US President Donald Trump weighed in on Sunday on the humanitarian crisis and reports of starvation-related deaths in the Gaza Strip as Israel took steps to increase the flow of aid into the enclave, even while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied Jerusalem had any part in widespread shortages there.

At the same time, Trump and other leaders acknowledged that they did not know what lay in store for the devastated Palestinian enclave, after the apparent collapse of ceasefire and hostage deal negotiations on Friday, when Israel and the US pulled their negotiating teams from Doha, and accused Hamas of not being serious about wanting a truce deal.

Trump, who is on a four-day visit to Scotland, was asked by a reporter on Sunday about the images that have been coming out of Gaza of starving children, which he said he thought were “terrible.”

But he promptly pivoted to say, “They’re stealing the food,” without specifying who he was talking about, although he was likely alluding to the Hamas terror group, which Israel has regularly accused of stealing aid for its own benefit.

The US president lamented that the US had supposedly donated $60 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation while “no other country gave anything.”

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“It makes you feel a little bad when you do that and, you know, you have other countries not giving anything,” he said, sitting alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Nobody gave but us. And nobody said, Gee, thank you very much. And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”

“We’re giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything,” he said. “If we weren’t there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it’s not like they’re eating well.”

The actual figure given to the controversial GHF by the US is $30 million, and the US is also far from the only country to donate humanitarian aid. It is not even the largest donor, as the United Arab Emirates has given a larger percentage of assistance.

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REPORTER: Should Israel be doing more to allow food in Gaza? TRUMP: Say it? REPORTER: Should Israel be doing more to allow food in Gaza? TRUMP: What is she saying? SOMEONE ELSE: Should Israel be doing more to allow food in Gaza? TRUMP: You really at least want to have… pic.twitter.com/BJhUIXdxzM Advertisement — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 27, 2025

Netanyahu hits back against starvation claims

Amid the slew of changes that he approved to the aid system in Gaza on Saturday night amid widespread criticism over the reports of starvation-related deaths, Netanyahu, like Trump, insisted that if not for him, Gazans would have starved long ago.

Speaking at a Christian conference in Jerusalem hosted by Trump adviser and prominent Evangelical pastor Paula White, Netanyahu told a listening audience that “there is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza.”

He claimed that Israel had “enabled the amount required by international law” to enter the Strip, which he said equated to some 1.9 million tons of aid since the start of the war in October 2023.

Israel “enabled humanitarian aid throughout the duration of the war…Otherwise, there would be no Gazans,” he asserted, blaming Hamas for intercepting supplies and then “accusing Israel of not supplying it.”

In an effort to explain away the sudden changes to Israel’s aid policies, Netanyahu said the decision to implement 10-hour humanitarian pauses in densely populated parts of the Strip came after some “well-intended” agencies, as well as the United Nations, made “excuses” not to deliver aid behind combat zones, despite there having been “safe corridors.”

“So we’ve just announced that formally,” he said, claiming that there have always been safe routes for UN convoys to travel on.

“Here are safe corridors, and the UN has no excuses left. No excuses left. Stop lying… Stop accusing Israel deliberately of this egregious falsehood,” he said.

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During the same conference, Netanyahu thanked evangelical zionists for standing with Israel against what he said were false allegations surrounding the war in Gaza.

“We have an eighth front — the battle for truth. And I can think of no one who can carry this battle alongside with us… better than [our] many Christian friends.”

He warned that the Israeli-Christian alliance was “being challenged today by… Islamist fundamentalism that seeks to subjugate all Muslims they view as infidels, eradicate the American — and obviously the Israeli — presence in the Middle East.”

Earlier on Sunday, the premier had similarly dismissed the UN’s claims about Gaza aid deliveries during a visit to the Ramon Air Force Base in the Negev Desert.

In what appeared to be an appeal to his far-right coalition allies and supporters, who believe that allowing aid to enter the Strip hinders Israel’s progress, Netanyahu pledged that even while Israel would “continue to fight, we will continue to act until we achieve all of our war goals — until complete victory,” it would have to continue allowing supplies into Gaza no matter where the war goes from here.

“We will eliminate Hamas,” the premier said, adding that Israel is “making progress in fighting and negotiating.”

