Three United Nations agencies urged Israel on Monday to allow access to the Ashdod port north of Gaza to deliver urgent humanitarian aid.

A joint statement issued by the World Food Programme, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization said that delivering food and supplies to the besieged Gaza residents, who face an increasing risk of famine, also depends on opening new routes for aid entry.

The statement reported that the use of Ashdod, located about 40 kilometers north of the Gaza border, is "extremely necessary for relief agencies," while the organizations called for a "fundamental change in the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, allowing larger shipments."

The statement also added that allowing humanitarian agencies to use this port "will enable much larger quantities of aid to be shipped, to then be brought by trucks to the most affected northern areas of Gaza, which only a few convoys have managed to reach."

The war between Israel and Hamas, which entered its hundredth day, has caused a humanitarian disaster for Gaza's 2.4 million residents, who face difficulties in obtaining food, water, fuel, and healthcare.

For her part, the World Food Programme’s Middle East director, Corinne Fleischer, told AFP earlier this month that opening the Ashdod port would reduce the time needed to transport food supplies to people in northern Gaza.

Fleischer said, "We purchase most of our food supplies in Turkey, and bringing them to the Ashdod port will reduce the time the operation takes to reach northern Gaza."

She added, "We need the northern crossings to be opened so that we can reach the north more regularly, where the food security crisis is deeper."

It is noted that Israel approved in December the temporary delivery of aid to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing (south), thereby opening a new supply route after weeks of pressure.