Live: Six more Palestinians die of famine as Israel blocks Gaza aid

Bulging eyes, visible ribcages and children’s cries from hunger are no longer rare sights and sounds in Gaza; they are the norm. But this famine is not caused by a lack of food; it is caused by politics, blockade and the deliberate obstruction of access.

While airdropped aid may offer limited relief to Gaza’s starving civilians, it also serves a broader political purpose. For western governments - many of which have staunchly supported Israel throughout the conflict - such symbolic gestures help deflect mounting criticism. 

By backing airdrops, they can project humanitarian concern while distancing themselves from the uncomfortable reality that their allies’ policies have played a central role in creating the conditions for mass starvation. 

At the same time, the method allows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to frame the aid as a concession to international pressure, rather than as an operation facilitated or permitted by Israel itself.

For months, Netanyahu has aligned himself with the hardline vision of far-right members of his cabinet - both to preserve his governing coalition and out of personal conviction. 

Read more: Gaza aid drops: A salve for western guilt Opinion by Iyad Yousef

At least 11 Palestinians, including four aid seekers, have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since dawn this morning, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

Rights group Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of enacting a "deliberate policy" of starvation in Gaza, as the United Nations and aid groups warn of famine in the Palestinian territory.

In a report citing testimonies of displaced Palestinians and medical staff who treated malnourished children, Amnesty said that "Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip."

The group accused Israel of "systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life".

"It is the intended outcome of plans and policies that Israel has designed and implemented, over the past 22 months, to deliberately inflict on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction - which is part and parcel of Israel's ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza," Amnesty said.

A far-right Israeli politician from Israel's Religious Zionist Party has been denied entry to Australia hours before his visit for a speaking tour, The Guardian reported.

Simcha Rothman previously described the children in Gaza as “enemies” and called for Israel’s total control of the West Bank.

“Our government takes a hard line on people who seek to come to our country and spread division,” the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said in a statement.

“If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we don’t want you here. Under our government, Australia will be a country where everyone can be safe, and feel safe," he said.

Rothman will not be able to apply for a new visa for three years, the report said.

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Good morning, Middle East Eye readers.

Here are the most recent key developments:

• Eleven Israelis were arrested as hundreds protested in Haifa in support of  19-year-old Yona Roseman, who was sent to prison due to her refusal to be enlisted in the Israeli army over the genocide in Gaza.

• Seven Palestinians died of hunger and malnutrition in the past day, including two children, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.

• Tens of thousands of Israeli protestors gathered on Sunday evening in Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of captives, one of the largest demonstrations in Israel since the start of the war in October 2023.

• Three Palestinians, including a child, were killed in an Israeli strike on a building housing displaced people in the al-Daraj neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, citing medical sources.

• Israel has warned its southern citizens in Sderot, located some seven kilometres from the northeastern boundary of Gaza City, that they will likely hear loud explosions throughout the day due to military operations in Gaza, The Times of Israel reported, citing local media.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

• The toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 has risen to 61,944, the majority of whom are children and women. At least 155,886 others have been wounded during that time. 

• Al Jazeera is reporting that in Gaza Israeli forces have killed at least 57 people in the enclave today. Local officials say 38 of them were shot dead while trying to reach desperately needed aid.

• The increase comes after Israeli forces were reported to have killed 47 people earlier today, of whom nine were recovered from rubble. At least 226 others were wounded in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours.

• Hamas said on Sunday that Israel's plan to concentrate hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into one confined location in southern Gaza constituted a "new wave of genocide and displacement".

• Israeli protesters took to the streets on Sunday calling for an end to the war in Gaza and a deal to release captives held there.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned nationwide protests demanding an end to the war in Gaza, accusing demonstrators of boosting Hamas’ position in negotiations.

Serbia has reportedly signed a $1.63bn arms deal with Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems, according to Israeli media reports.

Elbit, which has supplied Israel with drones and other weaponry for its operations in Gaza, confirmed last week that it had secured a five-year contract to deliver military equipment to an unnamed European country.

Under the agreement, Elbit will supply Serbia with long-range precision rockets, alongside a range of other military technologies, including communications and signals intelligence systems.

The deal comes amid growing scrutiny of Israeli arms exports as the country continues its military operations in Gaza, which have drawn widespread international criticism.

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, held a funeral for 18-year-old Hamdan Abu Aliya, who was killed by Israeli forces on Saturday.

Mourners carried his body through the streets, waving Palestinian flags and banners of Fatah and Hamas while chanting, “With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you, martyr”.

His father, Musa Abu Aliya, sent a message beyond the village: “Enough betrayal, enough humiliation, enough insult. No matter how many they kill, time is on our side. It is impossible for us to give up our land.”

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed his death late on Saturday, saying he was shot by “occupation forces in the town of al-Mughayyir”.

Responding to AFP, the Israeli army said its soldiers opened fire after “terrorists” hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at occupation troops.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed in a televised address that the group launched a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile towards Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport.

He said the strike “successfully achieved its objective,” saying that it sent millions of Israelis into shelters and disrupted flights.

“The unprecedented crime of genocide in Gaza has not stopped, and the siege and starvation continue in full view of the entire world,” Saree said, adding that the group “will persist to fulfil our religious, moral and humanitarian duty towards the oppressed Palestinian people until the aggression against Gaza stops and the siege is lifted”.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reports that the army estimates it will need about four months to occupy Gaza City.

It added that the US administration has asked to review Israel’s plans for the operation.

At a July rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Donald Trump used a telling turn of phrase. While touting the benefits of his recently passed tax-and-spend bill, the American president remarked: “No death tax, no estate tax, no going to the banks and borrowing from, in some cases, a fine banker - and in some cases, Shylocks and bad people.” 

“Shylock” is, of course, a reference to the Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and is widely recognised as an antisemitic trope. The Anti-Defamation League, for example, called the president out for his comment, while Trump, for his part, later claimed ignorance of the term’s anti-Jewish connotations.

It might be possible to write this off as an isolated comment, but Trump’s gaffe is part of a larger pattern of antisemitism linked to his Make America Great Again (Maga) movement. In May, NPR identified three administration officials with close ties to antisemitic extremists, including a man described by federal prosecutors as a “Nazi sympathiser” and a prominent Holocaust denier.

More recently, Trump’s erstwhile ally Elon Musk has come under fire for antisemitism once again when his Grok AI bot launched into antisemitic tirades praising Adolf Hitler.

Read more:  Israel is the last vestige of European colonialism - so Trump defends it at all costs

Hamas said on Sunday that Israel’s plan to ethnically cleanse residents from Gaza City amounts to a “new wave of genocide and displacement” affecting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

The group condemned the Israeli military’s plan to deliver tents and shelter supplies to southern Gaza, calling it a “blatant deception” disguised as humanitarian aid.

After destroying much of Gaza, Israel has said it will start providing tents and other equipment from Sunday to Palestinians fleeing Israeli attacks.

Al Jazeera is reporting that in Gaza Israeli forces have killed at least 57 people in the enclave today.

Local officials say 38 of them were shot dead while trying to reach desperately needed aid.