‘Worst-case famine scenario' unfolding as Starmer calls emergency cabinet meeting
A UN-backed food security body said recent developments, including Israel's tightening blockades, have 'dramatically worsened' conditions in Gaza, which has been on the brink of famine for two years.
The 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out,' the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said.
It comes after Donald Trump acknowledged 'real starvation ' in Gaza and pledged to set up food centres without 'fences'.
He dismissed Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's claim that there was no starvation in Gaza and urged him to ensure aid reaches Palestinians.
Local officials confirmed at least 14 more Palestinians, including two children, had died from hunger and malnutrition, bring the toll from starvation to 147, including 88 children.
If you're just joining us:
A UN-backed food security monitor this morning alerted that 'the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip' .
The alert said famine thresholds have been met for most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a global authority providing criteria for famine but it is up to aid agencies and governments to officially declare famine.
Israel's foreign minister denied accusations that it's withholding aid, saying it's a 'lie'.
The death toll has now surpassed 60,000 in Gaza, according to the enclave's health ministry.
In Scotland, Trump has said he's working with Israel's prime minister 'to try and get things straightened out'.
Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 13:16
In pictures: Inside an aid package dropped from the sky over Gaza
Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 13:00
ICYMI: Trump calls out 'real starvation' in Gaza
US president Donald Trump said on Monday that he is 'not particularly convinced' by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that there is no starvation in Gaza, adding: 'Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry.'
Later, Trump asserted there was 'real starvation' in the territory, saying: 'You can't fake that', and pledged to set up 'food centres' in Gaza amid growing global outrage over the humanitarian crisis.
Israel has denied widespread famine, calling the images of emaciated children misleading or isolated, but has begun daily 10-hour pauses in fighting to allow more aid to enter by land and air.
Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 12:56
'I haven't eaten since yesterday, I worry about the baby I am carrying': pregnant mother in Nuseirat
A mother of five and currently pregnant, Samah, 32, has not eaten since yesterday.
'No flour, no food, no water. I swear to God. The place we're in is destitute.
'I am pregnant, but I have not eaten anything since yesterday. I swear to God. The children and the elderly too. We have a diabetic family member, he had two surgeries, he is in need of food and water, and safety, but there is none.
'I do not worry about myself when it comes to eating and drinking water, I worry about the baby I'm carrying. I worry about securing diapers and formula milk for my baby. This is the biggest source of stress and pressure that I am experiencing as a mother. Now I am preparing diapers for the baby using rags because there are no diapers because a bag of diapers is being sold for 4 or 5 million shekels.'
Samah is currently displaced in Nuseirat and travelled on foot to the CARE clinic, which provides children, pregnant and breastfeeding women with malnutrition screening and supplements.
'I used to pray every day that things will get better and that food, water, formula milk and diapers for the children would get in,' she told CARE.
'After an airstrike hit really close to the place we were in, we said we do not want food, we just want an end to the bloodshed and an end to this war, because mentally we are destroyed.'
Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 12:30
Trump says he's 'straightening things out' with Netanyahu
US President Donald Trump has said he's 'working to get things straightened out' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking to reporters in Scotland, Trump's comments follow his meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday.
Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 12:24
'Safe spaces are becoming virtually non-existent': IPC
The latest IPC report on Gaza on a worst-case famine scenario unfolding in Gaza has also found that safe spaces in the besieged enclave are shrinking.
'Safe spaces are becoming virtually non-existent,' the latest IPC report found.
'The population is increasingly confined to ever-shrinking areas not designated as military zones or subject to displacement orders - primarily in Gaza City and the middle governorates.'
Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 12:11
UN agencies renew calls for unconditional aid deliveries
UN agencies have issued a joint response to today's famine alert by the UN-backed IPC food security body, highlighting the desperate need for action in Gaza.
'Emaciated children and babies are dying from malnutrition in Gaza,' the UN's agency for the welfare of children said.
Unicef chief Catherine Russell called for 'immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian access across Gaza' to scale up food, water and medical deliveries.
