Picture used for illustrative purposes only.

The United Nations said Tuesday that it was no longer able to distribute food aid in the southern Gaza city of Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity.

The humanitarian crisis has escalated over the past two weeks since Israel launched an incursion into Rafah that closed a vital border crossing, vowing to root out Hamas fighters. The fighting sent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing out of Rafah, many of whom were displaced earlier in the war.

A US official said on Tuesday that Israel has addressed many of President Joe Biden's concerns about a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah, although the Americans stopped short of greenlighting a total Israeli assault on the city.

Israel and the United States are also seeking to contain fallout after chief prosecutor of the world’s top war crimes court requested arrest warrants for leaders of both Israel and Hamas. Among the prosecutor's allegations against Israel was using "starvation as a method of warfare.” Israeli and US leaders harshly condemned the accusations.

Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which Palestinian group Hamas' fighters stormed into southern Israel, killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.

At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians. Around 80% of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians has been displaced within the territory, often multiple times.

Associated Press