European countries ramped up pressure on Israel to abandon its intensified campaign in Gaza and let more aid into the war-ravaged territory, where rescuers said Wednesday new attacks killed at least 19 people.

Israel said 93 trucks had entered Gaza from Israel on Tuesday but the United Nations said the aid had been held up.

The UN announced Monday that it had been cleared to send in aid for the first time since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2, sparking severe shortages of food and medicine.

At first glance, the Instagram profile of Ms Rachel fits the image an influencer who has won millions of devoted subscribers for her sing-songy educational content for toddlers and parenting tips.

In a pink hairband and denim dungarees, the 42-year-old mother-of-two doles out advice on potty training kids and moral support for struggling parents -- always with a reassuring smile.

The leaders of Britain, France and Canada on Monday condemned Israel's "egregious actions" in Gaza and warned of joint action if it did not halt a heightened military offensive in the Palestinian territory.

But Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, saying their joint statement was a "huge prize" for Hamas in the Gaza war.

Director Tarik Saleh said he decided that, if he was going to address Egyptian politics head-on in his latest film, it needed to include Egypt's current president.

In his explosive political thriller "Eagles of the Republic", which premiered in Cannes on Monday, the Swedish-Egyptian filmmaker used real footage of President Abdelfattah al-Sisi and even found a lookalike to briefly play him.

"I don't have a choice because he's a constant. He will sit there until he dies," the Sweden-based director told AFP ahead of the screening in the Cannes Festival's main competition.

Israel said Monday it would "take control" of the whole of Gaza as it intensified attacks across the territory, where aid trickled in for the first time in over two months after the easing of a total blockade.

With supply shipments blocked by Israel since March 2, the World Health Organization warned Gaza's "two million people are starving".

Israel, facing mounting criticism over the humanitarian crisis, announced it would let limited aid into Gaza and said the first five trucks entered Monday carrying supplies "including food for babies".

Plans to drill for oil in the protected Mesopotamian Marshes of southern Iraq have galvanised villagers and activists determined to save the mythical wetlands already battered by years of drought.

"We will never accept it," marshes activist Murtada al-Janubi told a meeting, seeking to reassure anxious residents gathered in a traditional hall made of woven reeds from the wetlands, to discuss the government's plans for the UNESCO-listed area that is their home.

Everyone nodded in approval.

For weeks, Ziad Abu al-Dahab has been training for gold at an equestrian tournament near Damascus -- in a sport once dominated by Syria's Assad family and their inner circle.

"Results used to be decided in advance, always favouring those close to the government," the 25-year-old rider said.

"My greatest ambition was to reach third place, but today, I can aim for first and do well with my new horse."

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday his country would keep enriching uranium "with or without a deal" with world powers, despite ongoing negotiations over its nuclear programme.

"If the US is interested in ensuring that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, a deal is within reach, and we are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that will forever ensure that outcome," Araghchi posted on X.

"Enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal," he said.

Italian parliamentarians protested on Sunday in front of Egypt's Rafah border crossing with Gaza, calling for aid access and an end to the war in the devastated Palestinian territory.

"Europe is not doing enough, nothing to stop the massacre," Cecilia Strada, an Italian member of the European parliament, told AFP.

The group -- including 11 members of the Italian parliament, three MEPs and representatives of NGOs -- held signs reading "Stop genocide now", "End illegal occupation" and "Stop arming Israel".

Israel will allow a "basic amount" of food into the Gaza Strip, the prime minister's office said Sunday, after facing mounting pressure to lift a total blockade imposed more than two months ago.

The announcement came hours after the military said it had begun "extensive ground operations" in a newly intensified campaign in Gaza, and as Israel and Hamas engaged in indirect talks on a deal to potentially halt the fighting.