'Without that, mothers and fathers will continue to face a parent's worst nightmare, powerless to save a starving child from a condition we are able to prevent.'
The World Food Programme's executive director said waiting for the official IPC confirmation of famine to provide aid is 'unconscionable'.
'The longer we wait to act, the higher the death toll will rise,' Cindy McCain said.
Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 12:00
Young mother struggles to breastfeed 11-month old son in Deir Al-Balah
Noura, 27, carefully cradled her 11-month toddler while waiting in line to get him screened for malnutrition at CARE's primary healthcare centre in Deir Al-Balah. He has already missed some of his developmental milestones like crawling and teething.
'My son is supposed to be drinking formula milk, but there is none to offer. I give him an empty feeding bottle just to distract him,' Noura told CARE.
'I am barely able to breastfeed him, my milk has almost dried up because I'm also not eating well.'
Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 11:30
Analysis: Peter Kyle's comments opposing Palestinian state recognition are more about cabinet splits
The tech secretary Peter Kyle was very strong this morning in his opposition to recognising Palestinian statehood.
He warned against 'rewarding Hamas' for its 7 October attacks and made his opposition very clear over a change of policy.
But these comments were less about government policy and more about cabinet splits.
Mr Kyle is one of a group of cabinet ministers including chancellor Rachel Reeves and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden who were previously senior officers in Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), a very influential group in the party.
They played a major role with LFI in tackling the antisemitism on the party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership and restoring trust with Jews.
But like LFI now they do not want the Oslo Accords ripped up with premature recognition of a Palestinian state.
They want it to be part of a lengthy peace process towards a two state solution.
Across the floor on this are cabinet ministers such as deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and justice secretary Shabana Mahmood who want the UK to recognise a Palestinian state now.
David Maddox, political editor29 July 2025 11:29
Tory ex-foreign ministers leave Kemi Badenoch isolated on Palestine
Tobias Ellwood, the last Tory foreign minister to lead a debate against early recognition of a Palestinian state, has written for The Independent today explaining why he has changed his mind.
It comes as another respected Tory former foreign minister Alistair Burt has also broken ranks with his party this morning saying now is the time to recognise Palestine as a state.
The interventions are a major embarrassment for the current Tory leader Kemi Badenoch who over the weekend doubled down on her opposition to the move.
In his piece Mr Ellwood argued that recognising Palestine as a state now may be the only way to save the prospects of a two-state solution.
He said: 'Waiting endlessly for the 'perfect moment' is not a strategy. The current status quo, or the pursuit of a one-state solution, will only entrench a perpetual insurgency, fuelled externally and leaving Israel in a state of permanent tensions with its neighbours.'
The issue is just the latest example of a divide between centrist Tories and the increasingly strident right-wing leadership of Ms Badenoch.
