Britain announced today it was putting £6.9 million ($10m) towards emergency humanitarian aid in the crisis-stricken Gaza Strip, but it was unclear how supplies would reach Palestinians as the Israeli bombardment continues.

Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, said that the money would help provide urgently-needed food and fuel to the Palestinian territory, shattered by four days of Israeli air strikes.

The promise of assistance comes as conditions deteriorated further in the besieged, teeming coastal strip of territory bordering Egypt, Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. Basic food supplies are believed to be running low and power cuts are affecting much of the territory. Hospitals are struggling to cope with the high number of casualties from the offensive.

Yet despite the aid pledge - the latest in a series made by countries worldwide - it remained unclear today as to how it would be distributed, with Gaza still largely sealed off under the near-continuous Israeli bombardment and aid organisations reporting that working within the territory was almost impossible.

Mr Alexander made it clear that, for Britain's aid to reach Gaza, there needed first to be a halt in the furious fighting which is plaguing the strip.

Echoing a ceasefire call made by David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, he said: "The limited aid that is getting through cannot be distributed properly because of bombing from the air and rocket attacks launched from inside Gaza.

"The fighting must stop to enable humanitarian agencies to help people in desperate need. The Government remains gravely concerned by the conflict and we renew our appeal to all parties to end the violence immediately."

Talking of the need for aid operations and how seriously the situation was deteriorating in Gaza, he said: "Aid is desperately needed in Gaza. The human cost of this conflict is unacceptable and the humanitarian situation is getting worse by the hour.

"Thousands are suffering. Medical items are in short supply. Fuel shortages have led to power cuts which in turn are affecting hospitals and other essential services. And UN stocks of food are very low."

Britain hopes that some of its planned aid will still reach Gaza even if no ceasefire is agreed, because Israel - although refusing a French initiative to stop the fighting today - has pledged to allow 2,000 tonnes of essential aid to get through.

Israel opened one of its crossings into Gaza for a third consecutive day yesterday, its defence ministry said, adding that a total of 179 truckloads of humanitarian supplies and 10 ambulances had been allowed through since the start of the military offensive.

The UN has said it will attempt to resume food-distribution operations tomorrow after a two-week pause. Most of Gaza’s 1.4 million residents rely on UN food handouts.

Several dozen chronically-ill Gazans have also been authorised to enter Israel for treatment today through the Erez passenger border crossing, Israel's ambulance service, Magen David Adom, said.

Speaking before the talks in Paris last night, Mr Miliband said the EU had an "important role" to play in the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip. "The humanitarian crisis is something that needs to be addressed, but there needs to be a ceasefire to underpin it," he said.

Mr Alexander added: "There does need to be an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Secondly, there needs to be immediate humanitarian access, which is why we have made this announcement.

"Ultimately what we need is a stepping up of the peace process because it is only through politics that we will ultimately see the resolution that we all want to see."

Britain's aid pledge is one of a series to be made by worldwide governments as the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza intensifies.

Among the pledges, Spain’s government on Tuesday said it would send £1m ($1.5m) of medical aid to Gaza residents - aid designed to supply a Gaza hospital for at least four weeks.

Norway, meanwhile, has promised £2.9million ($4.3 million) in immediate humanitarian aid and Cyprus has promised £146,000 ($211,500) in emergency assistance. Indonesia also made an aid pledge today.

Yesterday, peace campaigners aboard a ship being sailed by the Free Gaza movement said that their vessel carrying 3.5 tonnes of medical aid was rammed by Israeli naval vessels as it tried to dock in Gaza. The boat later docked in Lebanon.

Israel confirmed there had been "physical contact", saying that the crew had not responded to radio calls. At least one Briton was abroad the boat, which was also carrying doctors and journalists among its 15-strong civilian crew.

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