Abbas and his Palestinian delegation had been denied visas by the Trump administration and so was forced to address the annual UN summit remotely.

Abbas refrained from criticising the US, and instead said the Palestinian Authority was ready to govern Gaza and work with Trump on his new peace plan.

“I speak to you today after almost two years of which our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation, and displacement,” Abbas said.

His speech comes as Israel is escalating its genocide in Gaza with unconditional US support. Israel has launched a ferocious assault on Gaza City, where Middle East Eye has reported a “dystopian” level of destruction.

“What Israel is carrying out is not merely an aggression. It is a war crime and a crime against humanity,” Abbas said, “[that] will be recorded in history books… as one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy.”

Abbas spent much of his speech rehashing the 1990s Oslo Peace Process under which the Palestinian Liberation Organization recognised Israel and abandoned armed resistance. In return, the Palestinian Authority was established and given a limited degree of self-governance in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The PA’s seat of power is the occupied West Bank. Israel has rapidly been expanding settlements and threatening a full scale annexation there, while the Israeli military supports settler attacks on Palestinians.

'Terrorism of settlers'
“The terrorism of settlers increases,” Abbas said, adding that “The extremist Israeli government continues to implement its settlement policies through illegal settlement expansion.”

The PA is deeply unpopular in the occupied West Bank, where it is viewed by most Palestinians as a corrupt vehicle of the Israeli occupation.

Abbas specifically addressed Israel’s so-called E1 plan for settlements that would split the occupied West Bank in half, severing East Jerusalem’s connection with the occupied territory's hinterland.

Abbas said the plan is designed to “undermine the option of the two-state solution in a blatant violation of international law”.

Israeli officials threatened to formally annex the West Bank in response to the decision of several UN member states to recognise a Palestinian state. Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has also grabbed territory in Lebanon and Syria.

“The Israeli prime minister announced a plan for what he calls Greater Israel, which we reject and completely deplore,” Abbas said.

Israel escalated its military activity in the region earlier this month with an attack on Hamas political officials in Qatar.

Abbas called the attack “a blatant violation of international law” and called for “decisive intervention” by Arab states.

'Hamas will have no role in Gaza governance'
The PA has long been at odds with Hamas since the latter took control of the Gaza Strip after winning elections almost two decades ago.

Abbas denounced the Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel, which he said “does not represent the Palestinian people”.

The PA envisions the occupied West Bank and Gaza as the future cradle of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital alongside Israel.

Israel is opposed to the PA’s return to Gaza and has instead lobbied to enact the so-called “Trump Riviera” plan which most experts say greenwashes the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.

Abbas called the destroyed enclave “an integral part of the state of Palestine,” and called on Hamas to submit to the PA.

“We are ready to bare full responsibility for governance and security” in Gaza, he said, where “Hamas will not have a role to play in governance”.

Abbas demanded Hamas hand over its weapons to the “Palestinian National Authority” and said “we do not want an armed state”.

Ready to work with Trump
The Trump administration has oscillated on Gaza. Earlier this year, Trump floated his “Riviera” plan, but he discussed another proposal with the leaders of Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia along with senior officials from other Arab and Muslim states on Tuesday.

An Arab official confirmed to MEE that the plan supports an international peacekeeping force in Gaza that includes members of the Palestinian Authority.

The 89-year-old Abbas appeared to reference this plan, although he referenced a different date.

“We are ready to work with US President Donald Trump and with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and France…to implement the peace plan that was approved in the conference that was held on the 22nd of September,” he said.

Abbas also thanked France and Saudi Arabia for hosting a conference earlier this week that saw France, Belgium, Monaco, Luxembourg and Malta recognise a Palestinian state. Denmark and the Netherlands also pledged to recognise Palesine albeit with some preconditions.

The UK, Canada, Portugal and Australia have also now recognised Palestine.

“On behalf of the Palestinian people I want to express our gratitude and appreciation to all the states that recently recognized the state of Palestine,” Abbas said.

“Our people will not forget this noble position.”

Trump also vowed that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, a source at the sit-down and a second source briefed on the matter told The Times of Israel, confirming a report in Politico.

A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Monday that the Trump administration has privately cautioned Israel against annexing the West Bank in response to the decisions by Western countries to recognize Palestine in recent days.

However, Jerusalem does not feel that the warning marked “an end to the discussion” and Netanyahu plans to discuss the matter with US President Donald Trump during their White House meeting next Monday, the Israeli official said.

