LONDON

The UN World Food Program (WFP) reiterated that only a long-term cease-fire and unhindered humanitarian access could end the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip.

International organizations and agencies continue to urge an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and increasing flows of humanitarian aid amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

"As we count down to a new year, there is a different kind of countdown in #Gaza," the WFP said on X, adding: "We are racing against time to avert a complete collapse of even the most basic services and starvation for millions."

Last month, the WFP's Executive Director Cindy McCain issued an urgent plea from the Rafah border crossing for safe and expanded humanitarian access to Gaza as "humanitarian needs skyrocket" and critical food supplies reach dangerously low levels.

The Palestinian death toll in Israeli air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave has crossed 21,000.

In Israel, 1,200 people have been killed in an offensive by the Palestinian group, Hamas.