Gaza starvation death toll rises to 115 as Israeli attacks continue
At least 62 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, including 19 people seeking aid, and two are suffering from malnutrition, hospital sources told Al Jazeera, amid international outrage over Israel's treatment of the enclave.
Gaza's health ministry said on Thursday that at least 115 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023. Most of the deaths, including many children, have been in recent weeks.
Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza in March and has only allowed a trickle of aid into the territory since late May, triggering a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings of mass starvation.
In a statement on Thursday, the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) warned that "families are being torn apart" amid the hunger crisis.
“Parents are too hungry to care for their children,” the agency’s head, Philippe Lazzarini, said in a post on X.
The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, added that Israel was preventing aid from being verified as it awaited at distribution centers.
Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said the situation was worsening, with Palestinians clamoring for any help.
“Enforced starvation, enforced water shortages, and hunger are gripping the Gaza Strip, with more people suffering from malnutrition and severe, acute shortages of food supplies and other basic necessities,” he said.
“From what we hear from health sources, people’s immune systems are falling apart. They are unable to fight off many of the diseases that are spreading because their bodies are unable to fight them off,” he said.
With the dire situation on the ground largely unchanged, international condemnation continues to mount.
On Thursday, more than 60 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) called for an emergency meeting to step up action against Israel in a letter sent to the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kalas.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Irish member of the European Parliament Lynn Boylan accused EU leaders of double standards when it comes to Palestinian lives.
"Clearly, Palestinian lives are not seen by the elite in the EU on par with, for example, Ukrainian lives," Boylan told Al Jazeera.
"It has a chilling effect, that if you dare to speak out against Israel, if you dare to call out the war crimes that the generals are witnessing, there is an immediate backlash and an attack," she said.
Anger has also grown among European leaders in recent days, with 28 countries earlier this week condemning the aid blockade, while calling for an immediate end to the fighting.
On Thursday, the UK government announced that Prime Minister Keir Star would hold a phone call with her German and French counterparts, “to discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people what they desperately need”.
Communication breakdown
As the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, talks to end the war have broken down again, with US envoy Steve Witkoff announcing that his team will soon leave the talks in Qatar.
This came shortly after Israel announced that it was withdrawing its delegation from the talks.
In a statement, Witkoff accused Hamas of showing a “lack of will to reach a ceasefire.”
“We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza,” Witkoff said, without elaborating.
Hamas, which has repeatedly accused Israel of obstructing the ceasefire agreement, said it was surprised by Witkoff’s remarks.
“The movement reaffirms its willingness to continue and engage in negotiations that help overcome obstacles and lead to a permanent ceasefire agreement,” Hamas said in a statement released late Thursday.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has continued to push for a deal, while simultaneously supporting the relocation of Palestinians from the enclave to surrounding countries, which would likely constitute ethnic cleansing.
France to recognize Palestine
Late Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would formally recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Macron said the decision was to “maintain [France’s] historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
The move would make France the largest and arguably most influential country in Europe to recognize a Palestinian state.
The move was praised by Palestinian Authority Vice President Mahmoud Abbas, who said it demonstrated France’s “commitment to international law and its support for the rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of our independent state.”
Israeli officials quickly condemned the move, with Defense Minister Israel Katz calling it “a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism.”
“We will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian entity that would undermine our security, endanger our existence, and undermine our historic right to the land of Israel,” he said.