To date, the Trump administration has avoided taking a public stance regarding potential Israeli annexation of the West Bank and has argued that Western countries are to blame for Jerusalem considering the step due to their decisions to recognize Palestinian statehood.

Parts of the plan presented by Trump at the Tuesday meeting are based on a proposal crafted by former UK prime minister Tony Blair, which was revealed by The Times of Israel last week.

While the Blair plan focuses on the post-war management of Gaza, the plan presented by Trump also outlines how the war itself would end, envisioning a ceasefire of several weeks during which all of the remaining 48 hostages would be released, one of the Arab diplomats said.

The participating countries were briefed on the US proposal ahead of time and presented a position paper that welcomed Trump’s plan, a source familiar with the matter said.

The paper’s four key points were: welcoming the proposal for a comprehensive end to the war in Gaza; stressing the importance of bringing back the hostages, ending the war and allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza; committing to be part of a peaceful solution for the region, based on Trump’s vision; and calling out continued Israeli strikes on countries in the region, including the recent attack on Hamas chiefs in Qatar.

The position paper also said the countries reject continued Israeli military operations in Gaza, an Israeli occupation of Gaza and the establishment of settlements there, forcibly displacing Palestinians from Gaza and preventing those who left from returning, Israeli annexation of the West Bank, and steps that violate the status quo at Jerusalem holy sites.

The source familiar with the matter said the White House on Wednesday is planning to issue a statement on the meeting but is waiting to receive approval of the wording from all participating countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan.

“We want to end the war in Gaza. We’re going to end it. Maybe we can end it right now,” Trump told the press at the start of the meeting before reporters were ushered out of the room.

“This is my most important meeting,” he continued. “But this is the one that’s very important to me because we’re going to end something that should have probably never started.”

Trump said the sit-down included “all of the big players except for Israel, but that’s going to be next,” in apparent reference to his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.

Trump also complimented Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s speech to the General Assembly earlier, in which Subianto said peace requires guaranteeing Israel’s security.

Following the meeting, Trump simply waved to gathered news reporters without commenting on how things went, and there was no immediate comment from the White House. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff offered a thumbs-up when asked how the meeting had fared.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the meeting with Trump as “very fruitful.”

Speaking to reporters, Erdogan said a joint declaration from the meeting would be published and that he was “pleased” with the outcomes of the meeting, but did not elaborate.

Emirati state news agency WAM, meanwhile, reported that the meeting focused on ending the ongoing war in Gaza and reaching a permanent ceasefire. The news agency said releasing all hostages and taking steps toward addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn enclave were also discussed as priorities.

The post Trump presented comprehensive plan to end Gaza war in UN meeting with Muslim leaders appeared first on The Times of Israel.

Trump will hold a meeting with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye, Indonesia and Pakistan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

The US president will discuss how the Israeli military may withdraw from Gaza in the future, how he wants the regional leaders to send in troops to maintain order, and how a transition and rebuilding process can begin and be funded, unnamed Israeli and Arab sources told Israel’s Channel 12 and US-based Axios.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who is expected to attend the meeting, told the conference on the two-state solution hosted by France and Saudi Arabia at the UN on Monday that his country is ready to provide peacekeeping forces in Gaza.

“We are ready to take our part in this journey towards peace. We are willing to provide peacekeeping forces,” he said, on the day that France and several other countries recognised Palestinian statehood, joining the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Portugal, and others who had made the move earlier.

The Gaza plan was reportedly not drafted by Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been made aware of the details. It is believed to envisage some future involvement by the Palestinian Authority (PA), something Israel has repeatedly said it will not tolerate.

The plan sees no role for Hamas, which the US and Israel have demanded must be disarmed and eliminated.

Nearly two years into a genocidal war that has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza – mostly civilians, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health – no breakthrough appears in sight to end the killings and Israeli-induced famine.

Ceasefire talks were making progress earlier this month when the Israeli military launched unprecedented air attacks on Qatar, in an attempt to assassinate the top leadership of Hamas. The Palestinian group had said it agreed to a proposal on the table, and Israel claimed it had accepted it hours before launching the strikes.

Israel has since pressed ahead with a relentless destruction of Gaza City, the territory’s largest urban centre, killing dozens of civilians daily, destroying dozens of residential buildings, and forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee south to an unknown fate.

Israel also torpedoed another ceasefire deal with Hamas on March 18, when it killed hundreds of Palestinians in intense air raids after securing the release of several captives held in Gaza. It then imposed a months-long total blockade that led to the current mass starvation.

