JERUSALEM - ISRAELI Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday authorised the transfer of more than 100 truck-loads of aid into Gaza, his office said, as the army continued pounding the Hamas-ruled territory.

The one-off convoy to the besieged territory includes blood supplies, basic foodstuffs, medical equipment, 10 ambulances and fuel donated by Turkey, Jordan and international organisations, his office said in a statement.

More than 100 trucks will transfer the goods on Monday through the Karni, Nahal Oz and Kerem Shalom crossings between Israel and the Islamists-ruled territory, it said.

The United Nations special envoy to the Middle East Robert Serry said that Israel on Sunday had allowed 21 truck-loads of medical supplies and wheat into the impoverished territory.

Israel launched a massive air offensive in Gaza on Saturday that has so far killed nearly 300 people, after militants fired a wave of rockets against southern Israel.

Israel imposed a punishing blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized control of the coastal strip in June 2007, ousting forces loyal to Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas.

British aid agency Oxfam on Sunday warned that the Israeli military action risked triggering a humanitarian crisis.

'Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza depend on Oxfam and other international aid agencies for the basics of life - clean water, food and sanitation,' said Mr John Prideaux-Brune, Oxfam Great Britain's country programme manager in Jerusalem. -- AFP

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