Israel said it resumed aid airdrops to Gaza on Saturday and was taking several other steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, amid mounting international pressure and warnings from relief agencies of starvation spreading there.

The statement issued late Saturday came after increasing accounts of starvation-related deaths in Gaza following months of experts’ warnings of famine.

It was at least the third vessel blocked this year while challenging Israel’s naval blockade and seeking to deliver supplies by sea to a population facing rising starvation.

Israeli forces intercepted the Handala, a Gaza-bound ship carrying aid and activists, within 70 nautical miles of its intended destination on Saturday night.

July 26 (Reuters) - Israel will resume airdrop aid to Gaza on Saturday night, the Israeli military said, a few days after more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the enclave.

The United Nations and experts say that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition.

"The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now," a joint statement from the three countries reads.