Live: 54 Palestinians killed, 831 wounded in 24 hours
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Israel's President Isaac Herzog went to Gaza on Wednesday to meet with soldiers and update them on "intensive negotiations" about returning the remaining captives.
Herzog, according to a statement from his office, said he hopes that there will soon be "good news," but no further details were provided.
Palestine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the motion passed in Israel's Knesset on Wednesday that called for the assertion of "Israeli sovereignty" in the occupied West Bank.
Describing the proposals as "colonial" measures, the ministry's statement called on the international community to take Israel's discussions of annexation seriously in the run-up to September's UN conference on the two-state solution.
The non-binding motion, which does not impact the legal status of the West Bank, said it aimed to "make it clear to the world" that Israel is "committed to its future as a secure Jewish state".
Israel's presence in the West Bank was ruled as unlawful by the International Court of Justice in July 2024.
Lawmakers in Israel's Knesset have voted 71-13 in favour of a non-binding motion for the agenda calling for the annexation of the West Bank.
“The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel,” declared Knesset speaker Amir Ohana following the vote.
Advanced by a cross-party group of MPs, the largely symbolic motion does not impact the legal status of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. Israeli settlers have intensified their attacks on Palestinians in recent months.
Israel has responded to a statement signed by over 100 aid organisations earlier on Wednesday by describing reports of the mass starvation of NGO staff in Gaza as "the propaganda of Hamas".
"Instead of challenging the terror organization, they embrace it as their own,” its foreign ministry claimed.
Besides the 109 NGOs who are co-signatories to the letter, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has repeatedly highlighted the severity of food insecurity in Gaza.
Ross Smith, director of emergency preparedness and response at the WFP stated on Monday that a quarter of Gaza's population is facing famine-like conditions, while almost 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and requrie urgent treatment.
“People are dying from lack of humanitarian assistance every day, and we are seeing this escalate day by day,” he added.
More than 100 international human rights and humanitarian organisations have called for an end to Israel's siege of Gaza, citing widespread starvation affecting their staff.
Famine caused by Israel's ongoing war and blockade has led to a growing number of deaths from malnutrition and dehydration in recent days.
A joint letter released on Wednesday, signed by 109 organisations, including Amnesty International, War Child UK, and EuroMed Rights, warns that the humanitarian crisis is reaching catastrophic levels.
“As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families," the joint letter said.
"With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes."
The signatories rejected the "military-controlled distribution models," in reference to the scandal-ridden Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli-US initiative designed to bypass the UN's infrastructure for aid delivery and distribution in Gaza.
They also urged the immediate lifting of the Israeli blockade and allowing aid groups to do their work.
"Humanitarian agencies have the capacity and supplies to respond at scale," the statement added.
"But, with access denied, we are blocked from reaching those in need, including our own exhausted and starved teams.
"Every day without a sustained flow means more people dying of preventable illnesses. Children starve while waiting for promises that never arrive."
Read more: Over 100 humanitarian groups sound alarm on starvation of staff in Gaza
The French Ministry for Foreign Affairs has condemned Israel's extension of its military offensive into central Gaza.
The statement follows targeted Israeli shelling of the central Gaza city of Deir el-Balah on Monday after the Israeli army warned it was launching an operation "in an area where it has not operated before".
“France strongly condemns the extension of the Israeli offensive to the centre of Gaza, where evacuation orders have led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people in Deir el-Balah and are hampering the work of numerous United Nations agencies and international NGOs,” the French foreign ministry said.
The ministry's statement follows yesterday's joint statement co-authored by over 20 countries, including France and the UK, calling for an end to Israel's war on Gaza.
A renowned expert on famine, Professor Alex de Waal, has accused Israel of “genocidal starvation” of Palestinians in Gaza with its continued deadly siege on the enclave.
At least 101 Palestinians, including 80 children, have died of starvation since Israel’s blockade resumed in March, including 15 who died of malnutrition on Monday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid at distribution sites run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in place since May and manned by Israeli soldiers and US security contractors.
De Waal told MEE’s live show on Tuesday that the UN is not in a position to declare famine due to Israel’s obstruction of access to humanitarians and investigators to gauge the extent of hunger.
However, he said, “it is actually relatively straightforward if you are perpetrating a famine to shut out access to essential information and then say no one has declared famine”.
