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CNBC
29-07-2025
- Politics
- CNBC
UK plans to recognize Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes action
Britain said on Tuesday it would recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel takes steps to relieve suffering in Gaza, where starvation is spreading, and reaches a ceasefire in the nearly two-year war with Hamas. The warning came after a hunger monitor said a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death. Palestinian authorities said more than 60,000 Palestinians were now confirmed killed by Israel's air and ground assault on the Gaza Strip. The hunger alert and the new death toll are grim milestones in a conflict that began almost two years ago when Hamas attacked Israel, sparking an offensive that has flattened much of the enclave and ignited hostilities across the Middle East. The alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the man-made starvation crisis in Gaza could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let in far more food. Britain's warning heightens pressure on Israel amid an international outcry over its conduct of the war. France announced it would recognise Palestinian statehood last week in a move that enraged the Israeli government. Israel dismissed Britain's announcement as a "reward" for Hamas. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his cabinet on Tuesday that Britain would follow suit at the United Nations General Assembly in September "unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution," his government said. The move, if carried through, would be mostly symbolic, with Israel occupying the territories where the Palestinians have long aimed to establish that state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital. It makes Israel appear more isolated on the international stage as a growing number of countries call for it to allow unfettered aid into Gaza, where it controls all entry and exit points to the besieged coastal territory. However, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration - Israel's closest and most influential ally - has made clear it has no intention of joining others in recognising Palestinian statehood anytime soon. Since returning to office in January, Trump has left it unclear whether he would support an eventual Palestinian state. Trump said on Tuesday he and Starmer did not discuss Britain's proposal to recognise a Palestinian state when the two held talks in Scotland over the weekend. Trump told reporters at the time he did "not mind" if Britain did so. With the international furor over Gaza's ordeal growing, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the U.N. World Food Programme said on Tuesday it was not getting the permissions it needed to deliver enough aid since Israel began humanitarian pauses in warfare on Sunday. "Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," the IPC said, adding that "famine thresholds" have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza. It said it would quickly carry out the formal analysis that could allow it to classify Gaza as "in famine". Gaza health authorities have been reporting more and more people dying from hunger-related causes. The total stands at 147, among them 88 children, most of whom died in the last few weeks. Images of emaciated Palestinian children have shocked the world, with Israel's strongest ally Trump declaring that many people were starving. He promised to set up new "food centres". Israel has denied pursuing a policy of starvation. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that the situation in Gaza was "tough" but there were lies about starvation there. The Gazan casualty figures, which are often cited by the U.N. and have previously been described as reliable by the World Health Organisation, underline the war as the deadliest involving Israel since its establishment in 1948. Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, when militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage - Israel's deadliest ever day. Since Israel launched ground operations in Gaza in October 2023, 454 soldiers have been killed. The new Palestinian toll does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Thousands more bodies are believed to be buried under rubble, meaning the true toll is likely to be significantly higher, Palestinian officials and rescue workers say. Israeli airstrikes overnight killed at least 30 Palestinians in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, Gaza health authorities said. Doctors at Al-Awda Hospital said at least 14 women and 12 children were among the dead. The hospital also said that 13 people had been killed and dozens wounded by Israeli gunfire along the Salahudeen Road as they waited for aid trucks to roll into Gaza. Saar said 5,000 aid trucks had entered Gaza in the last two months, and that Israel would assist those wanting to conduct airdrops - a delivery method that aid groups say is ineffective and tokenist. Ross Smith, a senior regional program adviser at the World Food Programme, told reporters in Geneva by video: "We're getting approximately 50% of what we're requesting into Gaza since these humanitarian pauses started on Sunday. "We are not going to be able to address the needs of the population unless we can move in the volume that we need." Israel and the U.S. accuse Hamas of stealing aid - which the militants deny - and the U.N. of failing to prevent it. The U.N. says it has not seen evidence of Hamas diverting much aid. Hamas accuses Israel of causing starvation and using aid as a weapon.
Politico
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Lindsey Graham sees Israel taking Gaza by force to wrap up war
Graham's comments come as the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached crisis levels. Roughly a quarter of the exclave's population is facing famine-like conditions, a U.N. World Food Programme official said last Monday. Democrats, international partners and even podcaster and comedian Theo Von are imploring both the U.S. and Israel to substantially increase the flow of aid into Gaza. Israel's military on Sunday paused fighting in three major population centers inside Gaza to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid. Airdrops of aid have also resumed in the area. 'Israel is going to work with the U.N., the World Food Programme, to get some food into these people, who need it,' Graham told Welker. But even against that backdrop, the likelihood of a negotiated peace appears murky. The White House exited diplomatic talks with Hamas last week, with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff concluding that the U.S.-designated terrorist group 'does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith.' 'I think they want to die,' Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday. Israel occupied Gaza, which had been an Egyptian territory, in the 6-Day War of 1967, and it had retained forces there until June 2005; since then it has periodically sent forces into the territory in response to incursions from Hamas or to prevent them. Graham said he agreed with the president that talks with the militant group Hamas were futile. 'I think President Trump has come to believe, and I've certainly come to believe, there's no way you're going to negotiate an end of this war with Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization who is chartered to destroy the state of Israel,' he told Welker. 'They're religious Nazis.'