Trump ally US broadcaster Fox News reported on Monday, quoting a senior administration official as well as a second unnamed informed source, that Hamas has drafted a letter directed to the US president that proposes a 60-day Trump-guaranteed truce in exchange for the immediate release of half the remaining 48 captives, about 20 of whom are living.

According to the right-wing outlet, the letter is currently being held by mediator Qatar and will be given to Trump later in the week. Neither Hamas nor Qatar have commented on the claim.

Both Trump and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will be addressing the UNGA on Tuesday.

As international stakeholders push to restart talks to end the war, the Israeli army continues to push deep inside the largest urban centre of Gaza with three armoured and infantry divisions, destroying homes and infrastructure.

Intense air raids are hitting across Gaza as well, in addition to casualties reported on Tuesday in several Gaza City neighbourhoods. Israeli raids are also ongoing across the occupied West Bank, as the Israeli government advances with plans to annex parts of the area.

UN officials and aid agencies have warned that famine in Gaza is now a reality, with children increasingly dying of hunger as Israel’s siege and bombardment continue to block essential, life-saving aid.

In a stark address to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, officials said famine and widespread hunger in the besieged enclave are “engineered” and “man-made” catastrophes.

Joyce Msuya, the UN’s deputy humanitarian chief, told the council that famine has been confirmed in the north-central Gaza governorate, where Gaza City is located, and is expected to spread to Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis to the south by the end of September.

“Over half a million people currently face starvation, destitution and death,” Msuya said. “By the end of September, that number could exceed 640,000. Virtually no one in Gaza is untouched by hunger.”

She added that at least 132,000 children under the age of five are at risk of acute malnutrition, with more than 43,000 of them expected to face life-threatening conditions in the coming months.

“This famine is not a product of drought or some form of natural disaster,” Msuya said. “It is a created catastrophe – the result of a conflict that has caused massive civilian death, injury, destruction and forced displacement.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Gaza’s Health Ministry announced 10 more deaths “due to famine and malnutrition” over the past 24 hours, including two children.

The toll brings the total number of hunger-related deaths in Gaza throughout the war to 313, including 119 children.

‘An engineered famine’
For its part, Israel on Wednesday called on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, a famine monitoring mechanism supported by non-profits and UN agencies, to retract its findings on Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry’s director general, Eden Bar Tal, called last week’s report, which detailed famine in Gaza City and the surrounding area, “deeply flawed, unprofessional, and gravely missing the standards expected from an international body entrusted with such a serious responsibility”.

However, in a joint statement on Wednesday, all members of the UN Security Council – except for the US – stood by the IPC and its work.

Meanwhile, in her own searing address to the council, Save the Children chief Inger Ashing accused world powers of complicity through inaction.

“The Gaza famine is here. An engineered famine. A man-made famine,” she said. “Children in Gaza are systematically being starved to death. This is starvation as a method of war in its starkest terms.”

Ashing described clinics “packed with malnourished children” who have now fallen silent. “Children do not have the strength to speak or even cry out in agony. They lie there emaciated, quite literally wasting away.”

She recounted how children’s drawings in Save the Children support centres in Gaza have shifted from depicting hopes of peace and education to simple wishes for food, and increasingly, for death.

“Once the total siege began in March, children would increasingly tell us they wish for food, for bread. These past few weeks, more and more children have shared that they wish to be dead,” she said.

One child wrote: “I wish I was in heaven where my mother is. In heaven, there is love, there is food and water.”

Attacks continue
As famine warnings mounted at the UN, hospitals in Gaza reported new casualties from Israeli strikes.

The Kuwait Specialised Field Hospital said an overnight drone strike on tents sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis killed three people, including a child and a woman, and wounded 21 others. Nasser Hospital said at least six more were killed in separate strikes in the city.

Israeli strikes near aid distribution sites run by the controversial Israeli and US-backed GHF killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, according to medical staff. Four of the victims died in Gaza’s north while waiting for meagre food parcels.

All told, Israeli forces killed 51 Palestinians since dawn on Wednesday, according to health sources.

To date, Israel has killed at least 62,895 Palestinians in its war on Gaza. A total of 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.

The attacks come as Israeli forces continue to close in on Gaza City, using overwhelming force in its push to occupy the urban centre, with tanks and warplanes levelling entire residential blocks.

On Tuesday, Israel dropped leaflets on the as-Saftawi area and al-Jalaa Street containing forced evacuation orders for residents to move to the south of the enclave.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee again issued a broad forced displacement order, telling residents “evacuation of Gaza City is inevitable”.

