The focus on air drops into Gaza is a "grotesque distraction" that will not reverse the territory's deepening starvation crisis, aid agency leaders have warned.

An analysis compiled by USAID officials examining more than 150 reported incidents involving the theft or loss of U.S.-funded humanitarian aid in the war-torn Gaza Strip says it failed to find any evidence that Hamas -- the militant rulers of the Palestinian enclave -- engaged in widespread diversion of assistance,

A State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, but provided no such videos.

The Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry said at least 54 people have starved to death in Gaza just this week. Twenty-eight western nations, more than a hundred humanitarian aid organizations, and top UN officials have all said Israeli policies are to blame.

One in five children in Gaza City is malnourished and cases are increasing every day, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) says.