Summary
Here is a recap of today’s main developments:
The UK, France and Germany have issued a statement saying the Gaza “humanitarian catastrophe must end now”. They have called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid”. The joint statement also calls on all parties to bring about an immediate ceasefire, for an unconditional release of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas.
Gaza is on the brink of running out of the specialised therapeutic food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children, United Nations and humanitarian agencies say. Salim Oweis, a spokesperson for Unicef in Amman, Jordan, told Reuters supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a crucial treatment, would be depleted by mid-August if nothing changed.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Friday that a quarter of all young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women screened at its clinics in Gaza last week were malnourished, blaming Israel’s “policy of starvation”. MSF said that “rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have tripled in the last two weeks alone”, AFP reports.
Qatar and Egypt, in partnership with the US, have affirmed their commitment to continue efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, according to a joint statement reported by Reuters. Qatar’s foreign ministry also referred to Thursday’s pause on negotiations to hold consultations as a “natural matter” given the complexity of the talks. Both countries said there had been some progress in the latest round of talks.
Israeli army radio, citing a military official, reported that Israel would allow foreign countries to parachute aid into Gaza starting on Friday, Reuters reports.
UN secretary general António Guterres on Friday criticised the international community for turning a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians starving in the Gaza Strip, calling it a “moral crisis that challenges the global conscience.”
The death toll from Israeli military operations in Gaza has reached 59,676, according to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. In the past 24 hours alone, 89 people were killed and 467 were injured, the ministry said in its daily report.
Ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel are expected to resume next week, AFP reports. Hamas official, Bassem Naim said on Friday that he was told an Israeli delegation would depart for consultations early next week.
Israel, with its US allies, is now considering alternative options to bring its hostages home, end Hamas’ rule in Gaza, and secure lasting peace for Israel, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, Reuters reports.
Donald Trump has said Hamas “did not want to make a deal” on a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza. Referring to Hamas leaders, Trump said: “I think they will be hunted down”.
A Hamas official on Friday accused US envoy Steve Witkoff of distorting reality after he announced Washington’s withdrawal from Gaza truce talks and accused the group of blocking a deal. Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said: “The negative statements of the US envoy Witkoff run completely counter to the context in which the last negotiations were held, and he is perfectly aware of this, but they come to serve the Israeli position.”
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday his country cannot accept “carnage and famine” in Gaza, criticising Israel but stating that Italy was not ready to recognise the state of Palestine. He added that the recognition of a Palestinian state must occur simultaneously with the recognition of Israel by the new entity.
Israeli forces have arrested more than 200 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank over the past three months, according to a statement from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
France’s plan to formally recognise a Palestinian state runs counter to the stance held by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Paris said Friday. “Hamas has always ruled out a two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France goes against that terrorist organisation,” foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.
Donald Trump on Friday dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. “What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for “urgent collective action by states” to end the suffering in Gaza.
As ceasefire negotiations have stalled, the organisation’s president Mirjana Spoljaric released a strongly worded statement, condemning “political hesitation”. She called for the resumption of “rapid, unimpeded and impartial” aid deliveries, the unconditional release of all remaining hostages and allowing the ICRC to resume visits to Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention.
The statement adds:
Every minute without a ceasefire risks civilian lives. The level of suffering inflicted on civilians because of warfare conducted indiscriminately and the extreme deprivation of the essentials for survival is abhorrent.
People are being relentlessly killed in hostilities and while attempting to get food. Children are dying because they do not have enough to eat. Families are being forced to flee again and again in search of safety that does not exist. The ICRC has more than 350 staff on the ground in Gaza, many of whom are also struggling to find enough food and clean water.
This tragedy must end now – immediately and decisively. Every political hesitation, every attempt at justification of the horrors being committed under international watch will forever be judged as a collective failure to preserve humanity in war.
Germany 'prepared to increase pressure' on Israel, but did not give details
Germany, which joined the UK and France in calling on Israel to immediately lift aid blocks in Gaza, has traditionally been a particularly staunch ally of Israel in Europe.
