Gaza is suffering man-made mass starvation caused by a blockade on aid into the Palestinian enclave, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

He spoke following an appeal by more than 100 aid agencies warning of hunger in Gaza while tons of food, clean water and medical supplies sit untouched just outside the territory.

"I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation, and it's man-made, and that's very clear," Tedros told a virtual press conference live-streamed from Geneva. "This is because of (the) blockade."

Gaza's food stocks have run out since Israel, at war with Palestinian militant group Hamas since October 2023, cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May - but with restrictions that it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups, according to Reuters.