Why I've changed my mind about a state of Palestine
David Maddox, political editor29 July 2025 11:16
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Some tourists and business travelers may face up to $15,000 bond to enter US
The US state department has prepared plans to impose bonds as high as $15,000 for some tourism and business visas, according to a draft of a temporary final rule. The bonds would be issued to visitors from countries with significant overstay rates, under a 12-month pilot program. It renews an initiative issued by the first Trump administration in November 2020, the month that Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the presidential election. That rule would have required a $15,000 bond for tourist and business travelers from two dozen countries with 10% or higher overstay rates, mostly in Africa. The new federal registry notice of the visa bond pilot program is scheduled to be published on 5 August. 'The Pilot Program will enable the Department to assess the operational feasibility of posting, processing, and discharging visa bonds, in coordination with the Department of the Treasury ('Treasury') and the Department of Homeland Security ('DHS'), and to inform any future decision concerning the possible use of visa bonds to ensure nonimmigrants using these visa categories comply with the terms and conditions of their visas and timely depart the United States,' it states. It said it would announce the countries in question at the ' website no fewer than 15 days before the pilot program takes effect. It also said the list might change, again with 15 days notice. Tourists and business travelers would receive their bonds back when they depart the US, are naturalized as a citizen or die, according to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement regulations. The original six-month pilot program was never implemented. A state department spokesperson told Reuters that countries would be selected based on 'high overstay rates, screening and vetting deficiencies, concerns regarding acquisition of citizenship by investment without a residency requirement, and foreign policy considerations'. The department did not provide an estimate on the number of applicants who could be affected. The Trump administration has cracked down on immigration to the US, including terminating temporary protected status for many people living in the US, and banning immigration visas outright for 12 countries. The bond policy could build on the president's travel ban, which went into effect in June, mainly impacting countries in the the Middle East and Africa. Chad, Eritrea, Haiti, Myanmar and Yemen were targeted under the ban and also have high rates of visa overstays. Other countries with high overstay rates include Burundi, Djibouti and Togo, Reuters said, citing federal data from 2023. The US Travel Association, a group that represents major tourism firms, said in a statement that the scope of the visa bond pilot 'appears to be limited', affecting an estimated 2,000 applicants, likely from countries with low rates of travel to the US. The state department last month also unveiled new guidance directing US diplomats to review the online activity of foreign students before issuing educational and exchange visas. Students who refuse to unlock their social media profiles will be suspected of hiding the activity from US officials. The announcement of the new policy comes as data has shown the US is suffering a sharp decline in tourism, including an 11.6% decrease in overseas visitors in March, with the tourism industry expected to lose out on billions of dollars this year due to government actions. Travel from Canada and Mexico has fallen by 20% year over year, according to the US Travel Association. That group has also warned about the impact of requiring visitors to pay a $250 'visa integrity fee', which was included in Trump's sweeping tax bill last month. That fee, if adopted, would be one of the highest in the world for a country to charge. There have also been increasing accounts of tourists and visitors with valid visas getting detained by Ice, escalating fears that a trip to the US could carry serious risks. Reuters contributed reporting
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Epstein victim condemns ‘political warfare' in Trump administration's effort to release grand jury transcripts
A victim of Jeffrey Epstein has condemned what they called the Trump administration's 'political warfare' in its handling of government files on the late convicted sex offender as the Justice Department pushes for the release of grand jury transcripts in his New York federal case. Epstein was a wealthy financier who died in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges. He had been accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls. About a decade earlier, Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. Early last month, the DOJ and FBI came out with a memo stating there was no so-called client list of powerful people who may have partaken in Epstein's crimes; it also said Epstein did, in fact, die by suicide, and 'no further disclosure [of information regarding Epstein] would be appropriate or warranted.' The memo sparked backlash, notably from Trump's own base, as it left many unanswered questions and concerns the government may be covering up materials that would be of interest to the public. Trump then asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to 'produce any and all pertinent' grand jury testimony from the investigations into Epstein, 'subject to Court approval,' citing the 'ridiculous amount of publicity' over them. A Florida judge quickly denied the DOJ's request but the feds' bid in New York is still being considered. Victims in the New York case were asked to respond to the DOJ's request and two of them did so in court documents filed Monday. Both were unnamed as is their right to remain anonymous. One Epstein survivor wrote to District Judge Richard Berman, 'Dear United States, I wish you would have handled and would handle the whole 'Epstein Files' with more respect towards and for the victims. I am not some pawn in your political warfare.' 'What you have done and continue to do is eating at me day after day as you help to perpetuate this story indefinitely. Why not be completely transparent? Show us all the files with only the necessary redactions! Be done with it and allow me/us to heal,' the victim said. In the letter to the judge the victim also seemingly called out the Trump administration for what they said was its protection of the wealthy over Epstein's victims. 'You protect yourself and your powerful and wealthy 'friends' (not enemies) over the victims, why? The victims know the truth, we know who are in the files and now so do you,' the victim said. It's unclear who exactly the victim was referring to, but Trump's decades-old relationship with Epstein has recently been scrutinized, and there have been reports the president was told his name appears in the Epstein files. Trump reportedly cut ties with Epstein before his 2008 plea deal and appearing in the files does not mean there was any wrongdoing. Trump himself has denied any wrongdoing. The victim asked Berman to have the attorneys of the victims review any suggested redactions if the transcripts are released. The Independent has reached out to the White House and DOJ for comment. Another victim told Berman: 'The latest attention on the 'Epstein Files', the 'Client List' is OUT OF CONTROL and the ones that are left to suffer are not the high-profile individuals, IT IS THE VICTIMS. Why the lack of concern in handling such sensitive information for the victims sake?' That survivor also called out the feds for what they saw as protecting 'wealthy men.' 'I feel like the DOJ's and FBI's priority is protecting the 'third-party', the wealthy men by focusing on scrubbing their names off the files of which the victims, 'know who they are,'' they said. The victim asked Berman to consider a third-party review of any documents that may be released ' to ensure that NO victims names or likenesses are revealed.'