But Berlin, too, has sharpened its tone recently, the Associated Press reports, describing the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza as unacceptable and pushing for greater humanitarian aid. But it still appears to favour trying to influence Israeli officials by direct contact.
The German government said in a statement on Friday that it is in a “constant exchange” with the Israeli government and other partners on issues that include a ceasefire in Gaza and the need to drastically improve humanitarian aid. It said it is “prepared to increase the pressure” if there is no progress, but didn’t elaborate on how.
Israeli officials have said they believe Hamas is still interested in a ceasefire deal but accused the militant group of “trying to squeeze every possible advantage, provoking and appeasing all the extremist factions within Gaza”, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The publication quoted an official as saying that Hamas demands to release prisoners in exchange for hostages who have died was “outlandish”.
The report comes as negotiations were effectively stalled when the US and Israel recalled their negotiators from Doha on Thursday.
Updated
Julian Borger is a senior international correspondent who has reported for the Guardian in the US, the Middle East, eastern Europe and the Balkans. He has written this analysis on growing pressure on the UK’s Keir Starmer to pick a side now Macron has announced France will recognise Palestine as a state:
Emmanuel Macron’s declaration, announced in typically dramatic fashion on social media late on Thursday night, draws a bright line between the paths followed by the US and France over the Gaza war, and significantly raises the pressure on the UK, Germany and other G7 powers to pick a side.
Macron, Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz held what Starmer described as an “emergency call” on Friday, to coordinate positions. It led to a joint call for Israel to lift its food blockade immediately, an immediate ceasefire and release of hostages held by Hamas. But there was no apparent shift in Merz and Starmer’s position on recognition.
Merz’s government said it had “no plans to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term”.
Starmer stuck to his position that statehood would only come as part of a sequence of coordinated steps towards peace.
“Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that,” the prime minister said. “But it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis.”
Updated
UK prime minister says recognising Palestinian statehood should be part of 'pathway' to peace
British prime minister Keir Starmer said recognising Palestinian statehood should be part of a “pathway” to peace amid mounting pressure on the UK to follow France.
In a statement released after he and the leaders of France and Germany restated their calls for a ceasefire, Starmer said:
The appalling scenes in Gaza are unrelenting.
The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel’s disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible.
Alongside our closest allies, I am working on a pathway to peace in the region, focused on the practical solutions that will make a real difference to the lives of those that are suffering in this war.
That pathway will set out the concrete steps needed to turn the ceasefire so desperately needed, into a lasting peace.
Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that.
But it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis.
This is the way to ensure it is a tool of maximum utility to improve the lives of those who are suffering - which of course, will always be our ultimate goal.
Qatar and Egypt, in partnership with the US, have affirmed their commitment to continue efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, according to a joint statement reported by Reuters.
Qatar’s foreign ministry also referred to Thursday’s pause on negotiations to hold consultations as a “natural matter” given the complexity of the talks. Both countries said there had been some progress in the latest round of talks.
The joint statement also calls on all parties “to bring an end to the conflict by reaching an immediate ceasefire” and urges Hamas to agree the “unconditional release of all hostages”.
“The most basic needs of the civilian population, including access to water and food, must be met without any further delay,” the statement continues.
It adds: “The disarmament of Hamas is imperative, and Hamas must have no role in the future of Gaza.”
“Threats of annexation, settlements and acts of settler violence against Palestinians undermine the prospects for a negotiated two-state solution,” the statement continues.
Updated
UK, France and Germany call for immediate end to 'humanitarian catastrophe' in Gaza and demand Israel lifts restrictions on aid
The UK, France and Germany have issued a statement saying the Gaza “humanitarian catastrophe must end now” They have called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid”.
“The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now,” a joint statement reads. “Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable.”
