Nearly two months since a shaky ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip, international aid agencies say they have been able to reach hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with basic food supplies.

It is a far cry from the limited aid that was allowed in before the war was paused on Oct. 10 and a tight blockade of over two months was lifted.

The World Food Program said it was able to reach 1.1 million people in November out of Gaza's 2.3 million residents with food parcels and wheat flour.

Boxes containing rice, lentils, canned beans, tomatoes and cooking oil are distributed to people in some 59 sites across Gaza, including in Gaza city, said the WFP.

“This is the first aid box I've received in the last five to six months,” said Ahmed al-Mamlouk, a resident of Shati Refugee camp in Gaza city.

But the surge in humanitarian assistance following the ceasefire remains far below people's needs.

While commercial aid has also been flowing into Gaza the majority of the war-ravaged territory's population is dependent on aid.

Two years of war, expanding Israeli offensives and recurrent restrictions on aid have triggered a hunger crisis that drove parts of Gaza into famine.

The United Nations had said 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid was ready to enter Gaza as part of its two-month plan to massively increase help to the more than 2 million Palestinians following the ceasefire announcement.

So far, according to the UN tracking dashboard, just over 90,000 metric tons of aid has entered Gaza, just over 50% of the planned surge.

The World Food Program said due to limited supplies, it had to reduce its food rations by about a fourth.

Israeli restrictions remain on what is allowed into Gaza, including medical supplies, limited shelter needs and nearly no repair equipment.

There are also restrictions on which aid groups are allowed to operate in the territory.

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, the agency in charge of aiding Palestinian refugees, is still banned from bringing in or distributing assistance.

The opening of the crossing in northern Gaza in November allowed WFP and other aid agencies to directly reach Gaza city with cargo for the first time in two months.

But scanning and offloading of trucks remains slow at all functioning border crossings.

The first phase of the ceasefire has neared completion, though Hamas is still to hand over the remains of a last Israel hostage called for under the deal.