Aid agencies

Aid agencies poised to help respond to 'humanitarian catastrophe' in Gaza - official

UNICEF's Middle East and North African spokesperson Saleem Oweis said the delivery of aid was much needed inside Gaza with no water, food and services. He said it was already shaping as a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israel has been carrying out attacks on Gaza in response to deadly raids that killed hundreds of people earlier this month.

A deadly blast at a Gaza hospital earlier this week has killed up to 500 people but no death toll has been confirmed.

Both the Israel government and Palestinian officials have blamed each other.

Tonga eruption: Aid agencies look at how best to support Tongans

International NGO's including Save the Children will be lead by the UN Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a meeting today.

Save the Children Fiji chief executive Shairana Ali said they were planning on how best to manage and provide fresh drinking water food and psycho-social support .

"All the stakeholders are going to be discussing the respective plans and to come up with a collective response, not only for Fiji but for Tonga and to get an update from the ground to get an appropriate response."

Yemen war: Aid agencies await Saudi clearance to reach rebel ports

UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator Jamie McGoldrick told the BBC that he hoped to receive clearance within hours.

The coalition closed Yemen's borders two weeks ago after rebels fired a missile at the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

But the UN warned the restrictions could trigger "the largest famine the world has seen for many decades".

Yemen is reliant on imports for more than 80% of its food, and it faced the largest food security emergency in the world even before the blockade was tightened.