Ireland, the UK, Canada, Australia and other countries have said that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had reached “unimaginable levels” and called on Israel to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave.
“Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation,” the foreign ministers of the countries said in a joint statement published by Britain.
“We call on the government of Israel to provide authorisation for all international NGO (Non-governmental organisations) aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating,” the statement said.
They said that “humanitarian space must be protected, and aid should never be politicised”.
The statement was signed by 27 partners including Ireland, Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Japan and the European Union.
The UN health agency has said Israel should let it stock medical supplies to deal with a “catastrophic” health situation in Gaza before it seizes control of Gaza City.
Israel has said its military would “take control” of Gaza City in a plan approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet that sparked a wave of global criticism.
“We want to stock up, and we all hear about ‘more humanitarian supplies are allowed in’ – well it’s not happening yet, or it’s happening at a way too low a pace,” said Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s representative in the Palestinian territories.
Fifty-two percent of medicines were running at zero stock, Mr Peeperkorn said, speaking from Jerusalem.
UN agencies warned last month that famine was unfolding in Gaza, with Israel severely restricting aid entry.
Mr Peeperkorn said the WHO was able to bring in fewer supplies than it wanted “due to the cumbersome procedures” and products “still denied” entry – a topic of constant negotiation with the Israeli authorities.
“We want to as quickly stock up hospitals… following the news – the whole discussion about an incursion in Gaza,” he said.
“We currently cannot do that… We need to be able to get all essential medicines and medical supplies in.”
He said only 50% of hospitals and 38% of primary health care centres were functioning, and that too partially.
Bed occupancy has reached 240% capacity in the Al-Shifa hospital and 300% Al-Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza.
“The overall health situation remains catastrophic,” he said. “Hunger and malnutrition continue to ravage Gaza.”
Mr Peeperkorn said 148 people died from the effects of malnutrition this year, citing 5 August as the cut-off date.
Nearly 12,000 children aged under five were identified to be suffering from acute malnutrition in July – the highest monthly figure recorded to date in Gaza, he said.
These include 2,562 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, of whom 40 were hospitalised at stabilisation centres.
EU and UN condemn Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza
The deaths of an Al Jazeera news team, including prominent correspondent Anas al-Sharif, in an Israel strike in Gaza City, have been condemned by the United Nations, the EU and media rights groups.
Dozens of Gazans stood amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to pay their respects to Mr Sharif and four of his colleagues who were killed on Sunday.
Hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya said a sixth journalist, freelance reporter Mohammed Al-Khaldi, was also killed in the strike that targeted the Al Jazeera team.
Mourners, including men wearing blue journalists’ flak jackets, carried their bodies, wrapped in white shrouds with their faces exposed, through narrow alleys to their graves.
Mr Sharif was one of Al Jazeera’s most recognisable faces working in Gaza, providing daily reports on the now 22-month-old war.
Media freedom groups have condemned the Israeli strike on journalists, which the UN human rights agency called a “grave breach of international humanitarian law”.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that “the EU condemns the killing of five Al Jazeera journalists”.
Al Jazeera said four other employees – correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa – were killed when the strike hit a tent set up for journalists outside the main gate of Al-Shifa.
Al Jazeera called the attack “a desperate attempt to silence voices exposing the Israeli occupation” and described Mr Sharif as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists”.
The Qatari broadcaster also said the strike followed “repeated incitement” and calls by Israeli officials to target Sharif and his colleagues.
Reporters Without Borders said that nearly 200 journalists have been killed in the war, which was sparked by Hamas’s deadly October 2023 attack on Israel.
Israel confirmed it had targeted Mr Sharif, 28, whom it labelled a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas, alleging he “posed as a journalist”.
An Israeli military statement accused Mr Sharif of heading a Hamas “terrorist cell” and being “responsible for advancing rocket attacks” against Israelis.
According to local journalists who knew him, Mr Sharif had worked at the start of his career with a Hamas communication office, where his role was to publicise events organised by the group that has ruled in Gaza since 2006.
‘Attempt to silence’
A posthumous message, written by Mr Sharif in April in case of his death, was published online saying he had been silenced and urging people “not to forget Gaza”.
In July, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for his protection following online posts by an Israeli military spokesman.
The group had accused Israel of a “pattern” of labelling journalists militants “without providing credible evidence”, and said the military had levelled similar accusations against media workers in Gaza including Al Jazeera staff.
“International law is clear that active combatants are the only justified targets in a war setting,” said Jodie Ginsberg.
Unless Israel “can demonstrate that Anas al-Sharif was still an active combatant, then there is no justification for his killing”.
Israel prevents international reporters from entering Gaza, except on occasional tightly-controlled trips with the military.
The strike on the news team in Gaza City came days after the Israeli security cabinet approved plans to send troops into the area, a decision met with mounting domestic and international criticism.
Israeli strikes on Gaza City intensifying – Gaza civil defence
In recent days, Israeli airstrikes on the city have intensified, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.
The Israeli government has not provided an exact timetable on when its forces would enter the area, but according to the civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal, airstrikes on Gaza City have been increasing for the past three days.
Mr Bassal said the residential neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra have been hit “with very heavy airstrikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings”.
“For the third consecutive day, the Israeli occupation is intensifying its bombardment,” said the spokesman.
“The Israeli occupation is using all types of weapons in that area – bombs, drones, and also highly explosive munitions that cause massive destruction to civilian homes,” he added.
Mr Bassal said that at least 24 people had been killed across Gaza today, including several casualties caused by strikes on Gaza City.
“The bombardment has been extremely intense for the past two days. With every strike, the ground shakes. There are martyrs under the rubble that no one can reach because the shelling hasn’t stopped,” said Majed al-Hosary, a resident in Zeitoun.
‘Another calamity’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military will conquer the remaining quarter or so of the territory not yet controlled by Israeli troops, including much of Gaza City and Al-Mawasi, an Israeli-designated safe zone where huge numbers of Palestinians have sought refuge.
The plan, which Israeli media reported had triggered bitter disagreement between the government and military leadership, drew condemnation from protesters in Israel and numerous countries, including Israeli allies.
Notably Germany, a major weapons supplier and staunch ally, announced the suspension of shipments of any arms that could be used in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu has remained defiant, telling journalists that “we will win the war, with or without the support of others”.
The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have condemned the planned offensive, which UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca said “will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza”.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,499 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, figures the United Nations says are reliable.
Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