But “in any path we choose, we will have to continue to allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies,” he continued, claiming that “we have done this until now.”

Contrary to Netanyahu’s claim, however, Israel has not always allowed supplies, minimal or otherwise, to enter the war-torn Gaza Strip, as it implemented a total blockade on the territory and barred all aid from entering between March and May of this year.

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Even once aid resumed, it was in a markedly decreased manner, with much of it being disturbed by the controversial US- and Israel-backed GHF, in a manner that has drawn international backlash over reports of hundreds of aid-seekers being shot dead in near-daily incidents.

Only last week, amid accusations that Israel was starving Gazans, did Netanyahu drastically increase the amount and channels of aid entering Gaza.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin similarly insisted that Israel had not subjugated the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip to starvation, and maintained that Israel cares more about Gazan civilians than Hamas does.

“We are continuing to lead a process of bringing humanitarian aid, while continuing the fighting. Israel is the one that initiated the [GHF] aid distribution sites… This is to prevent famine in Gaza,” Defrin said in a press conference, listing the ways in which Israel was allowing aid to enter and be transported across the Strip.

Defrin repeated the claim that Hamas is stealing aid from civilians, hiding it in tunnels, and at the same time carrying out a “false campaign on starvation in the Gaza Strip.”

“The photos emerging from Gaza are difficult, and they are part of this false campaign,” he said, reiterating that there is “no starvation in the Gaza Strip,” and that Israel was “operating according to international law.”

“We care about the nutrition of the residents of Gaza more than Hamas does,” he declared. “Hamas works intentionally to worsen the condition of the population. Hamas tries with all its might to sabotage the [GHF] aid distribution sites and the arrival of the aid to the Strip.”

Future uncertain after ceasefire talks stall

While speaking to reporters in Scotland on Sunday, Trump turned to the decision to pull negotiators from Qatar amid anger at Hamas’s response to the ceasefire and hostage deal proposal that had been offered to it.

He acknowledged that “Israel will have to make a decision” regarding the war against Hamas and the remaining 50 hostages still held by Gaza’s terror groups.

“I know what I would do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to say it,” Trump said.

He claimed that he predicted the breakdown in talks, asserting Hamas would not want to release the final hostages because it would lose its last bargaining chip.

Taking a more blunt approach than Trump on Sunday was leading Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who suggested in an interview with NBC News that Israel would not be able to negotiate a satisfactory end to the war in Gaza, and would have no choice but to take over control of the Strip.

Graham is a longtime supporter of Israel who frequently visits the country and is a friend of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I think President Trump has come to believe, and I certainly have come to believe, there’s no way you’re going to negotiate an end of this war with Hamas,” said the South Carolina senator, insinuating that the president had soured on the prospect of a deal.

“They’re going to do in Gaza what we did in Tokyo and Berlin, take the place by force and start over again, presenting a better future for the Palestinians, hopefully having the Arabs take over the West Bank and Gaza,” he said, referring to the US-led allied occupation of the Japanese and German capitals after World War Two.

Growing pressure to recognize Palestinian state

Even as Israel weighs its next steps in the Gaza Strip, pressure has been growing among its European allies to follow France’s lead and unilaterally recognize a Palestinian State.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced last Thursday that his country would formally recognize a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September.

The decision made Paris the most powerful European nation to advance such a move, after Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all announced their recognition in the months following the outbreak of the Gaza war.

Among those under pressure to follow Macron’s lead was British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was planning to recall his cabinet from their summer break to discuss the situation in Gaza, the Financial Times reported Sunday.

Starmer’s office did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the report.

The UK parliament and cabinet are currently in a summer recess until September 1.

The recall, planned for next week, was reportedly decided on after Starmer said Friday the British government would recognize a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal, disappointing many in his Labour Party who want him to follow France in taking swifter action.

More than 220 members of parliament in the UK, representing about a third of the House of Commons and mostly Labour members, wrote to Starmer on Friday, urging him to reconsider the issue.

Separately, a spokesperson for Downing Street said on Sunday that Starmer would discuss the stalled ceasefire negotiations in a meeting with Trump in Scotland on Monday.

