UNRWA says famine in Gaza City can be stopped if aid is allowed in
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says it has warehouses full of food, medicines and hygiene supplies in Jordan and Egypt but is being blocked from bringing them into Gaza.
“While famine is confirmed in Gaza City, we have warehouses full of food waiting to be allowed in,” the agency said in a post on X.
Famine in Gaza City can be stopped. Reverse the ongoing catastrophe – flood Gaza with a massive scale up of aid through the United Nations including UNRWA. … There is enough food, medicines and hygiene supplies ready to fill 6,000 trucks. The State of Israel must let us bring aid into Gaza.
It comes after the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed an “entirely man-made” famine in Gaza City and its surrounding areas, warning of an exponential increase in deaths if conditions continue to deteriorate.
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At least nine Palestinian civilians have been killed in a series of Israeli attacks across Gaza on Saturday, according to Wafa news agency.
Local sources told Wafa that an Israeli drone strike hit a house in the al-Sabra neighbourhood south of Gaza City, killing one civilian and injuring others.
Another drone attack targeted a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, killing two women and injuring 14 others.
Emergency services said six people were killed and others wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on civilians waiting for aid in the north of the enclave.
Medical sources cited by Wafa said a total of 34 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since dawn today.
Updated at 05.14 EDT
Israeli airstrike on Deir al-Balah, a city in central Gaza.
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Deir Al-Balah. Photograph: Hatem Khaled/ReutersPalestinians inspect the site the airstrike. Photograph: Hatem Khaled/ReutersA Palestinian watches the house reduced to rubble. Photograph: Hatem Khaled/ReutersShare
Updated at 04.50 EDT
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has stepped down after failing to secure cabinet approval for additional sanctions on Israel over its war in Gaza.
Veldkamp, a member of the centre-right New Social Contract party, said he was unable to achieve any agreement, while citing “geopolitical tensions”.
Late on Friday, he said in a post on X:
Tonight I announced my decision to step down as Minister of Foreign Affairs. It has been a true honour to represent the Netherlands on the international stage.
We are living in a time of unprecedented geopolitical tension, where diplomacy matters more than ever. I am deeply grateful for the cooperation with my colleagues in the Netherlands, in the European Union, and with international partners worldwide.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who work tirelessly every day to safeguard and promote the interests of the Netherlands.
During his tenure, Veldkamp had imposed entry bans on far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, accusing them of inciting settler violence against Palestinians.
He also revoked three export licences for Israeli navy ship components.
ShareUNRWA says famine in Gaza City can be stopped if aid is allowed in
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says it has warehouses full of food, medicines and hygiene supplies in Jordan and Egypt but is being blocked from bringing them into Gaza.
“While famine is confirmed in Gaza City, we have warehouses full of food waiting to be allowed in,” the agency said in a post on X.
Famine in Gaza City can be stopped. Reverse the ongoing catastrophe – flood Gaza with a massive scale up of aid through the United Nations including UNRWA. … There is enough food, medicines and hygiene supplies ready to fill 6,000 trucks. The State of Israel must let us bring aid into Gaza.
It comes after the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed an “entirely man-made” famine in Gaza City and its surrounding areas, warning of an exponential increase in deaths if conditions continue to deteriorate.
ShareWelcome and opening summary
Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and wider regional diplomacy.
Israel has dismantled the proven and internationally backed civilian model of aid distribution in Gaza, according to a joint report from Forensic Architecture (FA) and the World Peace Foundation (WPF), which said the move has furthered both Israel’s military objectives and starvation in the territory.
The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed famine in Gaza this week. UK foreign secretary David Lammy described the situation as a “catastrophic humanitarian crisis” and condemned Israel’s refusal to allow sufficient aid into the enclave. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the famine assessment, saying it ignored what he described as recent humanitarian steps by his government.
Plan International UK, a children’s charity, said the famine was “an entirely man-made hunger catastrophe” that is killing children daily. The group warned that 130,000 Palestinian children are threatened by malnutrition.
Meanwhile, foreign ministers from European countries, Australia and the UK condemned Israel’s plans to construct a settlement in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, calling the move “unacceptable” and a violation of international law.
Figures from a classified Israeli military intelligence database, seen in a joint investigation by the Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call, suggest that five out of six Palestinians killed in Gaza are civilians. By May, Israeli officials had listed 8,900 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters as dead or “probably dead”.
The Red Cross has joined international voices condemning Israel’s plan to expand its military operations and seize Gaza City, calling the proposal “intolerable.”
Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza urged Netanyahu’s government to accept a proposed ceasefire, warning that rejection would be “a death sentence for the living hostages and a sentence of disappearance for the deceased ones.”
In regional diplomacy, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi and his French, British and German counterparts agreed to resume talks next week on nuclear and sanctions issues. European powers have warned they could trigger a UN “snapback” mechanism to reimpose sanctions if Iran does not return to negotiations over its uranium enrichment programme.
We will be following today’s developments. Stay with us.