Several Palestinians and Israeli soldiers say troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for bombs and gunmen.

After 19 months of pounding Gaza, Israel is now under growing pressure from unlikely quarters – some of its closest Western allies.

Foreign contractors are set to carry out a contentious new food aid system in Gaza, displacing experienced aid agencies like the United Nations. It was conceived and largely developed by Israelis as a way to undermine Hamas.

The limited aid entering Gaza isn’t nearly enough, humanitarian groups say, warning that Israeli authorities' new rules have complicated distribution efforts.

Dr. Alaa al-Najjar left her ten children at home on Friday when she went to work at the Nasser Medical Complex. Hours later, the bodies of seven children - most of them badly burned - arrived at the hospital.

A U.S.-backed organization aims to start work in the Gaza Strip by the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave, but the United Nations says the plan is not impartial or neutral,

Israel appears to be changing tack as pressure mounts to get more aid into Gaza, and may let aid groups operating in the battered enclave take charge of non-food assistance.

Hours after the Al Haj bakery handed out its last piece of bread on Thursday, Jihad Al Shafie was still waiting, his hope of bringing some food to his family long gone.