Starmer is expected to “welcome the president’s administration working with partners in Qatar and Egypt to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza,” the spokesperson said.

“He will discuss further with him what more can be done to secure the ceasefire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long,” they added.

Also under the spotlight is German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, after Berlin declined to join its European allies earlier this month in signing a letter condemning Israel’s restrictions on Gaza aid.

Merz said Sunday that he had spoken to Netanyahu by phone, and had urged him to do “everything in his power to bring about an immediate ceasefire… and allow urgently needed humanitarian aid to reach the starving civilian population in Gaza without delay.”

We will closely monitor developments and, in coordination with France, the UK, other European partners, the United States, and Arab states, decide in the coming days how we can contribute to improving the situation. 2/2 — Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz (@bundeskanzler) July 27, 2025

“We will closely monitor developments and, in coordination with France, the UK, other European partners, the United States, and Arab states, decide in the coming days how we can contribute to improving the situation,” he said.

Malnutrition in Gaza on dangerous trajectory, WHO warns as aid airdrops resume

Thomas Mackintosh

Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The World Health Organization has warned malnutrition has reached “alarming levels” in Gaza with rates on a “dangerous trajectory” after aid airdrops resumed to the Strip.

Israel announced a series of new aid measures, after more than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups warned of mass starvation in Gaza earlier this week.

Israel said on Sunday it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and allow aid corridors, to “refute the false claim of intentional starvation”.

Jordan, the UAE and Egypt said they delivered aid into Gaza by land and air – with Jordan and the UAE saying it delivered “25 tonnes of food aid and essential humanitarian supplies” by aid airdrops.

People in Gaza have reacted and said, although the aid is welcome, it must be the beginning of a broader, lasting solution to the deepening crisis.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has said at least 133 people have died from malnutrition since the war began.

Aid agencies have also reacted, with Médecins Sans Frontières saying the pause in fighting and aid drop is “not enough”. The UN’s World Food Programme said it welcomes Israel’s pause in military action in some parts of Gaza, but there needs to be a “surge” in aid.

We are pausing our live coverage but you can stay across this story on BBC News.

From 13h ago 14.28 BST Deadly airdrops and a trickle of trucks won’t undo months of ‘engineered starvation’ in Gaza, Oxfam says Oxfam has said the airdrops into Gaza are wholly inadequate for the population’s needs and has called for the immediate opening of all crossings for full humanitarian access into the territory devasted by relentless Israeli bombardments and a partial aid blockade. Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam policy lead for the Occupied Palestinian territory, said: Deadly airdrops and a trickle of trucks won’t undo months of engineered starvation in Gaza. What’s needed is the immediate opening of all crossings for full, unhindered, and safe aid delivery across all of Gaza and a permanent ceasefire. Anything less risks being little more than a tactical gesture. Share Updated at 14.28 BST

8h ago 19.07 BST Closing summary The Guardian’s live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East is coming to a close. Here’s a round-up of today’s key events: The Israeli military said it had beun a “tactical pause” in the densely populated areas of Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid” into the Gaza strip. The pause would be repeated every day from 10am to 8pm local time until further notice and Israel would continue fighting in other areas of Gaza.

Jordan and the UAE have reportedly carried out air drops into Gaza but Oxfam said the amount of food being allowed to trickle into the devastated territory is totally inadequate for the population’s need. Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam policy lead for the Occupied Palestinian territory, said: “What’s needed is the immediate opening of all crossings for full, unhindered, and safe aid delivery across all of Gaza and a permanent ceasefire. Anything less risks being little more than a tactical gesture.”

Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July, the World Health Organization said. Of 74 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 occurred in July –including 24 children under five, a child over five, and 38 adults, the organisation said.

British foreign secretary David Lammy said Israel’s decision to pause military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors falls short of what is needed to alleviate suffering in the territory. Lammy said in a statement that Israel’s announcement was “essential but long overdue”, and that access to aid must now be urgently accelerated over the coming hours and days.

UK prime minister Keir Starmer will recall his cabinet from their summer break to discuss the situation in Gaza, amid growing pressure on the Labour government to recognise a Palestinian state. The recall comes after Starmer said on Friday the British government would recognise a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal, disappointing many in his Labour Party who want him to follow France in taking swifter action.

