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UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini on April 30, 2024 [FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images]
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Saturday urged Israel to stop denying responsibility for the famine it caused in the Gaza Strip and called on influential states to act immediately to end the crisis, Anadolu reports.
“It’s time for the Government of Israel to stop denying the famine it has created in Gaza,” Philippe Lazzarini said on US social media platform X.
“All of those who have influence must use it with determination and a sense of moral duty. Every hour counts,” he added.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the UN-backed global hunger monitor, confirmed on Friday that famine has been established in Gaza governorate, projecting that it will spread to central and southern areas of the enclave by the end of September.
Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, led to deaths by starvation, forced migration and spread of disease.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAUK Labour Party government Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are participants and complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide providing Israel with army and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.Vote Labour for Genocide.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit pose for a group photo after issuing a joint statement condemning Israel’s decision to block their planned diplomatic visit to Ramallah, at a meeting held in Amman, Jordan on June 1, 2025. [Jordan Foreign Ministry – Anadolu Agency]
Arab states on Friday condemned Israel for the famine officially declared in the Gaza Strip, with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Muslim World League and Palestine accusing Tel Aviv of committing grave crimes against starving civilians and demanding urgent international intervention, Anadolu reports.
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry accused Israel of committing genocide against civilians in Gaza, describing the famine as a “stain on the conscience of humanity.”
The ministry said the famine, confirmed by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), is a direct result of systematic crimes committed by the Israeli army, including the obstruction of humanitarian aid and forced displacement of civilians under siege.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its deep concern following the IPC report and the official declaration of famine in Gaza,” the ministry said.
“The continuation of these crimes without deterrence or accountability represents a disgrace to the international community.”
Riyadh condemned what it called “repeated genocide crimes” by Israeli forces and called on the international community, particularly permanent members of the UN Security Council, to take urgent steps to end the famine and stop Israel’s extermination war against the Palestinian people.
Kuwait also denounced Israel’s policy of starvation, repression, and forced displacement in Gaza.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry called on the international community to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza and hold Israel accountable for crimes against humanity, citing UN Security Council Resolution 2417, which prohibits the use of starvation as a weapon of war.
The GCC likewise urged immediate international pressure on Israel to open crossings and allow unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza.
GCC Secretary-General Jasem al-Budaiwi called the famine a result of Israel’s “inhumane starvation policies” and reaffirmed support for Palestinian rights and protection under international law.
Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sufyan Qudah called the declaration “a dangerous indicator of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, resulting from the systematic inhumane policies and measures by the Israeli government that have turned starvation into a weapon against the Palestinians.”
He condemned Israel’s continued restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which he said have led to “alarming levels of famine.”
Qudah called on the international community to “act immediately and without delay to compel Israel to end its aggression on Gaza, put an end to the famine and humanitarian catastrophe caused by the aggression, and ensure the sufficient and sustainable entry of aid into the Strip.”
A statement by the Muslim World League (MWL) General Secretariat, Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, and chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, stressed that “this extremist government poses a grave threat to the Palestinian people in particular, as well as to the region and the international community at large.”
His renewed the MWL’s “urgent appeal to the international community to assume its moral and legal responsibilities, to take an immediate and decisive stand to end the famine and genocide inflicted upon the people of Gaza, and to deter the occupation government’s war machine, which continues its tyranny and disregard for the lives, rights, and human dignity of the Palestinian people.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called for “decisive international action to compel the occupying state, Israel, to immediately halt the crimes of genocide, displacement, and annexation, as the only way to stop, contain, and address famine, prevent its spread, ensure the opening of crossings, allow sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid, and begin the immediate reconstruction of Gaza.”
It “urged relevant international courts to assume their legal and moral responsibilities regarding the perpetrators of famine, including upholding international law in addressing all acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people witnessed by the world.”
The ministry also affirmed that the IPC report “has left no room for interpretation and speculation regarding the occurrence of famine in Gaza.”
Hamas said the UN report on the spread of famine in Gaza governorate represents “conclusive international testimony to the crime being committed by Israel.”
The group said the announcement “constitutes undeniable international evidence of the crime perpetrated by the Zionist occupation against more than two million besieged people.”
It called for the UN and the Security Council to “act immediately to stop the war, lift the blockade, and open the crossings without restrictions to allow the urgent and continuous entry of food, medicine, water and fuel.”
The IPC’s latest report, released Friday, confirmed that famine conditions are already present in Gaza, affecting over 500,000 people. The crisis, described by UN agencies as entirely man-made, is projected to spread further south in the coming weeks, unless a large-scale humanitarian response is urgently allowed.
UN officials and humanitarian agencies have blamed Israel’s blockade, destruction of civilian infrastructure, repeated displacement, and severe restrictions on aid deliveries as the main drivers of the famine.
Israel has killed nearly 62,300 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAUK Labour Party government Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are participants and complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide providing Israel with army and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.Vote Labour for Genocide.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Body of 2-month-old Palestinian baby Rasil Ebu Mesud, who lost his life due to malnutrition, is brought to Nasser Hospital for funeral process as Israeli food blockade continues in Khan Yunis, Gaza on August 22, 2025. [Hani Alshaer – Anadolu Agency.
At least 62,622 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, Anadolu reports.
