Humanitarian aid will be delivered to the besieged Syrian town of Madaya and two blockaded villages in the northwest on Monday according to an agreement finalized on Saturday, two sources familiar with the details said. The United Nations said on Thursday the Syrian government had agree to allow access to the opposition-held town near the border with Lebanon, where it says there have been credible reports of people dying of starvation. But it did not say when. "Both date and time have been set. Aid will go to three towns on Monday morning. All at the same time," said a source familiar with the negotiations. A second, pro-Syrian government source confirmed the details. Aid agencies have received permission from the Syrian government to deliver relief supplies to three besieged towns whose residents are reportedly starving, the Red Cross said on Friday. "We got permission to enter Madaya, Foua and Kefraya," Pawel Krzysiek, a spokesman of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told dpa. Krzysiek said that aid delivery to the three towns would start Sunday, at the earliest. "The assistance convoy is huge. We have to prepare the logistical part of it," he said. "It will be a joint operation with U.N. agencies and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent." However, yesterday the aid agencies including Red Cross could not enter the besieged towns and are expected to start the delivery today.

The Independent last week reported that 40,000 civilians are starving in the town after several graphic images of malnourished civilians were released on social media. Activists said the civilians had started eating weeds, insects and even cats. "Encircled by land mines and forces from the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, hundreds are suffering from malnutrition. With severe shortages of basic foodstuffs, many have resorted to eating wild plants, insects and even cats," the Independent said. An activist told the daily that the "Lebanese [Shiite] militia, which has been fighting on the side of [Syrian President] Bashar Assad in the Syrian conflict, was effectively holding civilians hostage in order to gain leverage over two embattled [Shiite] towns in Syria's northern Idlib province. The towns Kafrayya and Fua are besieged by members of the Islamist umbrella group Jaish al-Fatah." "One of its members, Ahrar al-Sham, was among the groups that had been battling pro-government forces in the strategic town of Zabadani, which lies close to Madaya," the report said. "The price of food has spiraled uncontrollably, with a 1 kilogram bag of rice costing as much as $100. One photograph showed a car for sale in exchange for 10 kilograms of rice or 5 kilograms of baby formula. The vehicle was incorrectly attributed to Mr. Alloush, according to Mr. Ibrahim. 'I wish Mr. Jamil had a car,' the activist said. 'He could sell it rather than dying like that. The poor man used to have a bike and nothing more.' He added: 'All those who have cars, they are offering them for sale.' The activists said that they had tried and failed to raise the plight of the entrapped inhabitants of Madaya. They have become convinced that no one cares," the daily wrote.