The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has criticized new plans proposed by Israel and the United States to take over responsibility for distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza, saying they will exacerbate the suffering of children and families.

"The draft plan presented by Israel to the aid community appears likely to exacerbate the ongoing suffering of children and families in the Gaza Strip," UNICEF spokesman James Elder said in a statement on Saturday.

Elder added that his statement also applies to the new institution, which he believes is part of the same expanded plan.

Aid organizations already reject any plans that would give occupying power Israel a role in distributing aid in Gaza.

“Using humanitarian aid as bait to force people to flee, especially from the north to the south, will leave them with an impossible choice: between displacement and death,” Elder said.

He continued: There is a simple alternative, which is to lift the siege and allow humanitarian aid to enter to save lives.