"President Trump wants to alleviate suffering for the people of Gaza because he has a humanitarian heart. He announced a new aid plan today to help Gazans obtain crucial access to food – details are forthcoming," White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a comment to ABC News.

The UAE and Jordan air dropped critical aid into the Gaza Strip for a fourth day on Wednesday as an Emirati convoy of 58 lorries brought more humanitarian supplies into the enclave. Jordan's Petra news agency said the airdrops were carried out by two C-130 Royal Jordanian Air Force planes and an Emirati counterpart.

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. Israel's military said early on Sunday that it had airdropped humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, after also announcing humanitarian corridors for UN aid convoys.