More to follow …
Updated
Peter Beaumont is a senior international reporter who has reported extensively from conflict zones including Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Ukraine. He is the former Jerusalem correspondent of the Guardian and has written this analysis on Israel and starvation in Gaza.
Israel is pursuing an extensive PR effort to remove itself from blame for the starvation and killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is responsible.
As dozens of governments, UN organisations and other international figures have detailed Israel’s culpability, officials and ministers in Israel have attempted to suggest that there is no hunger in Gaza, that if hunger exists it is not Israel’s fault, or to blame Hamas or the UN and aid organisations for problems with distribution of aid.
The Israeli effort has continued even as one of its own government ministers, the far-right heritage minister, Amichai Eliyahu, appeared to describe an unapologetic policy of starvation, genocide and ethnic cleansing that Israel has denied and said is not official policy.
Amid evidence of a growing number of deaths from starvation in Gaza, including many child deaths, and shocking images and accounts of malnutrition, Israel has tried to deflect blame for what has been described by the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) as “man-made mass starvation”.
That view was endorsed in a joint statement this week by 28 countries – including the UK – which explicitly blamed Israel. “The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,” the statement said. “The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazan’s of human dignity.
“We condemn the drip-feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.”
You can read the full piece here.
Updated
A third of people in Gaza 'not eating for day' amid 'astonishing desperation', UN 's World Food Programme says
Almost a third of people in Gaza are “not eating for days”, the United Nations food aid agency, the World Food Programme, has told the AFP news agency, saying the crisis has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation”.
“Nearly one person in three is not eating for days. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment,” the WFP said. It has previously warned of a “critical risk of famine” in Gaza.
It said that 470,000 people are expected to face “catastrophic hunger” – the most critical category under the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase classification – between May and September this year.
“Food aid is the only way for people to access any food as food prices are through the roof,” the WFP said. “People are dying from lack of humanitarian assistance.”
US forces killed an Islamic State group leader in a raid in Syria’s Aleppo province on Friday, the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The raid resulted “in the death of senior ISIS leader, Dhiya Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, and his two adult ISIS-affiliated sons,” CENTCOM said in a statement, using an acronym for the jihadist group.
“These ISIS individuals posed a threat to US and Coalition forces, as well as the new Syrian government,” it said, adding that three women and three children were at the location that was raided and were unharmed in the operation, AFP reports.
The Islamic State group rose out of the chaos of the Syrian civil war to seize swathes of territory there and in neighbouring Iraq over a decade ago.
It has since suffered major defeats in both countries, but the United States still periodically targets the jihadist group’s remnants with raids or strikes to prevent it from resurging.
France’s highest court ruled on Friday that an arrest warrant for former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was invalid as it was issued when he was still in office, but said a new warrant can now be issued as he is no longer a sitting head of state, Reuters reports.
French investigating magistrates had issued the warrant in November 2023 following a French investigation into chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian city of Douma and Eastern Ghouta district in August 2013 that killed more than 1,000 people.
Then-President Assad’s government denied using chemical weapons during the country’s civil war that broke out in 2011. Assad was toppled in December last year by Islamist rebels whose leader is now the interim president.
The Court of Cassation’s decision overturns one made by the Paris Court of Appeal, which had ruled last year that the warrant was valid. Prosecutors, who would need to ask police to carry out the warrant, had challenged its validity.
The Court of Cassation said in a statement:
“The arrest warrant issued at a time when this person was the head of state of Syria is therefore invalid ... However, an arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity can now be issued since this person no longer holds the position of Head of State.”
UN chief criticises international community's 'lack of compassion’ for Palestinians in Gaza
UN secretary general António Guterres on Friday criticised the international community for turning a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians starving in the Gaza Strip, calling it a “moral crisis that challenges the global conscience”, AFP reports.
“I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community – the lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of humanity,” Guterres said in a speech via videolink to Amnesty International’s global assembly.
