Record starvation and malnutrition in Gaza; more West Bank displacement

Record starvation and malnutrition in Gaza; more West Bank displacement

That warning comes from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in a tweet posted on Tuesday, calling for more aid to be allowed into the enclave by Israeli authorities.  Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that five people died over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition and starvation, the UN Office for the Coordination of […]

Gaza: UNESCO condemns ‘unacceptable’ killing of journalists

Gaza: UNESCO condemns ‘unacceptable’ killing of journalists

“I condemn the killing of journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed Al-Khaldi and call for a thorough and transparent investigation,” UNESCO’s Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, said in a statement on Tuesday. Five of the six worked for the influential Qatari-based media organization, Al Jazeera: Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh […]

Gaza: Guterres urges probe into killing of journalists, as child malnutrition deaths rise

Gaza: Guterres urges probe into killing of journalists, as child malnutrition deaths rise

The reporters – five of whom worked for the Al Jazeera media network – were killed in a targeted Israeli strike in Gaza City the previous day.  “These latest killings highlight the extreme risks journalists continue to face when covering the ongoing war,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during his regular media briefing from New York. […]

Aid blockade deepens Gaza crisis as malnutrition deaths rise, warns UNRWA

Aid blockade deepens Gaza crisis as malnutrition deaths rise, warns UNRWA

“For over 150 days, not a single truck from UNRWA has been permitted to deliver food, medicine or other essentials into Gaza,” the agency said on Friday. “This denial of access is costing lives every single day.” Nearly 100 children dead from malnutrition According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, cited by the UN, at least […]

‘There is no military solution’ to end Israel-Palestine conflict, Security Council hears, as starvation stalks the Gaza Strip

‘There is no military solution’ to end Israel-Palestine conflict, Security Council hears, as starvation stalks the Gaza Strip

Two top UN officials warned that the Israeli cabinet’s green light this week for a fresh offensive aimed at gaining total military control of Gaza City – home to around one million Palestinians – would only risk igniting “another horrific chapter” of displacement, death and destruction. Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and […]

Israel’s military takeover of Gaza City would mark ‘a dangerous escalation’: Guterres

Israel’s military takeover of Gaza City would mark ‘a dangerous escalation’: Guterres

The announcement following an Israeli cabinet meeting “marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians, and could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages,” it said. The statement noted that Palestinians in Gaza continue to endure a humanitarian catastrophe of horrific proportions.  More displacement, death and destruction The UN chief warned that this further escalation will […]

Israeli plan to take complete control of Gaza must stop now, says UN rights chief

Israeli plan to take complete control of Gaza must stop now, says UN rights chief

“A complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted,” insisted Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, after the Israeli security cabinet approved a plan for a full-scale Israeli military takeover in the battered enclave. The development runs contrary to international law, Mr. Türk continued, referring to a ruling of […]

Gaza: Acute malnutrition among children hits record high

Gaza: Acute malnutrition among children hits record high

In July alone, nearly 12,000 children under five were identified as acutely malnourished out of 136,000 screened, according to aid partners.  Of these, more than 2,500 were found to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form, and 40 had to be hospitalized in stabilisation centres. More children affected The proportion of children with […]

Gaza: Hospitals ‘at near-total collapse’, staff overwhelmed by the injured

Gaza: Hospitals ‘at near-total collapse’, staff overwhelmed by the injured

Meanwhile, UN agencies confirmed the deaths of three Palestinians from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare auto-immune disease that can cause sudden muscle weakness and even paralysis. Before war erupted in Gaza in October 2023, only a handful of cases surfaced every year. Mass casualties now the norm “Hospitals are overwhelmed by mass casualty incidents, with […]

Gaza: Alarm over Israeli move to deregister NGOs

Gaza: Alarm over Israeli move to deregister NGOs

The development – which also applies to the occupied West Bank – is a result of the Israeli requirement introduced on 9 March impacting international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). “Unless urgent action is taken…most international NGO partners could be de-registered by 9 September or sooner – forcing them to withdraw all international staff and preventing them […]

Gaza: Security Council meets on hostage crisis amid ‘unbearable’ conditions facing Palestinian civilians

Gaza: Security Council meets on hostage crisis amid ‘unbearable’ conditions facing Palestinian civilians

Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča briefed a Security Council meeting on Tuesday called by Israel to discuss the plight of hostages still being held in the war-ravaged enclave. It comes after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad released images and videos of two emaciated hostages, Evaytar David and Rom Braslavsky, sparking outrage and condemnation.  ‘An affront to […]

SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Israel calls for focus on Gaza hostages’ plight

SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Israel calls for focus on Gaza hostages’ plight

The Security Council is meeting to discuss rising concern in Israel and elsewhere over the dire conditions facing the hostages who remain in Gaza. It follows the release of recent videos by Hamas and other Palestinian militants showing emaciated captives, which the UN Secretary-General called “an unacceptable violation of human dignity.” A senior UN political […]

Hunger in Gaza: Women and children face death in search of food

Hunger in Gaza: Women and children face death in search of food

“I used to easily receive aid distributed by the UN,” Abir Safi, a displaced person from the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, told UN News. “Now, we get nothing. I risk my life by going to the Zikim crossing and returning with an empty bag. All I want is to return to my children with […]

Gaza: As aid trucks enter, videos of Israeli hostages and attack on Red Crescent staffers spark outrage

Gaza: As aid trucks enter, videos of Israeli hostages and attack on Red Crescent staffers spark outrage

Meanwhile, on Thursday and again on Saturday, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants published disturbing videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages, sparking worldwide outrage and condemnation from UN leaders, including Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday. The hostages pictured, Rom Braslavsk and Evyatar David, are two of the 49 are still being held in Gaza, including […]

Hunger lines in Gaza: ‘Food is not enough’

Hunger lines in Gaza: ‘Food is not enough’

Earning a living has become a daily struggle, and hundreds of men, women and children stand in endless queues, under the scorching sun, outside the few community kitchens that serve nothing but lentil soup. A community kitchen in western Gaza reveals a panorama of painful scenes amid displaced people suffering, their cries for help and […]