GENEVA (AP) — International aid agencies warned on Friday that plans presented by Israel to control aid distribution in Gaza, including a U.S.-backed proposal, will only increase suffering and death in the devastated Palestinian territory, which has been under a total Israeli blockade for nearly 10 weeks.

A U.S.-backed mechanism for getting aid into Gaza should take effect soon, Washington's envoy to Israel said on Friday ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East, without detailing how this would work with no ceasefire in place.

An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip and expand the military operation has alarmed many in the region. Palestinians are exhausted and hopeless, pummeled by 19 months of heavy bombing. Families of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are terrified that the possibility of a ceasefire is slipping further away.