The IDF said in a statement that it was taking several actions, including dropping "seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food" at the behest of the Israeli government to "refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip."

Earlier, aid agencies criticised Israel's airdrop plan arguing it would deliver very little and and endanger civilian lives.

Facing growing international condemnation over Palestinians starving to death in Gaza, Israel’s military is making a series of moves that it says will allow more aid into the enclave. Follow for live updates.

Palestinian health officials and the local ambulance service say Israeli airstrikes and gunfire have killed at least 42 people in Gaza.

The focus on air drops into Gaza is a "grotesque distraction" that will not reverse the territory's deepening starvation crisis, aid agency leaders have warned. Israel's military said early on Sunday that it had airdropped humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, after also announcing humanitarian corridors for UN aid convoys.

An analysis compiled by USAID officials says they failed to find evidence that Hamas engaged in widespread diversion of assistance in Gaza, ABC News has learned.

Against the backdrop of ongoing warnings of a deadly hunger crisis, some aid has reached the Gaza Strip, the United Nations said on Thursday. The UN confirmed that its teams were able to collect mainly flour at two border crossings on Wednesday and bring it into the coastal strip,