Brazilian activist Thiago Avila gestures upon his arrival at a court in Ashkelon on May 3, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Mourners carry bodies during the funeral of Hamas’s senior commander Raed Saed and his aides, who were killed in an Israeli strike a day earlier, in Gaza City, December 14, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza Sam Rose speaks during an interview at his office in Brussels, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

If Israel’s military goes ahead with a planned offensive in Gaza City, then “all hope is gone that we’re ever going to see the end to this,” a United Nations official told The Associated Press on Wednesday (August 27, 2025).

Israel says the evacuation of Gaza’s most populated city is “inevitable,” adding to international alarm for hundreds of thousands of people there as famine — documented and declared — threatens to spread after 22 months of war.

Sam Rose, the acting director of Gaza operations for UNRWA, or the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, said some people are too old, too young or too ill or incapacitated to evacuate Gaza City as Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles have deployed to its outskirts.

“You’ve got a population that’s living in abject fear, in abject cruelty, abject humiliation, that has no control whatsoever over their day-to-day, their minute-to-minute lives,” Mr. Rose said. “Just think for a minute about what that means for any human being, but what it means for parents, what it means for children who’ve grown up knowing nothing but this.”

Instead of an offensive, all efforts should be made to provide services and support to keep people alive, he said.

Mr. Rose was in Gaza from February 2024 until March of this year. The agency was feeding 1.2 million people a day in Gaza before the war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

He said 6,000 trucks full of lifesaving aid including food, medicine, fuel and water have been stuck outside Gaza for months. The U.N. has cited Israeli restrictions.

“That’s enough food to feed everyone, enough soap to give everyone, enough nappies, diapers,” Mr. Rose said.

Separately, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, described “mountains” of aid sitting at the Gaza border. She also denounced the plan for the military offensive.

The European Union’s recent agreement with Israel to ramp up aid for Gaza has not worked out, Ms. Lahbib said, and pleaded for access: “Let us save lives.”

Israel’s government, which blocked all aid into Gaza for two and a half months earlier this year, asserts it has allowed enough aid to enter during the war. The U.N., however, has said the amount of aid entering and reaching Palestinians remains far below the roughly 600 trucks a day that entered before the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied there’s starvation in Gaza, and his government called the recent famine declaration by international food security experts “an outright lie.”

The famine report earlier this month by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said nearly half a million people — about one-fourth of Gaza’s population — face catastrophic hunger, with many at risk of dying from malnutrition-related causes.

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Palestinians sheltering in tents or seeking scarce food aid were among at least 25 people killed by Israeli strikes and shootings on Saturday (August 23, 2025) in Gaza, according to local hospitals, as the world confronted an exceptional announcement that famine is now gripping Gaza’s largest city.

The famine determination by the world’s leading authority on food crises galvanised governments and aid groups to intensify pleas for Israel to halt its 22-month offensive on Gaza, prompted by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks.

Also Read | Israel vows to destroy Gaza City if Hamas doesn’t disarm, release hostages: Israeli Defence Minister

Aid groups have warned for months that the war and Israel’s restrictions on food into Gaza are causing starvation among civilians.

Israel denounced the famine declaration as lies and the military is pressing ahead with preparations to seize Gaza City. Efforts toward a ceasefire that could forestall the offensive are on hold as mediators await Israel’s next steps.

Gaza hospitals take in new dead and wounded

Israeli strikes killed at least 14 people in the southern Gaza Strip early Saturday, according to morgue records and health officials at Nasser Hospital. The officials said the strikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, which became home to hundreds of thousands who had fled from elsewhere in Gaza.

More than half of the dead were women and children. Awad Abu Agala, the uncle of two children who died, said no place in Gaza is now safe.

“The entire Gaza Strip is being bombed … In the south. In the north. Everywhere,” Abu Agala told The Associated Press, saying the children were targeted overnight while in their tents.

A grieving relative, Hekmat Foujo, pleaded for a truce.“We want to rest,” Mr. Foujo said, fighting through her tears. “Have some mercy on us.”

In northern Gaza, Israeli gunfire killed at least five aid-seekers Saturday near the Zikim crossing with Israel, where UN and other agencies’ convoys enter the enclave, health officials at the Sheikh Radwan field hospital told the AP.

Six people were killed in other attacks on Gaza elsewhere Saturday, according to hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions about the deaths.

A famine announcement ups the pressure

A report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said Friday (August 22) that Gaza City is gripped by famine that is likely to spread if fighting and restrictions on humanitarian aid continue.

It was a highly rare pronouncement by the group, its first in the Middle East, and came after Israel imposed a 2 1/2-month blockade on Gaza earlier this year, then eased access with a focus on a new US-backed private aid supplier, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF.

In response to global outrage over images of emaciated children, Israel in recent weeks has allowed airdrops and a new influx of aid entering by land, but UN and other aid agencies say the food reaching Gaza is still not nearly enough.

AP journalists have seen chaos and security problems on roads leading to aid deliveries, and there have been reports of Israeli troops firing toward aid-seekers. Israel’s military says they fire warning shots if individuals approach the troops or pose a threat to soldiers.

The IPC said nearly half a million people in Gaza, about one-fourth of the population, face catastrophic hunger that leaves many at risk of dying. It said hunger has been magnified by widespread displacement and the collapse of food production.

Mr. Netanyahu’s office denounced the IPC report as “an outright lie,” and accused Hamas of starving the hostages. Israel says it has allowed enough aid to enter during the war.

Activity is escalating ahead of Gaza City offensive

With ground troops already active in strategic areas, the widescale operation in Gaza City could start within days.

Aid group Doctors without Borders, or MSF, said Saturday its clinics around Gaza City are seeing high numbers of patients as people flee recent bombardments. The group said in a statement that “strikes are forcing people, including MSF staff, to flee their homes once again, and we are seeing displacement across Gaza City.