Arab Times
26-07-2025
- Climate
- Arab Times
Tropical storm adds to Philippines' weather toll with 25 dead, 278,000 evacuated this week
MANILA, Philippines, July 26, (AP): A tropical storm was blowing across the Philippines' mountainous north Friday, worsening more than a week of bad weather that has caused at least 25 deaths and prompted evacuations in villages hit by flooding and landslides. The storm was Typhoon Co-may when it blew Thursday night into the town of Agno in Pangasinan province with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 165 kph (102 mph). It was weakening as it advanced northeastward and had sustained winds of 85 kph (53 mph) Friday afternoon. Co-may was intensifying seasonal monsoon rains that had swamped a large swath of the country for more than a week. Disaster-response officials have received reports of at least 25 deaths since last weekend, mostly due to flash floods, toppled trees, landslides and electrocution. Eight other people were reported missing, they said. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries directly caused by Co-may, locally called Emong, the fifth weather disturbance to hit the Philippines since the rainy season started in last month. More than a dozen more tropical storms were expected to batter the Southeast Asian country the rest of the year, forecasters said. The government shut down schools in metropolitan Manila for the third day Friday and suspended classes in 35 provinces in the main northern region of Luzon. More than 80 towns and cities, mostly in Luzon, have declared a state of calamity, a designation that speeds emergency funds and freezes the prices of commodities, including rice. The days of stormy weather have forced 278,000 people to leave their homes for safety in emergency shelters or relatives' homes. Nearly 3,000 houses have been damaged, the government's disaster response agency said. Travel by sea and air has been restricted in northern provinces being pounded or in the typhoon's path. Thousands of army forces, police, coast guard personnel. firefighters and civilian volunteers have been deployed to help rescue people in villages swamped in floodwaters or isolated due to roads blocked by landslides, fallen trees and boulders. The United States said it will provide $250,000 in funding to the U.N. World Food Programme to help the Philippine government's response. "We are tracking the devastation caused by the storms and floods and are deeply concerned for all those affected,' US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said.
NDTV
25-07-2025
- Climate
- NDTV
Tropical Storm Co-May Adds To Philippines' Deadly Week, Forcing 278,000 Evacuations
MANILA, Philippines: A tropical storm was blowing across the Philippines' mountainous north Friday, worsening more than a week of bad weather that has caused at least 25 deaths and prompted evacuations in villages hit by flooding and landslides. The storm was Typhoon Co-may when it blew Thursday night into the town of Agno in Pangasinan province with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 165 kph (102 mph). It was weakening as it advanced northeastward and had sustained winds of 85 kph (53 mph) Friday afternoon. Co-may was intensifying seasonal monsoon rains that had swamped a large swath of the country for more than a week. Disaster-response officials have received reports of at least 25 deaths since last weekend, mostly due to flash floods, toppled trees, landslides and electrocution. Eight other people were reported missing, they said. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries directly caused by Co-may, locally called Emong, the fifth weather disturbance to hit the Philippines since the rainy season started in last month. More than a dozen more tropical storms were expected to batter the Southeast Asian country the rest of the year, forecasters said. The government shut down schools in metropolitan Manila for the third day Friday and suspended classes in 35 provinces in the main northern region of Luzon. More than 80 towns and cities, mostly in Luzon, have declared a state of calamity, a designation that speeds emergency funds and freezes the prices of commodities, including rice. The days of stormy weather have forced 278,000 people to leave their homes for safety in emergency shelters or relatives' homes. Nearly 3,000 houses have been damaged, the government's disaster response agency said. Travel by sea and air has been restricted in northern provinces being pounded or in the typhoon's path. Thousands of army forces, police, coast guard personnel. firefighters and civilian volunteers have been deployed to help rescue people in villages swamped in floodwaters or isolated due to roads blocked by landslides, fallen trees and boulders. The United States said it will provide $250,000 in funding to the U.N. World Food Programme to help the Philippine government's response. "We are tracking the devastation caused by the storms and floods and are deeply concerned for all those affected," U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said. After returning from his White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited emergency shelters Thursday in Rizal province to help distribute food packs to displaced residents. He later convened an emergency meeting with disaster-response officials, where he underscored the need for the government and the people to adapt to and brace for climate change and the larger number of and more unpredictable natural calamities it's setting off. "Everything has changed," Marcos said. "Let's not say, `The storm may come, what will happen?' because the storm will really come." The United States, Manila's longtime treaty ally, has pledged to provide military aircraft to airlift food and other aid to remote island provinces and the countryside if the calamity worsens, the Philippines military said. The Philippines, which lies between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Seas, is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. It's often hit by earthquakes and has about two dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.
Politico
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Trump on Hamas: ‘They want to die'
'We're down to the final hostages, and basically because of that they really didn't want to make a deal,' Trump said. Special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday that the U.S. had pulled out of talks with Hamas because the U.S.-designated terrorist group — which had just submitted its latest response to a ceasefire proposal — was not negotiating in 'good faith.' As those talks deteriorated, pressure mounted this week against Israel by some of America's closest allies. French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France would become the first G7 country to recognize a Palestinian state. And Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, 'The situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world's worst fears.' Earlier this week, a U.N. World Food Programme official said about a quarter of the population in Gaza is facing famine-like conditions, and nearly 100,000 women and children are experiencing severe, acute malnutrition. Last month, a U.N.-partnered report found that 96 percent of the Gazan population is facing crisis levels of acute food insecurity and that there was a 'high risk' of famine across the Gaza strip. Asked Friday about Macron's announcement, Trump called the French president 'a very good guy,' but added that 'what he says doesn't matter' and that his 'statement doesn't carry any weight.' Asked if he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about allowing foreign aid drops into Gaza, Trump said he had called Netanyahu but declined to share details, other than calling it 'sort of disappointing.' Israel has reportedly said that it will allow a new round of foreign aid drops in Gaza in the coming days. A U.S. official familiar with conversations among senior officials said there is growing Trump administration concern about the crisis and that officials are trying to figure out the best way to respond. The person was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations. Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.
