MSF calls Palestinian territory a 'mass grave'

Israel said on Wednesday it would keep blocking humanitarian aid entering Gaza, where a relentless military offensive has turned the Palestinian territory into a "mass grave", a medical charity said.

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Israel resumed air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas that had largely halted hostilities in the territory, with rescuers on Wednesday saying at least I were killed in strikes across Gaza.

Israel had already halted the entry of aid into Gaza on March 2, exacerbating the severe humanitarian crisis in the war-battered territory.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue preventing aid from entering the besieged territory of 2.4 million people.

"Israel's policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population," Katz said in a statement Wednesday.

"No one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and there are no preparations to enable such aid." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cited military pressure as the only way to secure the release of the 58 hostages currently held in Gaza.

"Hamas will continue to suffer blow after blow.