UN calls for ceasefire as famine in Gaza spreads

All members of the United Nations Security Council, except the United States, have demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territories to halt the spread of the Gaza famine while Washington downplayed postwar discussions.

Famine dominated the Security Council agenda on Wednesday at its emergency meeting. Over half a million people are facing starvation and death, and there are urgent concerns that the number could exceed 640,000 by the end of September, according to Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya.

The same day, however, US President Donald Trump presided over a meeting on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and postwar plans with former British prime minister Tony Blair and former Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, where a senior White House official downplayed it as a "simple policy meeting", Reuters reported.

Msuya read out a statement on behalf of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher.

She said virtually no one in Gaza "is untouched by hunger" and at least 132,000 children under the age of 5 are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition between now and mid-2026.

The number of those at risk of death among them has now tripled to over 43,000. For pregnant and breastfeeding women, that number is predicted to surge from 17,000 to 55,000.

On Aug 22, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Famine Review Committee confirmed that famine is now occurring in Gaza and is projected to expand further to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.

Msuya acknowledged an uptick in aid entering Gaza and limited commercial traffic has also resumed in the past weeks, which helped bring down prices of key commodities. However, they "remain elevated and largely out of reach for much of the population".

At a news briefing on Wednesday, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Eden Bar Tal rejected the IPC report, saying it "is forged for political purposes".

Tal also accused the IPC of manipulating and ignoring data, breaking its own rules, and saying it "hid contradictory evidence".

"That report was fabricated for a purpose — to support Hamas' fake starvation campaign," he said.

In July, Trump publicly acknowledged that starvation was happening in Gaza while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said otherwise.

Haydar Oruc, a former researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Turkiye, said that it was expected that a decision would be made at the Security Council meeting on Wednesday to end the famine in Gaza immediately.

"However, due to the negative stance of the US and Israel, the issue was sidetracked, as it had been during Security Council meetings discussing ceasefire resolutions," Oruc told China Daily.

Issue sidetracked

Despite the UN report, Oruc said the Security Council was prevented from taking further action. This was based on the Israeli claim that there was no famine in Gaza and humanitarian aid entering Gaza was being stolen by Hamas, he said.

"While it is clear that the famine declared by the IPC in Gaza is not due to natural causes, as were those declared in other regions, but rather is man-made and therefore requires human intervention to end," Oruc said.

Oruc said he believed "no part of Gaza is immune to famine".

Gaza's health authority has recorded four deaths "due to famine and malnutrition" over the past 24 hours, including two children, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday. This brings the number of hunger-related deaths in the enclave to 317, including 121 children, since fighting intensified.

"It should not be forgotten that famine could affect all of Gaza and that a major humanitarian crisis will occur in Gaza if the conditions for famine are not eliminated," said Oruc.

"The easiest way to end the famine in Gaza is to ensure that Israel immediately accepts a ceasefire and allows humanitarian aid to enter Gaza without delay. Therefore, the UN Security Council must focus on this and avoid unnecessary inaction," Oruc said.

"Otherwise, the UN will be as responsible as Israel and the US for the mass deaths that will occur in Gaza," he added.