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Here’s where things stand on Wednesday 30 July 2025:
- Gaza hospitals have recorded seven new deaths “due to famine and malnutrition”, raising the total hunger-related death toll to 154, according the enclave’s Health Ministry.
- Meanwhile, Israeli attacks continue with at least 21 Palestinians, including more than a dozen aid seekers, killed since dawn across the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources speaking to Al Jazeera.
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told his cabinet that the United Kingdom will recognise the state of Palestine by September unless Israel takes “substantive steps” to end its war on Gaza and commits to a lasting peace process.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 60,138 people and wounded 146,269 others. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Aid trucks fall short of meeting needs of Gaza’s population
According to data shared by Gaza’s Government Media Office, what has entered Gaza is a trickle of aid that cannot even be enough to meet the demands of the population for even a single day.
Over the past four days, 269 aid trucks have entered Gaza, and most of them were looted by hungry crowds.
Now, looting aid is not very shocking. It has been a predictable outcome for a prolonged period of a starving population that has been denied access to water, food, and medical supplies.
People have gone days without getting any kind of food, and the number of trucks sent to the Gaza Strip falls short of meeting the needs of the population.
According to statistics shared by the United Nations, Gaza needs at least 500-600 aid trucks on a daily basis that must be distributed to Palestinians in need over the 400 distribution centres across the territory.
Gaza death toll rises
At least 103 Palestinians, including 60 aid seekers, have been killed and 399 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
One body was also recovered from the rubble of previous Israeli attacks, the ministry statement said on Telegram.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed a total of 60,138 Palestinians and injured 146,269 others since October 7, 2023, the ministry added.
The total number of aid seekers killed since May 27 when Israel introduced a new aid distribution mechanism has reached 1,239, with more than 8,152 injured, the statement said.
Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli custody: Monitor
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office (ASRA) says a Palestinian prisoner, Sayel Abu Nasr, has died in Israeli jail.
The ASRA statement said his death brings the total number of prisoners and detainees who have been died in Israeli custody since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza to 75, including 46 from the Gaza Strip.
It said the total number of Palestinian prisoners who have died under Israeli prisons since 1967 is now 312.
Photos: Palestinians walk large distances to receive aid amid starvation
Aid trickling into Gaza does not reach majority of population: UNRWA
Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that the aid trickling into Gaza does not reach the majority of the population.
Here are some of the other points he made:
- There is a real famine in the Gaza Strip.
- The famine in the Gaza Strip is a man-made disaster.
- We demand the provision of safe humanitarian corridors in the Gaza Strip.
- Israel must provide safe routes for the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.
- We are able to operate 400 aid distribution points in Gaza.
Israeli minister says saving captives should not be primary goal in Gaza: Report
Israel’s Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu has said the mission to return the captives being held in Gaza back to Israel should not be the primary goal of Israel’s war in Gaza, according to Israeli media.
“They should be called ‘prisoners of war’,” he said in an interview to Haredi radio station Kol Chai, “and ‘prisoners of war’ are dealt with at the end of the war.
“When you define them as hostages, the objective is first and foremost to return the hostages, but I think the hostages shouldn’t be the primary goal,” he added.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemned the definition and said the majority of the Israeli public does want the hostages returned immediately, according to the Haaretz newspaper.
If you’re just joining us
Here are the latest developments:
- The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor says its field team “has documented the deaths of dozens of elderly people in displacement camps due to starvation, malnutrition, or lack of treatment”.
- Twenty-two cabinet ministers and coalition lawmakers have signed a letter asking Defence Minister Israel Katz to approve a tour of northern Gaza by settlement groups in order to examine possible sites for future illegal Israeli settlements, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.
- At least 18 Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank since dawn, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office (ASRA).
- Finland has announced its support for France’s declaration promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, signalling the future recognition of Palestine as part of a broader peace framework.
- Tan Safi and Robert Martin, Australian nationals detained on board a Gaza-bound aid ship by Israeli forces, have been released, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
Euro-Med Monitor warns of ‘unprecedented surge’ of deaths among Gaza’s elderly
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor says its field team “has documented the deaths of dozens of elderly people in displacement camps due to starvation, malnutrition, or lack of treatment”.
“Many of these deaths were recorded as natural causes, owing to the absence of a clear reporting mechanism within the ministry and the tendency of families to bury their loved ones immediately,” it said on X.
It noted an “unprecedented surge” in daily deaths over the past two weeks, with hundreds of elderly people arriving each day at hospitals and primary care centres “in states of extreme exhaustion, seeking nutritional fluids”.
