The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain on Tuesday issued a joint statement expressing concerns over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The statement, published online by the British Foreign Office, said Israel should allow non-governmental organizations to work in Israel in a sustained and predictable way and ensure the UN could continue its work in the Palestinian enclave.

"(We) express serious concerns about the renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza which remains catastrophic," read the statement.

It also said Israel should lift what it called "unreasonable restrictions" on certain imports, including medical and shelter equipment, and open border crossings to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October after two years of intense Israeli bombardment and military operations in Gaza that followed a deadly attack by Hamas-led fighters on Israeli communities in October 2023.

Israel's Foreign Ministry called the joint statement "false but unsurprising" and "part of a recurring pattern of detached criticism and one-sided demands on Israel, while deliberately ignoring the essential requirement of disarming Hamas."

"The statement blatantly ignores the significant improvement in the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire came into effect," the ministry said in a statement posted on X.

A global hunger monitor said on December 19 that there was no longer famine in Gaza after access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries improved following the ceasefire.

But humanitarian agencies say far more aid needs to get into the small, crowded territory and that Israel is blocking needed items from entering. Israel says more than enough food gets in and that the problems are with distribution within Gaza.

Meanwhile, Bassam Zaqout, director of medical relief in Gaza, warned of the spread of leptospirosis among displaced people living in tents across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection commonly spread through water contaminated with animal urine. People become infected through direct contact with the urine of infected animals or with environments contaminated by such urine.

Zaqout said samples from suspected cases have been sent through the World Health Organization for testing outside Gaza, as local laboratories lack the capacity to conduct the tests.

Besides, the Palestinian government announced in a statement on Tuesday that it is partnering with international organizations to remove unexploded ordnance in Gaza.

However, Israeli authorities "are still not permitting the removal of remnants of war and are preventing the entry of equipment required to initiate the operation," read the statement.

The statement warned that more than 20,000 unexploded bombs remain in Gaza, posing a severe threat to civilians.

Palestinian organizations operating in Gaza reported that such ordnance has killed about 52 people and injured others since the outbreak of the conflict on October 7, 2023.

(With input from agencies)