TRANSCRIPT
On the Mediterranean coast in northern Gaza, construction continues on a makeshift jetty for the delivery of aid through a new, maritime corridor.
It is hoped the completed jetty, as yet just a pile of rocks out into the sea, will soon receive the first of two deliveries of hundreds of tonnes of food from charity World Central Kitchen.
Amid warnings from aid agencies of looming famine for Gaza's remaining population of about 2.3 million, countries including the US and France have also stepped up air drops of aid.
Senior UN officials have welcomed alternative aid routes, but say they cannot replace delivery by land, which still sits at around 200 trucks a day, a third of the daily number received before October the 7th.
As the number of malnutrition deaths in Gaza since then approaches 30, Israeli Defence Forces aid coordinator Colonel Elad Goren says land distribution of aid remains "doable".
"When you want to find an excuse, you will find an excuse for the failure of your logistical, humanitarian operation. For a fact there are other war zones all over the world that the UN (has) delivered, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, now in Ukraine. They need to adjust themselves here. We are ready to hear from their solutions or their proposals. And we will do it with them."
But with the death toll in Gaza now more than 31,200 people, Israel has been told it must make "significant course corrections" by one of its most powerful US supporters.
US Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the country's highest-ranking Jewish elected official, has urged the country to hold elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He told the Senate Mr Netanyahu's rejection of the two-state solution and inclusion of far-right ministers makes him an "obstacle to peace".
"If Prime Minister Netanyahu's current coalition remains in power after the war begins to wind down, and continues to pursue dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing US standards for assistance, then the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change present course."
Republican politicians were quick to describe Mr Schumer's remarks as "highly inappropriate", accusing him of seeking to play a divisive role in the politics of one of the US's closest allies.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also distanced the Biden administration from the comments, saying the senator had spoken for himself.
But he called on Israel to take additional action to stop settler violence, as he announced sanctions on three people accused of undermining stability in the occupied West Bank.
"Look, there are a number of things that we want to see Israel do differently. We've made that quite clear. I've said it from this podium a number of times, and we've made that quite clear in direct conversations with the Prime Minister. But I don't have anything beyond that."
Mr Netanyahu's ruling Likud party later responded to Mr Schumer's call for elections, saying Israel is not a "banana republic".
In a statement it said the Israeli public rejected international calls to establish a Palestinian state, and opposed the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza.
This comes after Mr Netanyahu told troops he had been "pushing away" international pressure against a widely condemned offensive on Rafah, where over a million displaced people are sheltering.
"We have been doing this successfully for five months already, this is record time in the history of Israel's wars. I will continue to push away the pressures, we will enter Rafah, we will complete the elimination of the rest of Hamas's battalions, we will restore security and we will bring total victory for the people of Israel and State of Israel."
But domestic discontent with Mr Netanyahu's handling of the conflict continues to grow.
People have marched in Tel Aviv demanding the release from Gaza of all hostages - about 130 - including 32 believed to have died.
And in Jerusalem, protesters demanded an end to the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from compulsory military service.
Amid heightened tensions during the Muslim festival of Ramadan, Israeli police say at least 3,000 security personnel are being deployed across the city during the first Friday prayers.
This comes after police say a man was stabbed and critically wounded in southern Israel, and the alleged attacker, who they say grew up in Gaza, shot dead.
As the conflict shows no signs of easing, both Israel and Hamas blame each other for the breakdown of ceasefire talks negotiated by Egypt, Qatar and the US.
In his Senate speech, Mr Schumer had said it was "unfair" to blame Israel alone for the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, which he said ignores Hamas' role.
Afterwards, he took to X to defend his comments about Mr Netanyahu, matching them with calls for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resign to make way for a "new generation of Palestinian leaders".
This came on the day President Abbas announced a new prime minister, after the resignation of the entire administration of former leader Mohammad Shtayyeh last month.
The new prime minister, veteran politician and former deputy leader Mohammad Mustafa, spoke in January about the need for urgent reform in the face of significant challenges.
"Occupation is one of them, but there are also many other things - the fiscal situation is not great, the security situation caused by the settlers and the Israeli army and the raids they do everyday are not helping anyone to perform well. Nevertheless, we don't want to give excuses to anyone but I think we can also - the Palestinians Authority - can do better in terms of building better institutions, providing better government, so that we can unite our people in the next phase, so that we can reunite Gaza and the West Bank."
