About 110,000 people have fled Rafah in southern Gaza and food and fuel supplies in the area are critically low, a UN official has said.

All crossings into southern Gaza remain closed, cutting off supplies and preventing medical evacuations and the movement of humanitarian staff, said Georgios Petropoulos, an official for the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs working in Rafah.

Some 1.3 million Palestinians – more than half Gaza’s population – had sought refuge in Rafah.

The World Food Programme will run out of food for distribution in southern Gaza by Saturday unless more aid arrives, Mr Petropoulos said.

UN officials warn that the lack of fuel is undermining medical facilities, water supplies and sewage systems across Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that a US threat to withhold some weapons would not deter Israel from expanding its offensive in Gaza.

A limited Israeli operation earlier this week captured the Gaza side of Rafah’s border crossing with Egypt, throwing humanitarian operations into crisis.

The death toll from the war in Gaza is more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials, and caused vast destruction to apartments, hospitals, mosques and schools across several cities.

The UN says northern Gaza is already in a state of “full-blown famine”.

The war began October 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others.

Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.