Hamas says US accusations over Gaza deal failure 'run counter' to talks
A Hamas official on Friday accused US envoy Steve Witkoff of distorting reality after he announced Washington’s withdrawal from Gaza truce talks and accused the group of blocking a deal.
“The negative statements of the US envoy Witkoff run completely counter to the context in which the last negotiations were held, and he is perfectly aware of this, but they come to serve the Israeli position,” said Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim in an interview with AFP.
Italy can 'no longer accept carnage and famine' in Gaza - foreign minister
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday his country cannot accept “carnage and famine” in Gaza, criticising Israel but stating that Italy was not ready to recognise the state of Palestine.
Italy’s hard-right government has been criticised by the opposition for its stance on Israel but, like many EU countries, has become increasingly concerned the humanitarian situation in Gaza, AFP reports.
“We can no longer accept carnage and famine,” Tajani said, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency, while adding that Rome can only recognise Palestine “at the same time as their recognition of the state of Israel”.
“The time has come for an immediate ceasefire,” Tajani said, speaking at a political party congress.
Tajani used the word “famine” as aid groups warned of starvation spreading in Gaza and as Britain, France and Germany were to hold an “emergency call” on the crisis.
Trump dismisses Macron's plan to recognise Palestinian state
Donald Trump on Friday dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September Reuters reports.
“What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight.”
Israeli forces have arrested more than 200 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank over the past three months, according to a statement from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
The IDF said seven reserve battalions had carried out “hundreds of targeted operations” across the West Bank, claiming to have “confiscated hundreds of various weapons” and “eliminated terrorists who posed a threat”.
In addition to the arrests, the IDF said it had thwarted dozens of planned attacks during the deployment, which it said aimed to “protect the residents of Judea and Samaria” – otherwise known as the West Bank.
Israel’s military operations in the West Bank have drawn mounting criticism, with rights groups accusing the IDF of colluding with Israeli settlers in attacks on Palestinians.
Earlier this month, the United Nations human rights office confirmed there has been an increase in killings and attacks against Palestinians by settlers and security forces in the occupied West Bank.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has described scenes of starvation in Gaza as “deplorable” as pressure mounts on the UK government to recognise Palestinian statehood.
Speaking during a visit to a Rolls-Royce factory near Glasgow, Reeves said the immediate priority was ensuring life-saving aid reached those in need.
We’ve all seen the scenes unfolding in Gaza, it is incredibly depressing and deplorable what is happening there.
To avoid a further humanitarian crisis, we must get that food, those medical supplies and aid in to Gaza.
Reeves reaffirmed the government’s support for a two-state solution, calling it “the only way to having enduring peace in the Middle East – a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and peaceful Palestinian state.”
France’s decision to formally recognise Palestine has intensified calls on the UK government to act, with momentum also building within Westminster for Britain to follow suit.
Scottish first minister John Swinney said he “very much welcomed” Emmanuel Macron’s announcement and urged London to act. “Anyone looking at the suffering of the people of Palestine … must come to the conclusion that an immediate solution is required,” he said.
“The solution also is the movement towards a two-state solution, which involves the recognition of an independent Palestinian state.”
Updated
Donald Trump has said Hamas “did not want to make a deal” on a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, the US president’s comments echoed those of his Middle East peace envoy, Steve Witkoff, who said yesterday the Trump team had pulled its negotiators for consultations following Hamas’s latest proposal.
Meanwhile, Israeli media report that Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Hamas for the deadlock, saying in a statement: “Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal. Together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home.”
AP reported earlier that ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume next week. Hamas official Bassem Naim said on Friday that an Israeli delegation was due to leave for consultations early next week.
Updated
Palestinian Health Ministry says 89 killed in 24 hours
The death toll from Israeli military operations in Gaza has reached 59,676, according to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
In the past 24 hours alone, 89 people were killed and 467 were injured, the ministry said in its daily report. Emergency crews are reportedly still unable to reach victims trapped under rubble or left in the streets.
Since March 18, 2025, 8,527 people have been killed and 31,924 injured, the ministry added.