Sourced Via: ALJAZEERA

A Palestinian woman from Gaza, previously declared dead in early January 2024, has been found alive in Israeli detention.

Bisan Fadl Muhammad Fayyad went missing on 7 January in Deir al-Balah. The following day, her family were contacted by Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which had received a body believed to be hers.

Fadl Muhammad Fayyad, her father, told Middle East Eye that the body was severely burnt and unrecognisable.

However, Bisan’s identity card, wallet, and necklace were found on the body, leading the family to believe it was her.

Months after her burial, on 21 March 2025, the family received a call informing them that Bisan was, in fact, alive and being held in Israeli custody, according to the Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (PCMFD), which reported the development on Monday.

Her family has since sought to confirm her detention.

On Sunday, Israeli authorities confirmed that Bisan is indeed alive. However, she is reportedly suffering from serious health complications, including a spinal injury that has left her with partial paralysis.

"When we found her belongings, we buried her and entrusted our affairs to God," her father told MEE.

He added that the assumption was based solely on the items found with the body, as it was too badly burned to identify.

The family received confirmation last week, through human rights groups, that she was in detention. However, they have yet to receive any direct proof, such as a phone call from Bisan or confirmation from released detainees.

"We feel a mix of happiness and sadness," her father said. "When we thought she had died, we bid her farewell and hoped she was in a better place. But now, learning that she is detained and paralysed brings immense pain.

'We feel stuck between hope and loss' – Fadl Muhammad Fayyad, Bisan's father

"Now we feel stuck between hope and loss. In some ways, death might have been easier."

The PCMFD stressed in its statement that this incident "embodies one aspect of the greater tragedy experienced by thousands of missing and forcibly disappeared Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

"Their families are denied the most basic right to know the fate of their sons and daughters, and live between despair and hope, loss and waiting."

The human rights centre has urged international pressure on Israel to "reveal the fate of detainee Fayyad, ensure her release and provide her with appropriate treatment," as well as disclosing information about all forcibly disappeared detainees – whether alive or killed during detention.

'Not an isolated incident'
The PCMFD noted that the revelation of Fayyad's fate also reflects how Israel tampers with the bodies and identity of Palestinian detainees.

According to the centre, Israel is deliberately mixing up documents and attaching them to decomposing bodies, making it difficult to identify them.

It also called for the correct identification of the unknown woman whose body was handed over to Fayyad's family and buried.

"We are facing a double crime: Israel is not content with depriving detainees of their rights, but is also practicing a policy of enforced disappearance and denying families access to the truth.

"Fayyad's case is not an isolated incident, but rather an example of recurring suffering that requires urgent and decisive intervention."

Amid relentless Israeli bombardment and the military’s obstruction of search and rescue efforts, thousands of Palestinians across the devastated Gaza Strip have been reported missing since 7 October 2023.

While estimates vary and are difficult to ascertain, local authorities believe that at least 11,000 Palestinians – the majority of them women and children – are missing. Many of them are thought to be buried under rubble, detained by Israeli authorities or disappeared under other circumstances.

Meanwhile, the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons has sharply escalated since the onset of the war, with arrests, deaths in custody and allegations of abuse all surging to record levels.

*Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Israeli forces handed over the body believed to belong to Bisan Fadl Muhammad Fayyad. In fact, the body was found in Gaza and transferred to Nasser Hospital.*

Written By: Ahmed Aziz in Khan Younis, occupied Palestine and Mera Aladam
Sourced Via: Middle East Eye

An Israeli army attack killed a former Palestinian basketball player while he was seeking food in Gaza, local media reported late on Tuesday.

Mohammed Shaalan, 40, one of the most prominent players of the Palestinian national basketball team, was targeted and killed by Israeli gunfire in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, while trying to obtain food for his children at an American and Israeli food distribution site, Wafa news agency reported.

Shaalan's daughter, Maryam, who suffers from kidney failure and severe blood poisoning, was waiting for her father to return with food and medicine — but instead, his lifeless body came back.

Nicknamed “The Earthquake,” Shaalan played for several local basketball teams as well as the Palestinian national team.

Israel has recently faced sharp international criticism after killing a former Palestinian player Suleiman al-Obeid, known as the “Palestinian Pelé,” while he was waiting for aid near a distribution point in southern Gaza.

More than 800 athletes have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s attack on October 7, 2023, as the sports community continues to suffer under bombardment, famine and the collapse of infrastructure, according to Palestinian officials.

Palestinians attempting to collect scarce food from Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites have come under attack by Israeli soldiers and US mercenaries time and again.