The Israeli military has said troops are operating on the outskirts of Gaza City and in the city’s Zeitoun neighbourhood.

Israel says Gaza City is still a Hamas stronghold, with a network of militant tunnels. The city also is home to hundreds of thousands of civilians, some of whom have fled from elsewhere.

Ceasefire efforts await Israel’s response

Many Israelis fear the assault on Gaza City could doom the roughly 20 hostages who have survived captivity since 2023.

Mr. Netanyahu said Thursday he had instructed officials to begin immediate negotiations to release hostages and end the war on Israel’s terms. It is unclear if Israel will return to long-running talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar after Hamas said earlier this week that it accepted a new proposal from the Arab mediators.

Hamas has said it would release captives in exchange for ending the war, but rejects disarmament without the creation of a Palestinian state.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Hamas’ stance, suggesting the militant group was less interested in making deals to release hostages with so few left alive.

“The situation has to end. It’s extortion, and it has to end,” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday. “I actually think (the hostages are) safer in many ways if you went in and you really went in fast and you did it.”

Published – August 23, 2025 06:35 pm IST

Dozens of bulldozers, construction vehicles and trucks carrying mobile homes lined up on Egypt’s side of the Rafah border crossing on Thursday, awaiting to enter Gaza, state-linked Egyptian media reported.

Al-Qahera News, with close ties to Egyptian intelligence services, said the equipment was positioned at the crossing in preparation for entry into the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

An AFP photographer also confirmed seeing the vehicles, including trucks carrying caravans, waiting at the border.

However, an Israeli government spokesman said heavy machinery would not be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

“There is no entry of caravans (mobile homes) or heavy equipment into the Gaza Strip, and there is no coordination for this,” Omer Dostri, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wrote on X.

“According to the agreement, no goods are allowed to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing,” he added.

Under an ongoing truce agreement, Rafah has been opened for evacuation of the wounded and sick. Other aid is also allowed to enter the territory via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

“We stand behind them (Palestinians) and hopefully better days are ahead,” Ahmed Abdel Dayem, a driver at the border, told AFP.

The situation unfolds amid growing tensions over US President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, a move that has faced staunch opposition from both countries.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called such displacement an “injustice” that Egypt “cannot take part in”, while Jordan’s King Abdullah said his country remains “steadfast” in its position against forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Egypt is set to host a summit of Arab nations later this month and announced this week that it would present a “comprehensive vision” for Gaza’s reconstruction in a way that ensures Palestinians remain on their land.

Egypt and Jordan, both key US allies, are heavily reliant on foreign aid and the US is considered one of their top donors.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The two leaders discussed the Gaza ceasefire deal.

The American Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defence system was used to intercept a ballistic missile launched at Israel from Yemen yesterday. The missile was reportedly fired by the Houthi rebels, a group backed by Iran.

The THAAD system, deployed in Israel by the United States in October, was activated to intercept the missile for the first time, the Times of Israel reported. Footage circulated on social media showing the system launching an interceptor, accompanied by the voice of an American soldier exclaiming, “Eighteen years I’ve been waiting for this.” 

While the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the missile’s interception, they did not specify whether the system used was Israeli or American. However, security sources told the Walla news site that THAAD had successfully engaged the missile, the report said. 

The deployment of THAAD in Israel followed an October 1 ballistic missile attack by Iran. The advanced system is capable of intercepting missiles both inside and outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

מערכת ה- THAAD האמריקנית לקחה חלק ביירוט הטיל הבליסטי ששוגר אמש מתימן. אפשר לשמוע את אחד החיילים האמריקניים מתרגש “18 שנים חיכיתי לזה” pic.twitter.com/s4VoMfMhaF

— איתי בלומנטל Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) December 27, 2024

The THAAD system, developed by the United States, is designed to intercept short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during their terminal phase. Unlike conventional systems, THAAD relies on kinetic energy to neutralise threats, destroying incoming missiles through impact rather than an explosive warhead.

A standard THAAD battery includes six truck-mounted launchers, each capable of holding up to eight interceptors, along with a radar and a fire control system. The system’s radar can detect threats from a range of 870 to 3,000 kilometres.

The Houthi missile launch marked the fifth such attack on Israel in just eight days. The Iran-backed group claimed to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport. In response, Israeli warplanes launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, including the Hezyaz power plant and infrastructure at Sanaa International Airport.

The Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel over the past year, according to the IDF, however, the majority of these threats were intercepted or fell short of their targets. The group has also disrupted commercial shipping in the Red Sea, targeting over 100 merchant vessels and forcing carriers to reroute.

The Houthis have explicitly linked their actions to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which erupted on October 7, 2023, following Palestinian group Hamas’ attack on Israel. 

Another strike in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least seven people, according to the Awda Hospital. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 26 people overnight and into Wednesday (December 11, 2024), including one that hit a home where displaced people were sheltering in the isolated north, killing 19, according to Palestinian medical officials.

That strike occurred in the northern town of Beit Lahiya near the border with Israel, according to the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, which received the bodies. Hospital records show that a family of eight were among those killed, including four children, their parents and two grandparents.

Also Read | Gaza civil defence says 25 killed in Israeli strikes in territory’s north

Another strike in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least seven people, according to the Awda Hospital. Records show the dead included two children, their parents and three relatives.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has been waging a renewed offensive against Hamas militants in northern Gaza since early October. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and accuses militants of hiding among them, putting their lives in danger.

The army said militants in central Gaza fired four projectiles into Israel on Wednesday, two of which were intercepted. The other two fell in open areas, and there were no reports of casualties.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 people, including children and older adults. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials. They say women and children make up more than half the dead but do not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their count. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.