US president Donald Trump said on Sunday Israel would have to make a decision on its next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after moves by Israel to pull out of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas. Speaking at a press conference, Trump was asked whether Israel should be doing more to get food into Gaza. He replied: “You know, we gave $60m two weeks ago – and no one even acknowledged it – for food. And, it’s terrible. You really at least want somebody to at least say thank you.” You can read our full report on Israel’s decision to begin daily pauses in its military action in Gaza – and Palestinians’ reactions to that decision – here. Share

8h ago 18.37 BST Here are some more of Donald Trump’s comments from that press conference: Trump said he had met with some families of Israeli hostages still trapped in Gaza. On the return of the hostages, he said: “When you get it down to a certain number, you’re not going to be able to make a deal with Hamas, because once they give them up, then they feel that that’s going to be the end of them. “And what I said is exactly true. You know, they had a routine discussion the other day and all of a sudden they hardened up. They don’t want to give. them back. And so Israel is going to have to make a decision. I know what I’d do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say, but Israel is going to have to make a decision.” On the images of starving children in Gaza, Trump said: “Well, it’s terrible. You know, when I see the children and when I see, especially over the last couple of weeks, and people are stealing the food, they’re stealing the money, they’re stealing weapons. They’re stealing everything. It’s a mess. That whole place is a mess.” Share Updated at 18.38 BST

9h ago 18.19 BST Donald Trump: ‘We gave $60m aid to Gaza and no one said thank you’ Speaking at a press conference alongside European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen ahead of their meeting in Scotland over a US-EU trade deal, Donald Trump was asked whether Israel should be doing more to get food into Gaza. He replied: “You know, we gave $60m two weeks ago – and no one even acknowledged it – for food. And, it’s terrible. You really at least want somebody to at least say thank you. No other country gave anything. We gave $60m two weeks ago for food for Gaza and nobody acknowledged it, nobody talks about it. And it makes you feel a little bad when you do that and you have other countries not giving anything.” The comments echo US vice president JD Vance’s chiding of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky in front of news cameras in February, when he asked Zelensky “have you said thank you once?” for US military aid. Share Updated at 18.21 BST

9h ago 18.00 BST Keir Starmer to recall cabinet over Gaza Prime Minister Keir Starmer will recall his cabinet from their summer break to discuss the situation in Gaza, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, amid growing pressure on the Labour government to recognise a Palestinian state, Reuters reports. The FT said the move to recall his cabinet of ministers next week was set out on Sunday by Downing Street. The UK parliament and cabinet are currently in a summer recess until 1 September. The recall comes after Starmer said on Friday the British government would recognise a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal, disappointing many in his Labour Party who want him to follow France in taking swifter action. French president Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday France would recognise a Palestinian state, a plan that drew strong condemnation from Israel and the US after similar moves from Spain, Norway and Ireland last year. Starmer’s approach to the issue has been complicated by the arrival in Scotland on Friday of Donald Trump, with whom he has built warm relations. In foreign policy terms, the UK has rarely diverged from the US. Starmer’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment from the news agency. Share Updated at 18.01 BST

9h ago 17.50 BST World Health Organization says malnutrition in Gaza on ‘dangerous trajectory’ Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July, the World Health Organization has said in a statement posted on social media. Of 74 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 occurred in July –including 24 children under five, a child over five, and 38 adults. Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting. The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives. Nearly one in five children under five in #Gaza City is now acutely malnourished, as reported by Nutrition Cluster partners. Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM), which measures the percentage of children aged 6–59 months suffering from acute malnutrition, has tripled since June, making it the worst-hit area in the Gaza Strip. In Khan Younis and the Middle Area, rates have doubled in less than one month. These figures are likely an underestimation due to the severe access and security constraints preventing many families from reaching health facilities … WHO calls for urgent, sustained efforts to flood the Gaza Strip with diverse, nutritious food and to expedite the delivery of therapeutic supplies for children and vulnerable groups, as well as essential medicines and supplies. This flow must remain consistent and unhindered to support recovery and prevent further deterioration. WHO reiterates its call for the protection of civilians and health. WHO also calls for the release of our detained colleague, the release of hostages, and for an immediate #ceasefire. Share Updated at 17.52 BST