Over 1,300 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to access food, according to the United Nations.

Media reports citing whistleblower accounts claim many were deliberately shot by Israeli soldiers or US security contractors working for the GHF.

Despite the danger, thousands of Palestinians continue to risk their lives daily at GHF sites in a desperate attempt to survive.

Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

Sourced from: TRT GLOBAL

The proposal from Egypt and Qatar is said to be based on a framework put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff in June.

It would see Hamas free around half of the 50 remaining hostages – 20 of whom are believed to be alive – in two batches during an initial 60-day truce. There would also be negotiations on a permanent ceasefire.

It is unclear what Israel's response will be, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said last week that it would only accept a deal if "all the hostages are released in one go".
In a video released after the reports of Hamas's approval emerged, Netanyahu did not comment directly but said that "from them you can get one impression – Hamas is under immense pressure."

The Israeli military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, meanwhile said it was at a turning point in the 22-month war, with the "focus on enhancing the strikes against Hamas in Gaza City".

It came as witnesses on the ground in Gaza City reported that Israeli tanks backed by air and artillery strikes had made a surprise advance into the southern Sabra neighbourhood, and surrounded schools and a UN-run clinic sheltering hundreds of displaced people.

Later this week, the Israeli cabinet is expected to approve the military's plan to occupy Gaza City, where intensifying Israeli strikes have already prompted thousands of people to flee.

Netanyahu announced Israel's intention to widen its offensive and conquer all of Gaza – including the areas where most of its 2.1 million Palestinian residents have sought refuge – after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire deal broke down last month.
A Hamas delegation led by the group's chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, has been in Cairo since last week meeting mediators who see a window of opportunity for a new agreement.

On Monday morning, a senior Hamas official told the BBC that the delegation was reviewing a new ceasefire proposal that it had received the previous day.

Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, also visited the Egyptian capital to "apply maximum pressure on the two sides to reach a deal as soon as possible", Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said.

Speaking during his own trip to the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, Abdelatty stressed the urgency of reaching a ceasefire to alleviate the deep humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. He said the current situation on the ground there was "beyond imagination".
Israel's prime minister has said the war will only end once all the hostages are released and Hamas disarms. He also wants Gaza to be demilitarised, kept under Israeli security control, and run by an administration not linked to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas has called for a comprehensive deal that would see the hostages it is holding exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, as well as an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. It says it will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is created.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 62,004 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Most of Gaza's population has also been displaced multiple times; more than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and UN-backed global food security experts have warned that the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" due to food shortages.

Gaza's health ministry reported on Monday that another five people, including two children, had died as a result of malnutrition over the previous 24 hours, raising the total number of such deaths since the start of the war to 263.

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Hunger and a heatwave plague the Gaza Strip
A child queues for water in Gaza.
© UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel A child queues for water in Gaza.

14 August 2025 Humanitarian Aid
As hunger and malnutrition deepen in the Gaza Strip, humanitarian missions continue to face delays and impediments, while scorching temperatures are adding to the suffering of the population.

Recently, Israel has denied fewer humanitarian movements but approved missions “still take hours to complete and teams have been compelled to wait on roads that are often dangerous, congested or impassable,” the UN aid coordination office OCHA said in its latest update.

Between 6 and 12 August, humanitarians made 81 attempts to coordinate planned movements with the Israeli authorities, including to transfer fuel and personnel.

Challenges to aid delivery
Of this number, 35 were facilitated, 29 were initially approved but then impeded on the ground, 12 were denied and five had to be withdrawn by the organizers.

However, 14 of the missions that had faced obstructions eventually went ahead.

Nearly three years have passed since hostilities erupted in Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel which left roughly 1,200 people dead.

Some 250 others – both Israelis and foreigners – were taken hostage. It is believed 50 are still being held in Gaza, including some who have been declared dead.

Desperate times, desperate measures
Starvation in the enclave is now at its highest level since the conflict began, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

The update cites the Gaza health authorities who have documented 235 malnutrition-related deaths, including 106 children, as of 13 August.

Despite hunger spreading, aid convoys are limited each day and dangers persist as the trucks travel through the war-ravaged enclave.

“Additionally, desperate crowds often offload food supplies from trucks to feed their families – while looting also prevents aid from reaching its intended destinations,” OCHA said.

Last month, WFP collected 1,012 trucks transporting nearly 13,000 metric tonnes of food from the Kerem Shalom and Zikim border crossings with Israel. Only 10 arrived at warehouses and the rest were offloaded on the way.

