Thousands of babies in Gaza could die within days without immediate food and medical aid, the United Nations has warned, as Israel allowed a limited number of humanitarian trucks into the besieged enclave for the first time in weeks, Time Magazine reported.

The UN said on Tuesday it had been granted permission to send "around 100" aid trucks into Gaza following an 11-week blockade.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned that 14,000 babies in Gaza could die within 48 hours if they do not receive urgent nutrition and care. Five trucks entered on Monday, he said, describing the situation as “catastrophic” and the current aid flow as "a drop in the ocean."

"This is not food that Hamas is going to steal," he told the BBC. "We run the risk of looting, of being hit by the Israeli offensive. We will be impeded, we will run huge risks, but I don’t see a better idea than getting that baby food in, to those moms, who at the moment cannot feed their own kids.”