The United Nations has suspended all food distribution in Rafah, citing security concerns and a lack of supplies.
On Tuesday, the UN revealed that no aid trucks had entered in the past two days via a floating pier set up by the U.S. for sea deliveries.
While it has not been specified as to how many people have stayed in Rafah since the Israeli military began its intensified assault there two weeks ago, at least several hundred thousand Palestinians remain.
The World Food Program said it was also running out of food for central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing Rafah have sought shelter in a frenzied exodus, setting up new tent camps or crowding into areas already devastated by previous Israeli offensives, according to The Associated Press.
Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the UN's World Food Program, warned that "humanitarian operations in Gaza are near collapse."
If food and other supplies don't resume entering Gaza "in massive quantities, famine-like conditions will spread," she said.
The warning comes as Israel does damage control following the chief prosecutor's decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, a move supported by three European countries, including crucial ally France.
The U.N. has warned for months that an Israeli assault on Rafah could destroy the effort to get food, medicine, and other supplies to Palestinians across Gaza.
Throughout the war, Rafah has been filled with scenes of hungry children holding out pots and plastic containers at makeshift soup kitchens, with many families reduced to eating only one meal a day.
The city's population had swelled to some 1.3 million people, most of whom fled fighting elsewhere, reported AP.
The main agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, announced the suspension of distribution in Rafah in a post on X, without elaborating beyond citing the lack of supplies.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UNRWA distribution center and the WFP's warehouses in Rafah were "inaccessible due to ongoing military operations."
When asked about the ramifications of the suspension of distribution, Dujarric replied, "People don't eat."