Photos: Palestinians mourn loved ones killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid
Israeli calls for sanctions have broken a longstanding taboo
Fifteen European countries, including the UK and France, two permanent members of the UN Security Council, have said they plan to recognise Palestine in September.
The Israeli government has accused the UK of supporting the establishment of a “jihadi” state and of derailing efforts to reach a ceasefire.
But really, the Israeli media, for example, is describing this as a political tsunami, a realisation of how significant the tide is, and how improbable it is to turn it back to countries withholding recognition because Israel said it doesn’t want it.
Also, 31 high-profile Israelis, including the former speaker of the Knesset, a former attorney general, and some of the recipients of Israel’s highest cultural award, are calling on world governments to impose crippling sanctions on Israel to stop the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza and stop Israel’s plans to expel them from their homeland.
This was taboo just a few days ago and has never really been done before, certainly not at this level of prominence of the signatories.
This line has now been crossed.
Israeli ministers, lawmakers seek Gaza trip permit ‘to examine settlement options’: Report
Twenty-two cabinet ministers and coalition lawmakers have signed a letter asking Defence Minister Israel Katz to approve a tour of northern Gaza by settlement groups in order to examine possible sites for future illegal Israeli settlements, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.
The letter, signed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Culture Minister Miki Zohar and Social Equality Minister May Golan, among others, calls on Katz to “approve a patrol into the northern border area of the Gaza Strip as part of an initiative by the Nachala Movement’s settlement cadres to examine settlement options in the area”, the report said.
The newspaper said the Nachala organisation is involved in the construction of illegal settlement outposts. Its leader, Daniella Weiss, has been sanctioned by Canada and the UK.
“The Gaza Strip is no longer a geographical area – it is the living heart of the Land of Israel, an area with deep biblical, historical, and national roots,” they continue, arguing that Israel should resettle northern Gaza because it is under full IDF control and “empty of Gaza residents,” the report said.
Photos: Palestinians facing starvation pick food scraps from rubbish
Which countries have backed the French-led move calling for a two-state solution?
Fifteen countries have signed a joint declaration, led by France, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all captives held by Hamas, and a renewed international push for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
They include Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, and Spain.
The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement late on Tuesday, saying the signatories “have already recognised, have expressed or express the willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognise the State of Palestine, as an essential step towards the two-state solution”.
“We invite all countries that have not done so to join this call,” the statement said.
In the United Kingdom, the British Prime Minister told his cabinet that the nation will recognise the state of Palestine by September unless Israel takes “substantive steps” to end its war on Gaza and commits to a lasting peace process. This move would be separate from the French-led initiative.
Gaza’s starving children face permanent damage from chronic hunger
Doctors fear that even if aid reaches Gaza’s starving children, it may come too late to save them from irreversible harm.
The UN warns Israel has pushed Gaza to the ‘brink of full-scale famine’.
Israeli forces arrest 18 Palestinians in occupied West Bank
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office (ASRA) says that Israeli forces at dawn launched a wide-scale campaign of raids and arrests in various areas of the occupied West Bank.
In total, 18 Palestinians were arrested, including former prisoners and activists, with the majority of arrests taking place in the governorates of Hebron, Nablus and Salfit, the ASRA statement said.
Since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel has accelerated its raids and arrests across the occupied West Bank. Its military has also ramped up the violence alongside Israeli settlers, killing at least 1,000 Palestinians.
Hunger-related Gaza death toll rises to 154: Ministry
Gaza hospitals have recorded seven new deaths “due to famine and malnutrition”, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
The total number of people who have starved to death during Israel’s war on Gaza has risen to 154, including 89 children, the ministry’s statement said on Telegram.
Finland joins France’s declaration on advancing two-state solution for Palestine
Finland has announced its support for France’s declaration promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, signalling the future recognition of Palestine as part of a broader peace framework.
“Finland has joined France’s declaration on advancing the two-state solution. Together with our international partners, we are sending a clear and strong message: peace in the Middle East is essential to ending human suffering,” Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on X.
Valtonen emphasised that peace is not only necessary but also possible, though it requires substantial effort.
“Last night, a few steps were taken in the right direction,” she added, referring to progress made during meetings at the current UN Conference on Palestine in New York.
The joint declaration commits its signatories to promoting a two-state solution, calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of captives and the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. It also stresses the importance of the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to demilitarisation and the disarmament of Hamas.
Two Australian nationals from Gaza-bound aid ship released from Israeli custody
Tan Safi and Robert Martin, Australian nationals detained on board a Gaza-bound aid ship by Israeli forces, have been released, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
The Handala ship, carrying baby formula, food and medicine, was seized by Israeli forces near the Gaza coast on Saturday night, with 21 unarmed civilians on board, including politicians, medics and volunteers.
