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.
