coming from Prime Minister Starmer and others as of the demand that unites the majority of Israelis to end the war and bring the hostages back," he says.

Rushdi Abualouf
Gaza correspondent, reporting from Cairo

Two million people are facing starvation in Gaza.

All eyes have been on the spot where the trucks are supposed to be taking or getting the food to the people. That is not happening.

Since yesterday, the trucks have been waiting and waiting and this morning it's the same situation.

Even 100 trucks are not going to make a huge difference, because Gaza has been without food for 11 weeks.

If you look at pictures people have posted from the markets, they're almost empty, there is no fruit, vegetables, no protein, no meat, no chicken in Gaza.

And most importantly, no fuel to run the generators in the hospital. No medicine into Gaza. 25% of the water in Gaza is contaminated and not drinkable.

So the situation remains very catastrophic.

On Sunday, Israel agreed to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza, ending its 11-week blockade.

Israel said 93 trucks carrying aid were transferred to Gaza on Tuesday, a much higher figure than the five trucks that crossed the day before.

However, the UN has said that aid has yet to reach the civilian population.

According to the UN, Israeli authorities required the UN trucks to offload their supplies on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is located on the border with southern Gaza.

UN teams inside Gaza were unable to collect the aid on Tuesday after waiting several hours for the Israeli green light to access the holding area.

There are five other crossing points controlled by Israeli forces – Kissufim and Gate 96, which are on the border with central Gaza; Erez and Erez West, which are on the border with northern Gaza; and the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which has been closed since Israeli forces seized it a year ago.

Starmer and Lammy sound genuinely angry at Israelpublished at 07:26 British Summer Time 21 May

07:26 BST 21 May

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

After more than a year and a half of the war in Gaza, Britain appears to have finally lost patience with Israel.

Speaking to MPs, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy sounded genuinely angry.

The PM said he was "horrified" by Israel's decision to escalate its military campaign.

Israel's actions, Lammy said, were isolating Israel from friends and partners around the world and "damaging the image of the State of Israel in the eyes of the world".

Britain is not alone in expressions of outrage or threats of concrete action.

The EU says it's reviewing its association agreement with Israel, which governs its political and economic relationship.

And on Monday night, Britain ed and Canada in g a strongly worded t statement, condemning Israel's military action.

Even US President Donald Trump has expressed impatience, warning that "a lot of people are starving" as he concluded his regional tour last week.

Image source, Reuters

Yesterday, the UK suspended talks on a trade deal with Israel, summoned the country's ambassador and imposed fresh sanctions on West Bank settlers.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the military escalation in Gaza as "morally unjustifiable" and said the conflict was "entering a dark new phase".

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the situation in the territory "intolerable", saying "humanitarian aid needs to get in at pace".

The move followed warnings of starvation in Gaza after Israel launched a new military operation over the weekend.

Israeli foreign spokesman Oren Marmorstein responded, external to Lammy's statement on X, saying the decisions on sanctions were "unjustified".

"External pressure will not divert Israel from its path in defending its existence and security against enemies who seek its destruction," he said.

The leaders of the UK, Canada, and also issued a t statement in which they called on the Israeli government to end its "egregious" military expansion and "immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza".

• You can read more about yesterday's exchange in Parliament in our news story.

Image source, Reuters / Cogat

As we've been reporting, Israeli officials say 93 UN aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip yesterday. However, the UN says its teams have been left waiting for permission from Israel to collect the supplies.

The Israeli military's Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat) says the aid includes flour for bakeries, baby food, medical equipment, and pharmaceuticals.

The aid was transferred through the Kerem Shalom Crossing "only after a thorough security inspection", it says.

"The IDF will continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip while making every effort to ensure that the aid does not reach the hands of the Hamas terrorist organisation," it says in a message on social media.

In another message on social media, addressed to the people in Gaza, Israeli military's Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir says: "We are not the ones who have deprived you of food, shelter, and money."

He adds: "Hamas is responsible for starting the war. It is responsible for the difficult situation of the civilian population - it brought destruction, and it will not be the one to rebuild."

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

The aid that has entered Gaza includes flour for bakeries, food for community kitchens, and vital medicines as well as desperately needed baby formula.

But while dozens of lorryloads of supplies have cleared Israeli security checks, so far, they’ve only been transported to the Palestinian side of the main crossing point.

The UN’s humanitarian office says its team in Gaza waited for hours yesterday for Israeli military permission to access the crossing and collect the supplies, but this was not given.

Experts have warned of looming famine in Gaza and under international pressure, on Sunday, the Israeli prime minister said a basic amount of aid would be allowed to enter.

Israel’s closest allies are calling for a dramatic increase in supplies going in. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the aid sent so far was “not in sufficient amounts".

Image source, Reuters

Aid is yet to be distributed in Gaza, the UN says, despite supplies entering following the end of an 11-week blockade.

According to Israeli officials, 93 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Tuesday "after a thorough security inspection".

But the UN’s humanitarian office says they have only been transported to the Palestinian side of the crossing.

It says its team in Gaza waited for hours on Tuesday to access the crossing and collect the supplies, but it says the Israeli military has not yet given its permission.

It comes amid rising international pressure for aid to reach civilians in Gaza amid warnings of looming famine.

We'll be following this story throughout the day, bringing you live updates, analysis and reporting, so stay with us.