Gaza suffering has reached 'unimaginable' levels: Dozens of FMs

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached "unimaginable levels", Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said on Tuesday, calling on Israel to allow unrestricted aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

"Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation," the foreign ministers of 24 countries said in a joint statement.

"We call on the government of Israel to provide authorisation for all international NGO (non-governmental organisations) aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating," the statement said.

"All crossings and routes must be used to allow a flood of aid into Gaza, including food, nutrition supplies, shelter, fuel, clean water, medicine and medical equipment."

The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain.

The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and two other members of the European Commission also signed the statement.

Some EU member countries, including Germany and Hungary, did not sign it.