Victims attempting to collect aid continue to be among the dead and wounded.
Over the past day, nine such deaths and more than 45 injuries were recorded, bringing the total number of fatalities related to Palestinians collecting aid to 1,092, and more than 7,320 injuries, according to the ministry.
Summary
Here is a recap of events so far today:
Gaza is on the brink of running out of the specialised therapeutic food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children, United Nations and humanitarian agencies say. Salim Oweis, a spokesperson for Unicef in Amman, Jordan, told Reuters supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a crucial treatment, would be depleted by mid-August if nothing changed.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Friday that a quarter of all young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women screened at its clinics in Gaza last week were malnourished, blaming Israel’s “policy of starvation”. MSF said that “rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have tripled in the last two weeks alone”, AFP reports.
Israeli army radio, citing a military official, reported that Israel would allow foreign countries to parachute aid into Gaza starting on Friday, Reuters reports.
Ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel are expected to resume next week, AFP reports. Hamas official, Bassem Naim said on Friday that he was told an Israeli delegation would depart for consultations early next week.
Israel, with its US allies, is now considering alternative options to bring its hostages home, end Hamas’ rule in Gaza, and secure lasting peace for Israel, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, Reuters reports.
France’s plan to formally recognise a Palestinian state runs counter to the stance held by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Paris said Friday. “Hamas has always ruled out a two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France goes against that terrorist organisation,” foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.
The recognition of a Palestinian state must occur simultaneously with the recognition of Israel by the new entity, the Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday.
The UN has urged the UK to repeal “disproportionate” Palestine Action ban, AFP reports.
Germany said on Friday it had “no plans to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term”.
An internal US government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of US-funded humanitarian supplies, Reuters reports. A State Department spokesperson disputed the findings.
Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf Arab states on Friday welcomed President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France would recognise the state of Palestine, and urged other countries to follow suit, AFP reports.
Iran said it would continue nuclear talks with European powers after “serious, frank, and detailed” conversations on Friday, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the US bombed Iran last month.
Israel and US considering alternative options to bring hostages home, end Hamas' rule - Netanyahu
Israel, with its US allies, is now considering alternative options to bring its hostages home, end Hamas’ rule in Gaza, and secure lasting peace for Israel, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, Reuters reports.
A Lebanese pro-Palestinian communist militant has arrived in Lebanon following his release after more than 40 years in detention in France, AP reports.
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, 74, was serving a life sentence for complicity in the murders of two diplomats, one American and one Israeli, in Paris in 1982.
The Paris court of appeal ruled last week that Abdallah could be released on the condition that he leave the country and never return.
Abdallah was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for complicity in the assassinations of US army Lt Col Charles Ray, who was stationed in Paris as an assistant military attaché, and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov.
Syria, the United States, and France said in a joint statement on Friday that they had agreed to engage quickly on efforts to ensure the success of Syria’s transition, unity and territorial integrity, Reuters reports.
The three parties agreed on the need to ensure that Syria’s neighbours do not pose a threat, and that Syria will not pose a threat to its neighbours.
Hamas says ceasefire talks expected to resume next week after US and Israel recall negotiators
Ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel are expected to resume next week, AP reports.
Hamas official, Bassem Naim said on Friday that he was told an Israeli delegation would depart for consultations early next week.
His comments come a day after the United States recalled its negotiating team from Qatar and after President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff said Hamas’ latest response to the negotiations showed a “lack of desire” to reach a truce.
Updated
Here are some images coming to us over the wires.
Israel will allow foreign countries to drop aid into Gaza from Friday, army radio says
Israeli army radio, citing a military official, reported that Israel would allow foreign countries to parachute aid into Gaza starting on Friday, Reuters reports.
An Israeli military spokesperson did not immediately reply to a Reuters request seeking confirmation.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Friday that Tehran held a “serious, frank, and detailed” discussion with European powers about sanctions relief and the nuclear issue, in which both sides presented specific ideas.