According to the coalition, Safi and Martin were released from the Givon Prison in central Israel’s Ramla to the Australian embassy in Jordan.
The Israeli Adalah legal centre said late on Tuesday that seven of 14 remaining activists were transferred to the airport to be deported in the coming hours.
Adalah said that the remaining jailed activists were continuing a hunger strike for a fourth consecutive day, protesting against Israel’s unlawful detention amid “harsh and degrading detention conditions”.
Gaza mothers forced to give babies water as milk and formula run out
The youngest in Gaza are the most vulnerable to the starvation crisis caused by Israel’s months-long blockade of the Strip.
Supplies of baby formula have run out, and food shortages are so severe that more than 88 children have died of starvation since the start of the war.
UN food security experts said the worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in Gaza.
Israel’s war kills one in every 36 people in Gaza
Here is a quick reminder that on Tuesday, we reached a grim milestone in Gaza, with the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave announcing that the death toll has surpassed 60,000.
Let’s put that into perspective for you:
- That is one in every 36 people in Gaza.
- That is more than 90 people every day.
At least 13 aid seekers among 16 killed in Gaza since dawn
At least 16 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since dawn, according to medical sources speaking to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.
The death toll includes at least 13 aid seekers, the sources said.
Global community allowed ‘engineered starvation’ to take place in Gaza
It’s shocking that the international community allowed the situation in Gaza to get to the point that “we see children dying … from an engineered starvation,” Jamil Sawalmeh, country director of ActionAid Palestine, tells Al Jazeera.
“We know that aid is being blocked. We know that a significant amount of aid has piled up at the crossings, and unfortunately, it is quite shocking for us to see that the global community has allowed this to happen … because of impunity and because of lack of interest in political engagement to force Israel to abide by its obligations under international law,” he said.
“We have seen that Israel has actually enjoyed the diplomatic cover from many countries in the world, and they have allowed this to happen,” Sawalmeh added.
“The world has to act at this point, there has to be action, there have to be sanctions, and there have to be meaningful actions taken by the international community and the EU space to hold Israel accountable to its obligations under international law.”
Dramatic drop in US public’s approval of Israel’s war on Gaza: New poll
A new poll from the research firm Gallup suggests that only 32 percent of Americans approve of Israel’s military action in Gaza, a 10-point drop from September 2024, as anger over atrocities against Palestinians continues to rise.
The survey, released on Tuesday, also showed an enormous partisan divide over the issue.
Seventy-one percent of respondents who identified as members of the Republican Party said they approve of Israel’s conduct, compared with 8 percent of Democrats.
Overall, 60 percent of respondents said they disapprove of Israel’s military action in Gaza.
Read more here.
Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
Israeli settlers have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem under the protection of Israeli police.
Settlers are Israeli citizens living illegally on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Al-Aqsa has become a regular target of visits by right-wing Israeli politicians and settlers, who storm the compound on an almost daily basis and perform religious rituals under the protection of Israeli forces.
Under the decades-old status quo maintained by Israeli authorities, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.
Israeli attacks kill 12 Palestinians in Gaza since dawn
At least 12 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn, according to medical sources speaking to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.
The death toll includes six aid seekers shot by Israeli forces near aid centres north of Rafah, according to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city.
Limited humanitarian aid entering Gaza just for show
Today is the fourth day since the Israeli military announced the opening of a humanitarian corridor, which only exists on paper because none of these aid trucks are making their way to the designated areas or people who are in need.
The vast majority of people are left without any proper access to food, and therefore, they resort to other alternatives, which are often dangerous or even deadly, like going to the Zikim area, for example, waiting for trucks to come in, or the distribution centres in the southern and central parts of the Strip.
Most people are not eating well. They’re not getting the food that they need to survive these conditions.
There is agreement among people here that everything that has been happening [regarding the humanitarian aid] for the past four days has just been for spectacle.
A recap of recent developments
- Israel allowed 109 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip, but most were looted during escalating security chaos, the Government Media Office says, adding that the enclave requires at least 600 aid trucks and fuel daily.
- A new poll from the research firm Gallup suggests that only 32 percent of Americans approve of Israel’s military action in Gaza, a 10-point drop from September 2024, as anger over atrocities against Palestinians continues to rise.
- A spokesperson for the State Department in the United States has been questioned about the killing of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, allegedly at the hands of an Israeli settler previously sanctioned by the US government.
- The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global hunger monitoring system, warned that the “worst-case scenario of famine” is unfolding in Gaza.
Welcome to our coverage
Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Stay with us for the latest news, reactions and analyses.
You can find all our updates from Monday, July 29, here.
