Arab and Islamic nations condemn Knesset approval of Israeli sovereignty over West Bank
Eight injured in suspected car-ramming attack in central Israel
Red Sea vessel challenged by single small craft, UKMTO reports
Israel's army says identified projectile launched towards Gaza aid sites
Hamas agrees to 60-day truce in partial response to Gaza proposals
At least 59,219 Palestinians killed and 143,045 wounded since Gaza war began
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Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Khaleej Times
'Worst-case' famine unfolding in Gaza, child deaths rising, says UN-backed monitor
Famine is "now unfolding" in Gaza, with thousands of children malnourished and hunger-related deaths on the rise among the youngest, a UN-backed monitor warned on Tuesday. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said that air drops over Gaza will not be enough to avert the " humanitarian catastrophe". "The worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip," said the UN-backed group of organisations, used as a monitor to gauge malnutrition. "Immediate, unimpeded" humanitarian access into Gaza was the only way to stop rapidly rising "starvation and death", it said. The IPC issued their warning "alert" after days of aid groups sounding the alarm over hunger-related deaths in Gaza. Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume, amid warnings of a wave of starvation. The IPC said its latest data shows that "famine thresholds" have been reached in "most of the Gaza Strip". Hunger-related deaths of young children, it said, were rising. "Over 20,000 children have been admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, with more than 3,000 severely malnourished." Children under the age of five were dying of hunger, "with at least 16 reported deaths since 17 July", IPC said. "Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," it said Tuesday. Plea for access The group warned that "unimpeded lifesaving humanitarian access" was the only way to stop the growing number of deaths. "Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the Strip," it said. Over the weekend Israel declared a "tactical pause" in army operations in parts of Gaza, saying more than 120 truckloads of food were allowed in, with some countries — such as Jordan and the UAE — dropping food into the besieged territory. But besides posing a risk to civilians, air drops will be insufficient to "reverse the humanitarian catastrophe", warned the IPC. Delivering food by road is "more effective, safer and faster", it wrote, also warning that the most vulnerable suffering from acute malnutrition — including children — "need access to consistent life-saving treatment" in order to recover. "Without immediate action, starvation and death will continue to spread rapidly and relentlessly," it warned. The IPC alert did not amount to a new famine classification, it said, but was intended to draw attention to the crisis based on "the latest available evidence" through July 25. A more thorough so-called "advisory", in which the group issues its classifications, is underway and will be published as soon as possible, it said. In May, the IPC said there was a "risk of famine" in Gaza. The UN-backed group of organisations and institutions issues an internationally-agreed definition for famine that is used to gauge the level of acute malnutrition in countries.
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
'Worst-case scenario of famine unfolding in Gaza,' declares global hunger monitor
The world's leading hunger monitoring system on Tuesday issued a warning that the "worst-case scenario of famine" is unfolding in Gaza due to the Israel-imposed starvation and siege. 'Latest data indicates that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City,' the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said in a new report. 'Amid relentless conflict, mass displacement, severely restricted humanitarian access, and the collapse of essential services, including healthcare, the crisis has reached an alarming and deadly turning point.' The warning comes as nearly 150 Palestinian children and adults in Gaza have succumbed to death from starvation since March. "Malnutrition has been rising rapidly in the first half of July," the IPC said. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "Over 20,000 children have been admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, with more than 3,000 severely malnourished. Hospitals have reported a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths of children under five years of age, with at least 16 reported deaths since 17 July." The IPC called for immediate action to end the siege and allow for unimpeded access to humanitarian aid. Unrwa, the UN's largest humanitarian provider in Gaza, has told MEE that it has had 6,000 aid trucks in Egypt and Jordan for over four and a half months awaiting Israeli permits to enter Gaza. The IPC's latest analysis in May projected that by September the entire 2.1 million population would face acute food insecurity and more than 500,000 people would reach a state of extreme starvation. This is a developing story...
Gulf Today
4 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Israeli fire kills 78 more Palestinians in Gaza as aid delivery remains chaotic
Israeli strikes or gunfire killed at least 78 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Monday, including a pregnant woman whose baby was delivered after her death but also died, local health officials said. Dozens were killed while seeking food, even as Israel moved to ease restrictions on the entry of aid. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between fighters and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Under mounting pressure over the spiraling hunger crisis in Gaza, Israel said over the weekend that the military would pause operations in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi for 10 hours a day and designate secure routes for aid delivery. International airdrops of aid have also resumed. Aid agencies say the new measures are not enough to counter worsening starvation in the territory. A mourner carries the body of a Palestinian killed in an overnight Israeli strike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Monday. Reuters Martin Penner, a spokesperson for the UN food agency, told the media that all 55 of its aid trucks that entered on Sunday were unloaded by crowds before reaching their destination. Another UN official said nothing on the ground has changed and no alternative routes were allowed. Israel said it would continue military operations alongside the new humanitarian measures. A baby girl died hours after being delivered in a complex emergency cesarean. She had been placed in an incubator and was breathing with assistance from a ventilator, AP footage showed. Her mother, Soad al-Shaer, who had been seven months pregnant with her, was among 12 Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house and neighboring tents in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Another strike hit a two-story house in Khan Younis, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, according to the hospital. At least five others were killed in strikes elsewhere in Gaza, according to other hospitals. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on most of the strikes. It said it was not aware of one strike in Gaza City during the pause that health officials said killed one person. Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an overnight Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday. Reuters Israel says it only targets fighters and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the fighters operate in densely populated areas. The daily airstrikes across the territory frequently kill women and children. Images of emaciated children have sparked outrage around the world, including from Israel's close allies. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza "terrible.' Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine, to pressure Hamas to free hostages. Israel partially lifted those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead on a new US-backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence. Traditional aid providers have encountered a breakdown in law and order surrounding their deliveries. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid shipments, said UN agencies collected 120 trucks for distribution on Sunday and that another 180 trucks had been allowed into Gaza. Palestinians inspect the site struck by an Israeli bombardment in Muwasi, Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Monday. AP The United Nations and aid groups say the territory needs 500-600 trucks a day to meet its needs. Israel's blockade and military operations have destroyed nearly all food production in the territory of roughly 2 million Palestinians. Also on Monday, two air force planes from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped 17 tons of humanitarian aid in Gaza - an amount that would fill less than a single aid truck. Aid groups say airdrops are often ineffective and dangerous, with falling parcels landing on people or in combat zones or other dangerous areas. "At the moment, 2 million people are trapped in a tiny piece of land, which makes up just 12% of the whole strip - if anything lands in this area, people will inevitably be injured,' said Jean Guy Vataux, emergency coordinator in Gaza for Doctors Without Borders. "If the airdrops land in areas where Israel has issued displacement orders, people will be forced to enter militarized zones - once again risking their lives for food,' he added. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, warned that airdrops are "expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians,' and would not address the crisis. At least 25 people were killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid from a truck convoy passing through the southern Gaza Strip, according to health officials and witnesses. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, on Monday. Reuters Four children were among those killed, according to records at Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. The shooting occurred in a military corridor Israel has carved out between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah. It was not immediately clear who had supplied the convoy. Survivors at the hospital said Israeli forces had fired toward the crowds. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, according to the UN human rights office, witnesses and local health officials. The Israeli military has said it only fires warning shots at people who approach its forces. The Awda hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of seven Palestinians who it said were killed by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor. The hospital said 20 others were wounded close to the site. GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fares Awad, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service, said at least five Palestinians were killed and about 30 others were wounded by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid trucks from the Zikim Crossing near Gaza City. Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which Palestinian fighters killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50, and Israel believes that more than half the remaining hostages are dead. Most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Associated Press