10h ago 17.31 BST Donald Trump says Israel will have to ‘make a decision’ on next steps in Gaza US president Donald Trump said on Sunday Israel would have to make a decision on its next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after moves by Israel to pull out of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas, Reuters reports. Trump underscored the importance to Israel of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly “hardened” up on the issue. “They don’t want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland. Share

10h ago 16.43 BST Syria is expected to hold its first parliamentary election under the new administration in September, the head of the electoral process told state news agency SANA, Reuters reports. Voting for the People’s Assembly is expected to take place from 15-20 September, added the official, Mohamed Taha. Ahmed al-Sharaa has led Syria since the fall of the Assad regime late last year. Sharaa had previously said it could take up to four years for election to be held. Share

11h ago 16.20 BST As reported earlier, Israeli forces seized the pro-Palestinian activist boat Handala in international waters and detained the crew late on Saturday. The boat was then taken into the port of Ashdod early on Sunday, AFP reports. The legal rights centre Adalah told AFP its lawyers were in Ashdod and had been allowed to speak to 19 members of the 21-strong international crew, which included two French parliamentarians and two Al Jazeera journalists. The remaining two of those detained were dual US and Israeli citizens and had been transferred to police custody, Adalah said. “After 12 hours at sea, following the unlawful interception of the Handala, Israeli authorities confirmed the vessel’s arrival at Ashdod port,” said the group, set up to campaign for the rights of Israel’s Arab population. “Adalah reiterates that the activists aboard the Handala were part of a peaceful civilian mission to break through Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza. The vessel was intercepted in international waters and their detention constitutes a clear violation of international law.” Earlier, the Israeli foreign ministry said the navy stopped the Handala to prevent it from entering the coastal waters off the territory of Gaza. Share

11h ago 16.00 BST British foreign secretary David Lammy has said Israel’s decision to pause military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors falls short of what is needed to alleviate suffering in the territory. Lammy said in a statement that Israel’s announcement was “essential but long overdue”, and that access to aid must now be urgently accelerated over the coming hours and days. “This announcement alone cannot alleviate the needs of those desperately suffering in Gaza,” Lammy said. “We need a ceasefire that can end the war, for hostages to be released and aid to enter Gaza by land unhindered.” Share

11h ago 15.45 BST Summary of events so far… The Israeli military said it had began a “tactical pause” in the densely populated areas of Gaza City , Deir al-Balah and Muwasi to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid” into the Gaza strip.

The pause would be repeated every day from 10am to 8pm local time until further notice and Israel would continue fighting in other areas of Gaza.

The Israeli military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6am and 11pm starting from Sunday.

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the designated areas.

Jordan and the UAE have reportedly carried out air drops into Gaza but Oxfam said the amount of food being allowed to trickle into the devastated territory is totally inadequate for the population’s need.

Israel’s pause in military action in parts of Gaza and the creation of humanitarian corridors has been cautiously welcomed by the UN but fuller access has been urged as calls for a permanent ceasefire were reiterated.

The UN’s food aid programme has warned that almost one in three people in the Gaza Strip are going for days without eating.

There is a starvation crisis and widespread malnutrition in Gaza caused by the restriction of aid into the territory by Israel.

At least 133 people, including 87 children, have died from malnutrition since Israel’s war on Gaza began in 2023, the territory’s health ministry said. You can read our latest report on Israel’s war in Gaza here. Share

12h ago 14.59 BST UN human rights chief says governments that don’t use their leverage to pressure Israel to end war may be ‘complicit in international crimes’ In a video statement released ahead of a conference on Palestine opening in New York tomorrow, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, has urged governments around the world to pressure Israel to end its assault on Gaza – and said those that don’t use their “leverage” may be complicit in “international crimes”. Here is what he said in full: I urge immediate steps by Israel to end its unlawful continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, and for all parties to work for tangible progress towards a two state solution. I urge governments to use the opportunity of this conference for concrete action that puts all possible pressure on the Israeli government to end the carnage in Gaza permanently. Countries that fail to use their leverage may be complicit in international crimes. Every day we are watching the unspeakable tragedy in Gaza and the West Bank with horror and frustration. Every day we see more destruction, more killings and the further dehumanisation of Palestinians. The people of the world will judge this conference on what it delivers. I call again for an immediate, permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and all others arbitrarily detained, immediate and unhindered humanitarian access, and the delivery of massive humanitarian aid to Palestinians wherever they are. View image in fullscreen Volker Türk has called for a massive surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Photograph: Martial Trezzini/EPA Share