He added that Iran reiterated its principled positions, including on the snapback sanctions mechanism, and that it was agreed that consultations on the matter would continue, Reuters reports.
Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf Arab states on Friday welcomed President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France would recognise the state of Palestine, and urged other countries to follow suit, AFP reports.
The Saudi foreign ministry said: “The kingdom commends this historic decision, which reaffirms the international community’s consensus on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and to establish their independent state.”
It called on other countries “that have not yet recognised the State of Palestine to take similar positive steps”.
Qatar, a key mediator in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on ending the Gaza war, also welcomed the French move.
Its foreign ministry said the move “constitutes significant support for the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people” and “contributes to advancing prospects for achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the region”.
The Kuwaiti foreign ministry said it “commended this significant step”.
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – which also includes the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, both of which have ties with Israel – also praised the move.
A ministerial-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia to discuss a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is planned for later this month.
Updated
The UN rights chief on Friday criticised Britain’s ban on activist group Palestine Action as a “disturbing” misuse of UK counter-terrorism legislation, and urged the government to rescind its decision, AFP reports.
“The decision appears disproportionate and unnecessary. It limits the rights of many people involved with and supportive of Palestine Action who have not themselves engaged in any underlying criminal activity but rather exercised their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” Volker Turk said in a statement.
From Syria, Reuters reports that hospitals in the southern city of Sweida are under immense pressure, following an escalation of sectarian clashes this month between the Druze and Syrian Bedouin tribes.
“Inside of Sweida it’s a grim picture with the health facilities under immense strain...Electricity and water are cut off, and essential medicine supplies are running out,” World Health Organization representative in Syria Christina Bethke told reporters in Geneva via video link.
Here are some images coming to us over the wires.
Germany says no plans to recognise a Palestinian state ’in short term’
Germany said on Friday it had “no plans to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term” after President Emmanuel Macron said France was intending to make such a move in September, AFP reports.
“The government continues to regard the recognition of a Palestinian state as one of the final steps on the path to achieving a two-state solution,” spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement, adding that “Israel’s security is of paramount importance to the German government”.
The recognition of a Palestinian state must occur simultaneously with the recognition of Israel by the new entity, the Italian foreign minister said on Friday, the day after France said it would recognise Palestinian statehood in September.
“A Palestinian state that does not recognise Israel means that the problem will not be resolved,” foreign minister Antonio Tajani told a meeting of his conservative Forza Italia party in Rome, Reuters reports.
Gaza running out of specialised food to save malnourished children, UN agencies say
Gaza is on the brink of running out of the specialised therapeutic food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children, United Nations and humanitarian agencies say.
“We are now facing a dire situation, that we are running out of therapeutic supplies,” Salim Oweis, a spokesperson for Unicef in Amman, Jordan, told Reuters on Thursday, saying supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a crucial treatment, would be depleted by mid-August if nothing changed.
“That’s really dangerous for children as they face hunger and malnutrition at the moment,” he added.
Oweis said Unicef had only enough RUTF left to treat 3,000 children. In the first two weeks of July alone, Unicef treated 5,000 children facing acute malnutrition in Gaza.
Nutrient-dense, high-calorie RUTF supplies, such as high-energy biscuits and peanut paste enriched with milk powder, are critical for treating severe malnutrition.
“Most malnutrition treatment supplies have been consumed and what is left at facilities will run out very soon if not replenished,” a World Health Organization spokesperson said on Thursday.
Gaza ceasefire talks expected to resume next week as Israel studies Hamas response, Egypt's Al Qahera news says
Gaza ceasefire talks are expected to resume next week following Israel’s review of the response by Palestinian Hamas militants, Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said on Friday, citing an Egyptian source.
Al Qahera said the Israeli delegation left one day after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled the negotiating team for consultations, Reuters reports.
Close Israeli ally the United States also recalled its delegation from the talks for consultations on Thursday, with US envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of failing to act in good faith in the talks.
