UN say Israel not letting in enough supplies into Gaza to avert starvation – Middle East crisis live
Date: 2025-08-19T10:54:11.000Z
Title: Israel is letting some supplies into the', 'Gaza', 'Strip but not enough to avert widespread starvation, said the United Nations human rights office on Tuesday,
Content: UN human rights office spokesperson says risk of starvation in Gaza is a 'direct result of the Israeli government's policy'
Jane Clinton
Tue 19 Aug 2025 11.54 BST
First published on Tue 19 Aug 2025 08.36 BST
From
10.39am BST
10:39
Israel is letting some supplies into the Gaza Strip but not enough to avert widespread starvation, said the United Nations human rights office on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
'In the past few weeks, Israeli authorities have only allowed aid to enter in quantities that remain far below what would be required to avert widespread starvation,' UN human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told a Geneva press briefing.
He added that the risk of starvation in Gaza was a 'direct result of the Israeli government's policy of blocking humanitarian aid. Israel's military agency that coordinates aid, COGAT, said Israel invests 'considerable efforts' in aid distribution to Gaza.
Updated
at 10.40am BST
11.54am BST
11:54
The UN's human rights office on Tuesday condemned a far-right Israeli minister for taunting a Palestinian prisoner in his cell and sharing the footage online, Reuters reports.
National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir published a video on Friday last week showing him confronting Marwan Barghouti, the most high-profile Palestinian detainee in Israeli custody.
UN Human Rights Office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said the footage was unacceptable, adding: 'The minister's behaviour and the publication of the footage constitute an attack on Barghouti's dignity.'
Barghouti, now in his sixties, was arrested in 2002 by Israel and sentenced in 2004 to life in prison on murder charges.
Regarded as a terrorist by Israel, he often tops opinion polls of popular Palestinian leaders and is sometimes described by his supporters as the 'Palestinian Mandela'.
'International law requires that all those in detention be treated humanely, with dignity, and their human rights respected and protected,' said Kheetan.
He warned that the minister's actions 'may encourage violence against Palestinian detainees' and enable rights violations in Israeli prisons.
11.24am BST
11:24
The latest Gaza ceasefire proposal agreed by Hamas is 'almost identical' to an earlier plan put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
10.46am BST
10:46
Israel is studying Hamas' response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal of a potential deal for a 60-day truce and the release of half the Israeli hostages still held in the territory, two officials said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans for a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City, and Egypt and Qatar have been pushing to restart indirect talks between the sides on a US-backed ceasefire plan.
The proposal includes the release of 200 Palestinian convicts jailed in Israel and an unspecified number of imprisoned women and minors, in return for 10 living and 18 deceased hostages from Gaza, according to a Hamas official.
Two Egyptian security sources confirmed the details, and added that Hamas has requested the release of hundreds of Gaza detainees as well.
The proposal includes a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, which presently control 75% of Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the territory, where a population of 2.2 million people is increasingly facing famine.
10.39am BST
10:39
Israel is letting some supplies into the Gaza Strip but not enough to avert widespread starvation, said the United Nations human rights office on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
'In the past few weeks, Israeli authorities have only allowed aid to enter in quantities that remain far below what would be required to avert widespread starvation,' UN human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told a Geneva press briefing.
He added that the risk of starvation in Gaza was a 'direct result of the Israeli government's policy of blocking humanitarian aid. Israel's military agency that coordinates aid, COGAT, said Israel invests 'considerable efforts' in aid distribution to Gaza.
Updated
at 10.40am BST
10.22am BST
10:22
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese as a 'weak politician' on Tuesday, amid an ongoing row between the two countries after Canberra declared it would recognise a Palestinian state.
'History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews,' read a post on the official X account of Netanyahu's office, AFP reports.
10.17am BST
10:17
Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini has marked world humanitarian day paying tribute to frontline Unrwa staff in Gaza.
In a post on social media, he said since the beginning of the war Unrwa staff had 'paid a heavy price' with 'nearly 360 personnel have been killed, several in the line of duty' and 'hundreds have been injured'.
He added: 'Nearly 50 personnel have been arrested or detained and some were tortured before their release. Our staff are however not giving up despite the hell they experience daily.
'I also pay tribute to @UNRWA teams across the region who continue to provide services especially education + primary health care amid immense challenges & against all odds.
'As UNRWA goes through existential threats, our teams #ActForHumanity.
'They deserve support, respect & admiration.
'They are committed to continue their mission until a just solution is found to the plight of #Palestine Refugees + until the decades-long conflict finally ends through diplomatic & peaceful means.
'It's time
'It's overdue.'
9.56am BST
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The ministry of health in the Gaza Strip said it recorded 'three adult deaths due to starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours.'
This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 266, including 112 children, the ministry added.
9.33am BST
09:33
The UN security council has begun debating a resolution drafted by France to extend the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon for a year with the ultimate aim of withdrawing it, AFP reports.
Israel and the United States have reportedly opposed the renewal of the force's mandate, and it was unclear if the draft text has backing from Washington, which wields a veto on the Council.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), established in 1978, patrols Lebanon's southern border with Israel. The mandate for the operation is renewed annually, and its current authorisation expires on 31 August.
The draft text would see the council indicate 'its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL with the aim of making the Lebanese Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon, provided that the Government of Lebanon fully controls all Lebanese territory … and that the parties agree on a comprehensive political arrangement.'
The draft resolution under discussion also 'calls for enhanced diplomatic efforts to resolve any dispute or reservation pertaining to the international border between Lebanon and Israel.'
The Council's 15 members are expected to vote on the draft on 25 August.
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09:04
Here are some images coming to us over the wires.
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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Israel's war on Gaza.
A ship loaded with 1,200 tons of food supplies for Gaza is approaching the Israeli port of Ashdod.
It's expected to dock on Tuesday as part of renewed efforts to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
The ship is loaded with 52 containers carrying aid such as flour, pasta, rice, baby food and canned goods, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Israeli customs officials had security-screened it at Cyprus' main port of Limassol.
About 700 tons of the aid are from Cyprus, bought with money donated by the United Arab Emirates to a fund set up last year for donors to help with seaborne aid.
'The situation is beyond dire,' Cyprus foreign minister Constantinos Kombos told AP.
The Cypriot foreign ministry said Tuesday's mission is led by the United Nations but is a coordinated effort – once offloaded at Ashdod, UN aid employees would arrange for the aid to be trucked to storage areas and food stations operated by the World Central Kitchen.
The latest shipment comes a day after Hamas said it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire. Israel has not approved the latest proposal so far.
Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks stalled last month, raising the possibility of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine.
More than 200 Palestinians in Gaza have died of malnutrition or starvation in the war, according to health authorities.
Israel says its offensive is in self-defence after Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel in October 2023 killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed reports of starvation in Gaza are 'lies' promoted by Hamas.
Updated
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