BEIRUT (AP) — The head of the U.N. agency that supports Palestinian refugees says progress has been made in providing food to some 18,000 civilians trapped in the Yarmouk refugee camp in the Syrian capital. But he says an agreement must be struck to also allow in desperately needed medical aid.

Yarmouk has been under a tight government blockade since mid-2013. U.N. figures show that more than 100 people have died from starvation and illnesses.

Since January, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency has provided intermittent food shipments to civilians caught inside Yarmouk, although fighting often cuts the deliveries for days at time.

The agency’s Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl tells The Associated Press that food delivery isn’t enough. He said in an interview Friday that medical supplies also are badly needed.

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