By Emily Rose

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel rejected on Saturday a group of global food security experts’ warning of famine in parts of northern Gaza where it is waging war against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“Unfortunately, the researchers continue to rely on partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests,” the military said in a statement.

The independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) said on Friday in a rare alert that there was a strong likelihood of imminent famine in parts of north Gaza with immediate action required from the warring parties to ease a catastrophic situation.

Israel’s military said it had increased aid efforts including opening an additional crossing on Friday.

In the last two months, 39,000 trucks carrying more than 840,000 tons of food have entered Gaza, it said, and meetings were taking place daily with the U.N. which had 700 trucks of aid awaiting pickup and distribution.

With some critics decrying a starvation tactic in north Gaza, Israel’s main ally the U.S. has set a deadline within days for it to improve the humanitarian situation or face potential restrictions on military cooperation.

(Reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)