Malnutrition rates in Gaza have risen during a more than 11-week Israeli blockade and could rise exponentially if food shortages continue, a health official at the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has said.

"I have data until the end of April, and it shows malnutrition on the rise," Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health, told a Geneva press briefing.

"And then the worry is that if the current food shortage continues, it will exponentially increase and then get beyond our control."

Israel has enforced a complete blockade of Gaza since March 2.

Israel has shut Gaza crossings for food, medical, and humanitarian aid, deepening an already humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to government, human rights, and international reports.

Israel cleared nine trucks of aid on Monday to enter Gaza through the Karem Abu Karem [Kerem Shalom] crossing, although aid workers said just five entered.

The World Health Organization, while criticising the amount of aid that has entered Gaza, has termed it as grossly inadequate.

"It is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed, and significantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza, starting tomorrow morning," United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said.

Over 93 pct of Palestinians experience acute food insecurity

The entire population of Gaza faces a critical risk of famine, with half a million of them facing starvation, a global hunger monitor said last week, calling this a major deterioration since its last report in October.

The latest assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysed a period from April 1 to May 10 this year and projected the situation until the end of September, according to a summary of its key findings.

The IPC analysis found that 1.95 million people, or 93 percent of the population in the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave, are living through high levels of acute food insecurity, including 244,000 experiencing the most severe, or "catastrophic", levels.

IPC's October analysis had said 133,000 people were in the "catastrophic" category.

The IPC analysis projected that 470,000 people, or 22 percent of the population, would fall into the catastrophic category by the end of September, with over a million more at "emergency" levels.

"Urgent action is needed to save lives and avert further starvation, further deaths and a descent into famine," it said.

The Israeli forces have since carried out deadly strikes on the devastated Palestinian enclave and began an extensive ground offensive on May 18 throughout northern and southern Gaza, dubbed "Operation Gideon's Chariots".

Israel’s bloodshed in Gaza has peaked since last week, coinciding with US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East and continuing since then.

Women and children are among the thousands killed by Israeli strikes.

The Israeli-enforced displacement of Palestinians has increased manifold. The UN and rights groups have time and again said, “No place is safe in Gaza.”