13h ago 14.28 BST Deadly airdrops and a trickle of trucks won’t undo months of ‘engineered starvation’ in Gaza, Oxfam says Oxfam has said the airdrops into Gaza are wholly inadequate for the population’s needs and has called for the immediate opening of all crossings for full humanitarian access into the territory devasted by relentless Israeli bombardments and a partial aid blockade. Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam policy lead for the Occupied Palestinian territory, said: Deadly airdrops and a trickle of trucks won’t undo months of engineered starvation in Gaza. What’s needed is the immediate opening of all crossings for full, unhindered, and safe aid delivery across all of Gaza and a permanent ceasefire. Anything less risks being little more than a tactical gesture. Share Updated at 14.28 BST

Open this photo in gallery: Palestinians carry sacks of flour near Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, after Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday.BASHAR TALEB/AFP/Getty Images

The Israeli military Sunday began limited pauses in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day, part of measures including airdrops as concerns grow over surging hunger and as Israel faces criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war.

The military said the “tactical pause” from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, all with large populations, would increase humanitarian aid entering the territory.

United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher welcomed Israel’s decision to support a “one-week scale-up of aid” and said “some movement restrictions appear to have been eased.” But he said action needs to be sustained, vast and fast.

“Whichever path we choose, we will have to continue to allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Images of emaciated children have fanned criticism of Israel, including by allies, who are calling for the war’s end. Israel has restricted aid to Gaza’s population of over two million because it says Hamas siphons it off to bolster its rule, without providing evidence. Much of the population, squeezed into ever-smaller patches of land, now relies on aid.

As the military had warned, combat operations continued otherwise. Health officials in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 41 Palestinians from late Saturday into Sunday, including 26 seeking aid.

Open this photo in gallery: Humanitarian aid is air dropped to Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday.Abdel Kareem Hana/The Associated Press

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a social-media post on Sunday that Ottawa has trucks of aid ready to reach desperate Palestinians in Gaza.

Ms. Anand said Jordan, which borders Israel and the West Bank, has permitted Canada to pre-position aid, until Israel allows it to enter the Gaza Strip.

She said she spoke with her Israeli counterpart Friday “to seek assurances that trucks carrying Canadian aid would be allowed to enter Gaza.”

Separately, Israel’s military said 28 aid packages containing food were airdropped, and said it would put in place secure routes for aid delivery. It said the steps were made in coordination with the UN and other humanitarian groups.

The UN World Food Program said it had enough food in, or on its way, to feed all of Gaza for nearly three months. It has said nearly half a million people were enduring famine-like conditions.

Antoine Renard, WFP’s country director for the occupied Palestinian territories, said around 80 WFP trucks entered Gaza, while another over 130 trucks arrived via Jordan, Ashdod and Egypt. He said other aid was moving through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.

He stressed it was not enough to counter the “current starvation.”

Gaza saw 63 malnutrition-related deaths in July, including 24 children under the age of five, the World Health Organization said.

Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, Gaza Health Ministry’s director-general, called for a flood of medical supplies to treat child malnutrition.

“This [humanitarian] truce will mean nothing if it doesn’t turn into a real opportunity to save lives,” he said. “Every delay is measured by another funeral.”

Israel says it is considering alternatives to ceasefire talks

U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by Hamas of Gaza aid

Ceasefire efforts appeared to be in doubt. Israel and the U.S. recalled negotiating teams from Qatar on Thursday, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering “alternative options” to talks.

Israel says it is prepared to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something the group has refused. Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas’ negotiating delegation, said the group had displayed “maximum flexibility.”

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi said Israel’s change of approach on the humanitarian crisis amounted to an acknowledgment of Palestinians starving in Gaza, and asserted that it was meant to improve Israel’s international standing and not save lives.