Hamas said it was surprised by Witkoff’s remarks, adding that the group’s position had been welcomed by mediators and had opened the door to reaching a comprehensive agreement.
Iranian and European diplomats have met in Istanbul to embark on the latest drive to unpick the deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear programme, AP reports.
Representatives from Britain, France and Germany gathered at the Iranian consulate building on Friday for the first talks since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June, when US bombers struck nuclear-related facilities.
The talks are centred on the possibility of reimposing sanctions on Iran that were lifted in 2015 in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear programme.
European leaders have said the reinstating of sanctions will start by the end of August if there is no progress on containing Iran’s nuclear programme.
Gaza is starving. So are its journalists.
CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists
In May, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wrote about the desperate situation facing journalists in Gaza, who were having to report while dangerously hungry. My colleagues documented the gnawing hunger, dizziness, brain fog and sickness all experienced by an exhausted Palestinian press corps already living and working in terrifying conditions. Eight weeks later, that desperate situation is now catastrophic.
Several news organizations are now warning that their journalists – those documenting what is happening inside Gaza – will die unless urgent action is taken to stop Israel’s deliberate refusal to allow sufficient food into the territory. “Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us can recall seeing a colleague die of hunger,” an association of journalists from the Agence France-Presse wrote in a statement on Monday. “We refuse to watch them die.” Two days later, the Qatari broadcast network Al Jazeera said its journalists – like all Palestinians in Gaza– were “fighting for their own survival” and warned: “If we fail to act now, we risk a future where there may be no one left to tell our stories.”
You can read the full article here:
An internal US government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of US-funded humanitarian supplies, Reuters reports.
The analysis, which has not been previously reported, was conducted by a bureau within the US Agency for International Development and completed in late June.
It examined 156 incidents of theft or loss of US-funded supplies reported by US aid partner organisations between October 2023 and this May.
It found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from US-funded supplies, according to a slide presentation of the findings seen by Reuters.
The findings challenge the main rationale that Israel and the US give for backing a new armed private aid operation.
A State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, but provided no such videos.
The spokesperson also accused traditional humanitarian groups of covering up “aid corruption.”
UK foreign secretary David Lammy said on Friday the deteriorating situation in Gaza was “indefensible”, repeating calls for a ceasefire, Reuters reports.
“The sight of children reaching for aid and losing their lives has caused consternation over much of the world. And that is why I repeat my call today for a ceasefire,” Lammy said in a joint news conference with the Australian defence minister in Sydney.
“The deteriorating situation we’ve seen in Gaza over the last few weeks is indefensible.”
Keir Starmer said he would hold an “emergency call” on Friday with France and Germany on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, urging a ceasefire and steps towards Palestinian statehood.
“The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible,” the UK prime minister said. “We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe.”
France’s plan to formally recognise a Palestinian state runs counter to the stance held by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Paris said on Friday, AFP reports.
“Hamas has always ruled out a two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France goes against that terrorist organisation,” foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X, a day after President Emmanuel Macron said France would recognise Palestinian statehood in September.
We have more from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The medical charity said that “rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have tripled in the last two weeks alone”.
It blamed Israel’s “policy of starvation”, AFP reports.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East.
The humanitarian crisis inside Gaza deepens as Médecins Sans Frontières has said a quarter of Gaza’s young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women screened at its clinics in Gaza last week were malnourished, AFP reports.
The head of the main UN agency serving Palestinians has said his frontline staff are fainting from hunger, as the number of people dying of starvation in Gaza continued to rise.
It comes as Emmanuel Macron has announced France will recognise Palestinian statehood, saying he hoped it would bring “lasting peace” to the Middle East.
Macron announced the decision on X on Thursday evening and published a letter sent to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, confirming France’s intention to become the first major western power to recognise a Palestinian state.
The move prompted angry responses from Israel, while Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said it was’ “reckless”. It was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Stay with us as we follow the developments.