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Russia walks out of ballistic missile treaty with US as Medvedev warns nemesis Donald Trump & Europe ‘expect more'
The treaty banned missiles capable of hitting targets up to 3,400 miles away ROCKET MAN Russia walks out of ballistic missile treaty with US as Medvedev warns nemesis Donald Trump & Europe 'expect more' DMITRY Medvedev slammed NATO's 'anti-Russian policy' for driving Russia to scrap the Cold War-era moratorium on nuclear missiles. In his latest online clash with Donald Trump, the ex-Russian president ominously warned the West to 'expect further steps'. Advertisement 5 The Kremlin announced on Monday it was withdrawing from its self-imposed ban on deploying mid- and short-range missiles Credit: Getty 5 Ex-President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia's withdrawal was 'the result of NATO countries' anti-Russian policy' Credit: AFP 5 Footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry on March 2024 purportedly shows the test firing of an ICBM Credit: AFP Medvedev's comments came shortly after Russia's Foreign Ministry said the country no longer regarded itself bound by the moratorium on the deployment of short- and medium-range nuclear missiles. The ex-president wrote on X on Monday: "The Russian Foreign Ministry's statement on the withdrawal of the moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles is the result of NATO countries' anti-Russian policy. "This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps." The deputy head of Russia's powerful Security Council did not elaborate on the nature of the "further steps". Advertisement The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed in December 1987 by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. But the US withdrew from the treaty in 2019, accusing Russia of breaking the rules. Moscow has since said it will not deploy the missiles - with ranges of 311 to 3,418 miles - unless Washington does first. But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned last December that Moscow would have to respond to what he called the US and NATO's "destabilising actions". Advertisement The ministry said: "Since the situation is developing towards the actual deployment of U.S.-made land-based medium- and short-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Foreign Ministry notes that the conditions for maintaining a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar weapons have disappeared." It comes as Trump said on Friday that he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned to "the appropriate regions". Russia and China begin war games in Sea of Japan after Trump nuclear threat Trump and Medvedev have been locked in a war of words after the ex-Russian president accused Trump of 'playing the ultimatum game' over the White House's push to end the war in Ukraine. Trump first gave Putin 50 days to end the war - but slashed the deadline to just 10 days from July 29 due to a lack of progress on Moscow's part. Advertisement The US president also vowed to impose secondary tariffs on Russia if a ceasefire agreement is not reached by August 8. Medvedev ominously warned Trump that Russia "isn't Israel or even Iran". 5 It comes as Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned near Russia Credit: Getty 5 A photo taken from video released by the Russian Defence Ministry in August 2024 of a Russian Army Buk-2M missile system targeting Ukraine Credit: AP Advertisement "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war," he wrote on a post on X. Trump blasted Medvedev's comments as 'foolish and inflammatory' before ordering nuclear submarines to be deployed near Russian waters. "Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions," Trump wrote on Truth Social. The US has the world's largest fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, led by the USS Virginia - a 377-foot vessel armed with cruise missiles. Advertisement