A ministry statement said that 61 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, while 308 people were injured, taking the number of injuries to 157,673 in the Israeli onslaught.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
The ministry also noted that 16 Palestinians were killed and over 111 injured by Israeli army fire while trying to get humanitarian aid in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed while seeking aid to 2,076, with over 15,308 others wounded since May 27.
The ministry said that eight more Palestinians, including two children, died of malnutrition and starvation in the Israel-blockaded Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours. This brought the famine-linked death toll since October 2023 to 281 people, including 114 children.
Since March 2, Israeli authorities have completely closed all Gaza border crossings, creating famine for the territory’s 2.4 million population.
The Israeli army resumed its attacks on the Gaza Strip on March 18 and has since killed 10,778 people and injured 45,632 others, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAUK Labour Party government Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are participants and complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide providing Israel with army and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.Vote Labour for Genocide.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march past Big Ben as they march from Embankment Station during the 28th protest held since October 7, 2023, calling for an end to UK arms sales to Israel and condemning Israel’s attacks on Gaza as well as crackdowns on Palestinian solidarity in the UK on July 29, 2025 in London, United Kingdom. [Behlül Çetinkaya – Anadolu Agency]
Legal Action for Peace, an organisation of lawyers and human rights advocates who challenge anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Arab discrimination, has written to the Charity Commission to raise serious concerns over its discriminatory conduct during its investigation into the Abdullah Quilliam Society.
LAFP’s complaint follows two letters sent to the Charity from the Commission on 15 July and 5 August 2025 regarding statements made by Ajmal Masroor criticising Israel which the Commission deemed to be “divisive and inflammatory” a position the LAFP strongly refutes, citing several international legal precedents, human rights reports, and United Nations findings that support such descriptions of Israel as being an ‘apartheid,’ ‘racist’ and ‘settler-colonial’ state.
Concerns over discrimination and free speech
In its letter, LAFP alleges that the Commission’s inquiry has disproportionately targeted the Abdullah Quilliam Society, a Muslim organisation, for commentary relating to the State of Israel. The organisation argues that similar commentary by other high-profile human rights organisations—such as Amnesty International—did not lead to equivalent regulatory action, raising questions of unequal treatment and possible discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.
LAFP also raised significant concerns over the Charity Commission’s apparent attempts to regulate or censure speech critical of Israel, arguing that doing so constitutes interference with the lawful exercise of free expression under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998. The letter warns against the misuse of public resources to police political discourse—particularly where such speech is supported by documented international human rights violations.
LAFP’s Miriam Khan stated “During the past 22 months of Israeli onslaught on the Palestinians both in Gaza and the West Bank, the forced starvation and the Genocide, we are witnessing the Charity Commission’s misguided attempt to regulate speech criticising Israel whilst using public money. It is our view that the Commission has significantly overstepped its regulatory powers in its attempt to censure speech relating to a foreign state.
LAFP have written to the Commission demanding that it explains its legal rationale for considering speech that is critical of Israel as a regulatory breach and to also explain the disparity in its treatment of Muslim charities compared to others.”
Legal Action for Peace concluded the letter by urging the Commission to provide assurances that any ongoing inquiry into the Abdullah Quilliam Society will be free from bias or discriminatory intent. LAFP stated in their letter “We will not hesitate to take legal action where we consider the Muslim community, including its institutions, are being unfairly targeted in contravention of the law.”
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAUK Labour Party government Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are participants and complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide providing Israel with army and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.Vote Labour for Genocide.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
A general view of the International Criminal Court (ICC) building in The Hague, Netherlands on April 30, 2024. [Selman Aksünger – Anadolu Agency]
The US sanctioned four International Criminal Court (ICC) officials Wednesday, including a judge who authorized the arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Anadolu reports.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Nicolas Yann Guillou, Nazhat Shameem Khan, Mame Mandiaye Niang and Kimberly Prost to the Specially Designated Nationals list.
The State Department said Guillou was sanctioned for authorizing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, while Prost faced penalties for approving investigations into US personnel in Afghanistan.
Guillou, a French jurist, serves on the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I that issued the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024. The warrants accuse both officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Deputy prosecutors Khan and Niang were designated for “continuing to support illegitimate ICC actions against Israel,” including upholding the warrants targeting Israeli leadership since assuming prosecutor office leadership.
The State Department said sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14203, which targets “malign efforts by the ICC” and aims to impose consequences on those engaged in “transgressions against the United States and Israel.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the four officials and the court of efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation.”
“The United States has been clear and steadfast in our opposition to the ICC’s politicization, abuse of power, disregard for our national sovereignty, and illegitimate judicial overreach,” he said in a statement, labeling the court as national security threat to Washington and Tel Aviv.
All property and interests of sanctioned individuals in the US or controlled by US persons are now blocked. Entities owned 50% or more by blocked persons are also sanctioned.
The OFAC also published a General License authorizing the winding down of existing transactions with sanctioned individuals until 12.01 a.m. EDT (0401GMT) on Sept. 19. But payments must be made into blocked interest-bearing accounts in the US, preventing those who are sanctioned from accessing funds.
The sanctions came amid an escalation between the US and the ICC, which Washington has not joined. In February, the Trump administration sanctioned the ICC and Prosecutor Karim Khan, accusing the court of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”
Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, devastating the enclave which faces famine. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAUK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.Vote Labour for Genocide.