“Concealment of famine is an instrument of those who perpetrate it,” he added.
Read more: Children will die quickly amid 'genocidal starvation' in Gaza, warns top famine expert
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) has said that its own staff members are fainting due to severe hunger amid reports of mass starvation in Gaza due to Israel's ongoing aid blockade surrounding the enclave.
"Gaza is a hell on Earth", said Unrwa Communications Director Juliette Touma to BBC World News. "Our own staff are fainting on duty from hunger and exhaustion".
"The people of Gaza are being deliberately starved," Touma concluded.
“Gaza is hell on earth. Our own staff are fainting on duty from hunger and exhaustion,” says Unrwa @JulietteTouma to @BBCWorld.
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 23, 2025
During the ceasefire, 500–600 trucks a day entered #Gaza with aid from the UN, including Unrwa. That’s what prevented famine before.
That system… pic.twitter.com/qf7ymvcWSo
Israel’s Knesset will vote on a motion calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the latest move in an ongoing campaign to strengthen Israel's hold on the occupied Palestinian territory.
The proposal is non-binding and serves largely as a symbolic gesture that will not affect the legal status of the West Bank but will help build momentum towards a possible move on the territory, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
“This move would make it clear to the world that Israel will not accept solutions that involve dangerous territorial concessions, and that it is committed to its future as a secure Jewish state,” the proposal says.
Submitted by a cross-party group of MKs, the motion is supported by Likud member Dan Illouz and Minister for Settlements Orit Strook, a member of the National Religious Party–Religious Zionism bloc, a Likud coalition partner.
Strook’s party colleague Simcha Rothman and Yisrael Beiteinu MK Oded Forer are also co-sponsoring the motion.
Likud ministers Yariv Levin and Shlomo Karhi have both said they will be voting in favour of the motion.
The ultra-orthodox Shas party, which is part of Likud’s electoral coalition and have long played kingmaker in the Knesset, have also stated that they will support the motion.
Last year a similar motion rejecting Palestinian statehood received emphatic cross-party support, passing 68-9.
Read more: Knesset set to vote on symbolic motion calling for Israeli annexation of West Bank
The Palestinian Ministry of Health is reporting that Israeli attacks have killed 113 and wounded 534 in the last 24 hours. Thirteen of the dead were recovered from beneath rubble after buildings were destroyed by Israeli strikes.
Israeli forces continue to block access for ambulance and civil defence teams, leaving many victims trapped and unable to receive aid.
Since 7 October 2023, the death toll has risen above 59,000 with over 143,000 others wounded.
Former United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths has accused Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza as more children starve to death in the enclave due to the continued siege.
In an exclusive interview with Middle East Eye, Griffiths said the deliberate starvation in Gaza is the worst he has seen in his many decades of work as a humanitarian.
“There can frankly be very little doubt that we are seeing starvation and hunger as an instrument of the war,” he told MEE.
“There is no prior experience in my five decades of humanitarian experience that can come close to comparison to the horror we are all seeing in Gaza,” he said.
“The UN announcement, based on serious hospital data, that people are fainting in the street from hunger and malnutrition, tells us all we need to know.
“It is a historic fact that children die first in these circumstances. Our humanity cannot believe our eyes.”
Israel’s siege on Gaza since 2 March has blocked the entry of humanitarian supplies by the UN and its partner organisations to the enclave, bringing the 2.1 million population to the brink of famine.
Read more: Israel committing ‘worst crime of the 21st century’ in Gaza, Former UN aid chief says
Israeli forces killed at least 31 Palestinian aid seekers and injured more than 100 others at two different aid distribution centres in southern Gaza.
Many of those killed were women and children, health authorities have told the Associated Press news agency.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli fighter jets struck a gathering point for displaced residents near a food distribution centre in Gaza, killing four people.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Wednesday that 10 more Palestinians have died over the past 24 hours due to famine and severe malnutrition, as Israel’s blockade continues to choke humanitarian access.
The latest fatalities bring the total number of deaths linked to hunger and undernourishment in Gaza to 111, according to the health ministry.
Al-Awda Hospital says Israeli forces have shot and killed four Palestinians near the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
The victims were reportedly trying to access humanitarian aid when they were targeted by gunfire.
Casualties have been mounting in recent weeks as desperate civilians continue to risk their lives searching for food and assistance across Israeli military-controlled zones.
