Israel far-right minister says 'time to go in with full force' in Gaza

The UN warned on Friday that the entire population of Gaza is at risk of famine, as Israel vowed to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the occupied West Bank.

- AGENCIES

Israel has faced mounting international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the UN says only a trickle of aid has been allowed in after a more than two-month blockade.

Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war in Gaza have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in March following a short-lived truce.

Israel has meanwhile doubled down on its settlement expansion in the West Bank, while defying calls from French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders for a two-state solution.

Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, on Friday called Gaza "the hungriest place on earth".

"It's the only defined area -- a country or defined territory within a country -- where you have the entire population at risk of famine. One hundred percent of the population at risk of famine," he said.