Israeli Prime Minister said his decision to allow "minimum" food into Gaza after 11 weeks of lockdown is pressured by U.S. Senate allies.

Benjamin Netanyahu stressed in the video: “From a practical and diplomatic perspective, we must never reach a famine situation from a practical and diplomatic perspective.”

He said that only in Israel's military and U.S. companies have established hubs to reject plans under U.S.-backed plans can continue to food.

Netanyahu also announced that Israeli forces would “control all areas of Gaza” as part of an expanded ground attack on Hamas, which the Israeli military began on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes killed at least 20 people across the territory on Monday, according to first responders and hospitals.

The Israeli military said it has reached more than 160 goals over the past day.

It also ordered the evacuation of the southern city of Khan Yunis and its eastern suburbs, warning residents that it would launch "unprecedented attacks" there.

Israel stopped delivering all humanitarian aid and commercial supplies on March 2 and resumed its military offensive two weeks later, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.

It said the steps were intended to put pressure on armed groups to release hostages still held in Gaza.

Recovered Israeli bombing and ground operations have reportedly killed more than 3,000 people and displaced 400,000 people, and the United Nations said the lockdown has caused severe food, medicine and fuel shortages.

Last week, Hamas-operated Health Ministry reported that 57 children died from malnutrition in the past 11 weeks, and an assessment of the unsupported Integrated Food Security Stage Classification (IPC) warns that 500,000 people (one in five Gazans) face hunger.

The United Nations said Israel has an obligation to ensure the food and medical supplies of the Gaza population under international law. But Israeli officials repeatedly said there was no shortage of aid because thousands of truck loads entered Gaza during the ceasefire and accused Hamas of stealing supplies.

But after the pressure from allies increased, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced on Sunday night that "basic food will be allowed to bring to the population to ensure that there is no crisis of hunger in the Gaza Strip."

Key members of the cabinet strongly objected to the move. Among them is the far-right National Security Minister Itama Ben-Gvir, who called it a "serious mistake" that would "fuel Hamas and give it oxygen while our hostages are in trouble in the tunnel".

Benjamin Netanyahu defended himself from criticism in a video posted on social media on Monday.

"Since the beginning of the war, we said, in order to win - defeat Hamas and release all of our hostages, two intertwined missions - there is a necessary condition: from a practical and diplomatic perspective, we must not reach a famine situation."

The Prime Minister said he had blocked aid delivery through the United Nations and other humanitarian groups due to the Hamas robbery and now he is taking a "different approach" involving U.S. companies at the hubs obtained by U.S. companies from the IDF.

But, he warned that the “red line” is approaching now, “our best friend in the world, I know as a Senator of Israel’s passionate supporters” expressed concern about the looming famine.

"They came to me and said, 'We have all the support for you to win... but we can't accept one thing. We can't handle the image of hunger.''

He added: "So, in order to win, we have to solve this problem somehow. Until we establish these distribution points, until we establish sterile areas under the control of the IDF to distribute food and medicine, we need to provide the smallest basic bridge - enough to prevent hunger."

Israeli Army Radio reported that nine trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including baby food, would cross Gaza on Monday, but did not immediately confirm that Israel's military agencies control the crossing.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, “The Israeli authorities have been exposed to the recovery of limited aid delivery and we are now in discussions with them, given the conditions on the ground, we are in discussions with them.”

The United Nations and other aid agencies insist that they will not be able to distribute assistance with the Israeli US program, which contradicts basic humanitarian principles.

Netanyahu also said Israeli forces are in Gaza for “massive battles” and are progressing.

“We’re going to control all areas of striptease, and that’s what we’re going to do,” he said.

He said the "main goal" of the expanded offense was to defeat Hamas, which would result in the release of 58 hostages, with as many as 23 of them considered alive.

Although Israel and Hamas negotiators remain in Qatar, both sides say there is no breakthrough in a new round of indirect negotiations on the ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza on October 7, 2023 in response to Hamas' cross-border attacks, in which about 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were taken hostage.

According to the region's health ministry, at least 53,475 people have killed 3,340 people in Gaza since then, including 3,340.