After ending the latest ceasefire in March, Israel cut off the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other supplies to Gaza for two and a half months, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages. Fifty of them remain in Gaza, over half of them believed to be dead.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu denied reports of starvation in Gaza on Sunday and blamed Hamas for stealing aid. “What a bold-faced lie. There is no policy of starvations in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,” he said at an event in Jerusalem. The Associated Press

Under international pressure, Israel slightly eased the blockade in May. Since then, the average of 69 trucks a day has been far below the 500 to 600 trucks the UN says are needed. The UN says it has been unable to distribute much aid because hungry crowds and gangs take most of it from trucks.

In an attempt to divert aid delivery from U.N. control, Israel has backed the U.S.-registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which in May opened four distribution centers. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near those sites, the UN human rights office says.

Israel asserts the UN system allows Hamas to steal aid. The UN denies it.

“Gaza is not a remote island. The infrastructure and resources exist to prevent starvation; we just need safe, sustained access,” Mercy Corps’ vice president of global policy and advocacy, Kate Phillips-Barrasso, said in a statement.

Open this photo in gallery: Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy that reached Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday.Jehad Alshrafi/The Associated Press

Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said Israeli forces killed at least 13 people, including four children and a woman, and wounded 101 as they headed toward a GHF aid distribution site in central Gaza.

Israel’s military said it fired warning shots to prevent a “gathering of suspects” from approaching, hundreds of metres from the site before opening hours. GHF said there were no incidents at or near its sites.

Thirteen others were killed seeking aid elsewhere, including northwestern Gaza City, where over 50 people were wounded, and near the Zikim crossing where over 90 were wounded, hospital officials and medics said.

Israel’s military said two soldiers were killed in Gaza, bringing the total to 898 since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war. Hamas killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in that attack, and took 251 hostages.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says over half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza “terrible.”

With files from The Canadian Press

The home of a Chabad rabbi in Dnipro was hit during a deadly Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city early Saturday.

Rabbi Moshe Weber was asleep at 3:45 am in his central Dnipro apartment with his wife and four of his 11 children when a Russian missile hit the residential tower.

He and his family had returned days earlier from a Chabad camp in Poland, and had heard specific warnings that the next few days could be tumultuous, he tells The Times of Israel. However, he and his family decided to sleep in their beds after their Shabbat meal, instead of spending the night in the parking garage under the building that serves as a makeshift bomb shelter.

They were suddenly woken by a powerful blast. “I felt it was really, really close to us, and then I saw from the window that bricks were falling and broken windows,” says Weber.

His kids “woke up in a frenzy,” Weber recalls. “We opened the door, and then we heard the shock of the sirens, the fire. Total darkness and the water pipes burst.”

When they reached the street below they looked up and saw that their own building had been hit, and flames were pouring out of the 26th floor where the missile hit. Two of Weber’s neighbors were killed.

The Webers were allowed back in at 7:30 a.m., and saw that although their balcony was damaged, there was no damage inside the apartment. But only after the Jewish Sabbath when he read about the attack did he realized how lucky his family was. “I said, what a miracle.”

“We are Chabad emissaries who are here and are not afraid of anything and are here for the local Jews who need us more than ever and we try to do what is incumbent on us,” says Weber. “The [Lubavitcher] Rebbe watches over us, the Holy One, blessed be He, is watching over us.”

Weber heads Kolel Torah in Ukraine, a network of Torah learning centers operating with over 5,000 participants.

Earlier this month, the car of Kherson rabbi Yossi Wolf was hit by a drone, and he too was not hurt.

Dozens of Jews from Dnipro have been killed fighting against the Russians, says Weber.

“It was a very difficult night in Dnipro,” adds Rabbi Meir Stambler, chairman of the Jewish communities of Ukraine. “I don’t recall such intense and massive bombardments — and we’ve had rockets several times a week — since the war began three and a half years ago. There’s clearly a significant escalation in recent months, and we, the civilians, feel it firsthand.”

“It is time to end this war and put a stop to the terrorism that continues to claim the lives of innocent civilians and soldiers on the battlefield every week,” says Stambler.