Food aid risks spoiling
Although WFP and partners have enough food either in the region or headed there to feed all 2.1 million people in Gaza for at least three months, “the risk of spoilage and infestation of the stranded food supplies has significantly increased, and some of them are nearing their expiry dates.”

Humanitarians continue to push for more aid and commercial goods to be allowed into Gaza. Although more food is entering, the quality and quantity remain insufficient to meet the immense needs.

As of 10 August, 81 community kitchens were preparing 324,000 individual meals daily – a “noticeable increase” over the 259,000 daily meals prepared two weeks ago but far below the more than one million daily meals distributed in April.

The heat is on
Meanwhile, a heatwave is making conditions much worse as Gaza is currently experiencing temperatures that surpass 40°C or 104°F.

UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA warned that dehydration is increasing because of the very limited water available.

As part of its ongoing efforts to help the people of Gaza, UNRWA has provided emergency water, sanitation and hygiene services to about 1.7 million people since the start of the war.

Protests, vigils held worldwide over Israel’s killing of Gaza journalists
From South Africa’s Cape Town to Manila in the Philippines and London in the UK, voices are raised in protest.

Filipino activists shout slogans as they condemn the killing of Palestinian Al Jazeera journalists and media workers in a recent Israeli airstrike in Gaza, during a protest in Quezon city, Philippines on August 13, 2025.
Filipino activists shout slogans as they condemn the killing of Palestinian Al Jazeera journalists and media workers in a recent Israeli air strike in Gaza, during a protest in Quezon City, the Philippines, on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 [Aaron Favila/AP]
Al Jazeera Staff
By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 13 Aug 2025
13 Aug 2025
Protests and vigils have taken place around the world in support of Palestinians suffering in Gaza and to pay tribute to the four Al Jazeera journalists and two freelancers killed by Israel in the besieged enclave in a deliberate targeted assassination on Sunday.

Journalists, students, activists and members of civil society – notably in Cape Town, South Africa; Manila, the Philippines; and London, the United Kingdom – held the protests on Wednesday to call on their governments to put pressure on Israel to allow international media into Gaza and bring an end to Israel’s genocidal war there.

Five Al Jazeera journalists, including correspondent Anas al-Sharif, were killed in an Israeli air strike on Sunday. Two others were killed, including a freelance journalist, the broadcaster said.

Israel's military said it targeted Sharif, alleging he had "served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas" – something Sharif denied. Israel provided little evidence.

The BBC understands Sharif did some work with a Hamas media team in Gaza before the current conflict.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said the UK government was "gravely concerned" and called for an independent investigation.

Speaking to reporters, Starmer's official spokesman said Israel should ensure journalists can work safely and report without fear.

The funerals of Sharif, fellow Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa took place on Monday following the targeted missile strike on their tent in Gaza City.

Mohammad al-Khaldi was named by medics at al-Shifa hospital as the sixth journalist who was killed during the strike, Reuters news agency reported. Another person was also killed in the attack, it said.

Streets in Gaza were thronged with crowds gathered for the funerals. Anas al-Sharif was a household name who had millions of followers online.

Reporters Without Borders, a media freedom group, strongly condemned what it called the assassination of Sharif.

The Foreign Press Association said it was outraged by the targeted killing. It said the Israeli military had repeatedly labelled Palestinian journalists "as militants, often without verifiable evidence".

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was appalled by the attack and that Israel had failed to provide evidence to back up its allegations against Sharif.

"Israel has a longstanding, documented pattern of accusing journalists of being terrorists without providing any credible proof," the organisation added.

The Israeli military has suggested it has documents found in Gaza that confirmed Sharif belonged to Hamas.

It said these include "personnel rosters, lists of terrorist training courses, phone directories and salary documents".

The only materials that have been released for publication are screenshots of spreadsheets apparently listing Hamas operatives from the northern Gaza Strip, noting injuries to Hamas operatives, and a section of what is said to be a phone directory for the armed group's East Jabalia battalion.

The BBC cannot independently verify these documents, and has seen no evidence of Sharif having involvement in the current war or remaining an active member of Hamas.

No Israeli explanation has so far been given for the killing of the entire Al Jazeera news crew.

CPJ says at least 186 journalists have been killed since the start of Israel's military offensive in Gaza in October 2023 – the deadliest period for journalists since it began recording such data in 1992.

"Israel must respect & protect all civilians, including journalists," the UN Human Rights office said in a post on X. "We call for immediate, safe and unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists."