Latest news with #hunger crisis
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Israeli forces kill more than 80 people across Gaza as starvation worsens
Israeli attacks have killed at least 83 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip amid a deepening hunger crisis, medical sources have told Al Jazeera, as hospitals in the besieged territory have recorded eight more deaths from starvation and malnutrition. Among those killed on Tuesday were 58 aid seekers who were shot by Israeli forces as they approached aid distribution sites operated by the US- and Israeli-backed GHF. Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said the 'same exact scenario plays out in Gaza every single day' since GHF distribution sites began operating in May. 'Palestinians are approaching these distribution sites, waiting for food, but the Israeli forces are opening fire,' Khoudary said. She quoted sources at al-Shifa Hospital as saying the number of injured people who have been transferred from the distribution point near northern Gaza's Zikim crossing 'is very large'. 'Injuries are coming with bullets in parts of their bodies that are very hard to treat, including their heads, necks and also their chests,' Khoudary said. 'The cycle of violence is the same in all three distribution locations.' The GHF has been heavily criticised by the United Nations and other humanitarian organisations for failing to provide enough aid and for the dire security situation at and around its aid distribution sites. So far, more than 1,560 Palestinians seeking aid have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to receive food amid the Israeli-induced starvation crisis. The attacks come as aid agencies and health officials warn of a sharp rise in starvation, particularly among children and the elderly. According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, eight more people have died of starvation or malnutrition in the latest 24-hour reporting period, including a child. This brings the total number of Palestinians who have died from hunger or malnutrition since Israel's war began to 188, including 94 children. On Monday, Israel allowed 95 aid trucks into the Strip, far below the 600 trucks per day needed to meet minimum survival needs, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). The daily average now stands at 85 trucks. Gaza's Government Media Office has once again warned of an intensifying humanitarian catastrophe and in a statement said most of the limited aid has been looted due to 'security chaos being sowed by the Israeli occupation as part of a systematic policy of engineering chaos and starvation'. Full Israeli takeover? Despite intense international pressure for a ceasefire to ease hunger and the appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave, efforts to mediate a truce between Israel and Hamas have collapsed. Instead, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks poised to announce plans to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media reports. Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Tuesday that he had held a 'limited security discussion' lasting about three hours, during which military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir 'presented the options for continuing the campaign in Gaza'. An Israeli official told the Reuters news agency that Defence Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, an aide of Netanyahu, would attend a meeting later this week to decide on a strategy to take to the cabinet. Israeli media reported that the cabinet is to convene on Thursday. Israel's Channel 12, quoting an official from Netanyahu's office, said the prime minister was leaning towards taking control of the entire territory, which the Israeli army has mostly reduced to rubble. The United Nations on Tuesday called reports about a possible decision to expand Israel's military operations throughout the Gaza Strip 'deeply alarming' if true. 'International law is clear in the regard, Gaza is and must remain an integral part of the future Palestinian state', UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told a UN Security Council meeting. On Tuesday, Israeli tanks pushed into central Gaza, but it was not clear if the move was part of a larger ground offensive. Palestinians living in the last quarter of territory where Israel has not yet taken military control via ground incursions or forced evacuations said any new push would be catastrophic. 'If the tanks pushed through, where would we go? Into the sea? This will be like a death sentence to the entire population,' said Abu Jehad, a Gaza wood merchant. More than 61,020 Palestinians, including at least 18,430 children, have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities. Forty-nine captives, including 27 who are believed to be dead, are still being held by Hamas, according to Israeli authorities. Israel's deadly assault has also forced nearly all of Gaza's more than 2 million people from their homes and caused what a global hunger monitor last week called an unfolding famine.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Middle East updates: Germany says Gaza aid 'insufficient'
Germany airdrops more humanitarian aid into Gaza, with the German government also saying more needed to be done to improve the situation in the territory. Meanwhile, US envoy Steve Witkoff told families of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas that he would secure a deal to make sure their loved ones return. Following along for news, analysis and updates on Gaza, Israel, and the Middle East on August 2 and August 3: German military aircraft delivers more humanitarian aid into Gaza Germany's Bundeswehr armed forces delivered about 9.6 tons of aid into Gaza on Saturday, according to the DPA news agency. An A400M military transport aircraft dropped 22 pallets of humanitarian aid containing food and medical supplies into Gaza, the report said. The Israeli military said countries like France, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates delivered about 90 pallets of aid into Gaza on Saturday. A United Nations-affiliated organization that tracks food security worldwide issued a dire warning earlier this week about the hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip. It confirmed that, based on data up to July 25, a "worse-case" famine scenario, was unfolding across Gaza. Israeli authorities control the only three border crossings at the Strip and cut off all supplies to Gaza at the beginning of March. Israeli authorities then reopened some aid centers in May, but with restrictions they said were designed to stop goods from being stolen by Hamas militants. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the US, Germany, the EU and others. Malnutrition-related deaths spiked in Gaza in July, according to the World Health Organization. Airdrops have been sharply criticized by some humanitarian groups as expensive, inefficient and dangerous. Witkoff tells families of Israeli hostages he will 'bring their children home' US envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday visited Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and vowed to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. "We will get your children home and hold Hamas responsible for any bad acts on their part," Witkoff told families of Israeli hostages who had gathered at the square to stage a protest to call upon the Israeli government to secure a deal to release their loved ones from captivity. Witkoff was cited as saying so, according to a statement by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. He added, "We will do what's right for the Gazan people." Protesters had gathered at the square after a video of an Israeli hostage in Gaza was released by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Thursday. Hamas then released a video of Evyatar David, another Israeli hostage, on Friday. The video showed David in a visibly fragile state. It is unclear when those videos were filmed. Witkoff on Friday also visited an aid distribution site in southern Gaza run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The foundation has been widely criticized for failing to improve conditions in the besieged enclave. Germany says 'very insufficient' aid entering Gaza The amount of aid entering Gaza remains "very insufficient" despite limited improvement, the German government said on Saturday, after ministers discussed ways to heighten pressure on Israel. Germany "notes limited initial progress in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip, which, however, remains very insufficient to alleviate the emergency situation," government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement. "Israel remains obligated to ensure the full delivery of aid," Kornelius added. German ministers had gathered on Saturday, following German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul's trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories on Thursday and Friday. Wadephul had called upon Israeli authorities to ensure safe access for United Nations agencies to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying the current restrictions were worsening the crisis. "The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza must end now," Wadephul had said, stressing that aid distribution through the UN had long worked effectively and needed to resume without obstacles. Welcome to our coverage Good evening and welcome to weekend edition of the Middle East blog. We're tracking the news about Germany having delivered more aid into Gaza, as well as US envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to the region. Witkoff has met with families of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas and vowed to secure a deal to bring their loved ones home. But some families were disappointed and said they have would have liked to hear more about practical ways to secure that deal. Follow along for news, analysis, and explainers on the situation in Gaza, Israel, and the wider Middle East, on the weekend of August 2 and August 3.
Khaleej Times
6 days ago
- General
- Khaleej Times
Watch: More Emirati aid reaches Gaza via air, land; Palestinians thank UAE
The lifeline extended by the UAE to Gaza continues to strongly support the residents of the Strip amid fears of a worsening severe hunger crisis. On Saturday, the country carried out the 60th airdrop of aid as part of the 'Operation Birds of Goodness", to assist Palestinians in the enclave, as alarming numbers continue to shed light on the dire humanitarian situation there. The operation was conducted in cooperation with Jordan and with the participation of France, Germany, and Italy. On Friday, a similar airdrop mission was accomplished, led by the UAE and Jordan, alongside seven aircraft from France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. In total, the amount of aid airdropped on the enclave has exceeded 3,807 tonnes, comprising various food and relief materials. Take a look at a video of today's operation: 'Thank you, UAE' A hunger monitor said recently that a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza, and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death. The alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the 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. A video of Saturday's mission in Gaza showed some Palestinians scrambling to take some of the aid packages airdropped from aeroplanes. Holding plastic bags of bread and canned food items, women are seen packing the relief supplies. Many Gazans expressed gratitude for the Emirati help. "Thank you, UAE. We won a bag of flour. God bless," a smiling Palestinian child said. "They brought things we saw for the first time, like dates, ghee and meat.. These are things we missed since the first day of Ramadan," a man said, referring to the food items he got. In addition to delivering food supplies via air, the UAE also delivered 22 medical aid trucks on Saturday with medicines and medical supplies, in coordination with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
U.S. Envoy Visits Gaza As Hunger Crisis Deepens - The Source with Kaitlan Collins - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
U.S. Envoy Visits Gaza As Hunger Crisis Deepens The Source with Kaitlan Collins 46 mins President Trump says he has been briefed by his special envoy Steve Witkoff about what he saw as he spent several hours inside of Gaza today. He was given a highly choreographed tour of an aid site operated by a U.S. backed organization. They visited one of three controversial aid sites where the United Nations has alleged the Israeli military has killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to get food.
The National
01-08-2025
- Politics
- The National
Trump says Gazans ‘very hungry' as US envoy Witkoff set to inspect food distribution centres
US President Donald Trump lamented the aid situation in Gaza before sending two top White House officials to the enclave on Friday to inspect food distribution centres amid intensifying global scrutiny over the hunger crisis there. Mr Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will 'secure a plan to deliver more food and meet local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation ' during the trip, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. President Trump on Thursday described the situation in Gaza as 'terrible' amid Israeli claims of 'no starvation policy' in the enclave. 'It's terrible what's occurring there. It's a terrible thing. People are very hungry,' Mr Trump told reporters. 'You know, the United States gave $60 million for food and it's a shame, because I don't see the results of it. And we gave it to people that in theory are watching over it fairly closely. We wanted Israel to watch over it.' Mr Witkoff will brief President Trump after the visit to 'approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region', said Ms Leavitt. Mr Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday, where he and Mr Huckabee had a 'very productive meeting' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials on the topic of delivering much-needed food and aid to Gaza, she added. The death toll from Israel's military campaign has now surpassed 60,100 and images of starving children in Gaza have fuelled anger and concern in many western countries, including the US. Earlier this week, President Trump admitted for the first time that 'real starvation' was taking place across Gaza. 'I see it and you can't fake that,' he said. 'We have to get the kids fed.' Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also arrived in Israel on Thursday on a high-stakes trip to try to convince Israeli counterparts to allow in more aid. The Foreign Minister signalled that Germany may be reconsidering its position on Israel and Gaza, as the UN reports spreading famine in the Strip. Israel is increasingly finding itself in a 'minority position', Mr Wadephul warned in a statement issued before his visit. French President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that his country, a heavyweight in the EU, plans to recognise a Palestinian state, becoming the first major western nation to do so. Britain and Canada have since said they could also recognise a Palestinian state. Israel's refusal to end the war in Gaza and its starvation policy in the Palestinian territory have made it more isolated than ever on the international scene. Mr Witkoff's visit also comes after the US imposed sanctions on members of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Washington accused the PA and PLO of 'continuing to support terrorism', supporting international legal cases against Israel and 'undermining prospects for peace', the US State Department said on Thursday. The State Department did not immediately release a list of the officials named in the sanctions, who will be denied US visas. Palestinian officials told The National the sanctions against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) were a form of punishment for seeking an end to Israel's occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
