Ten Palestinians die from starvation as Pope demands Israel end collective punishment

Ten Palestinians, including two children, have died from starvation in the past 24 hours, Gaza health authorities said on Wednesday, as Pope Leo XIV called on Israel to halt its “collective punishment” of the besieged territory’s population.

At least 313 people have died from hunger since the war began, including 119 children, according to Gaza health officials.

A UN-backed monitoring body confirmed last week that Gaza faces famine conditions and warned that increasing numbers of people would lose access to food without additional aid.

The Pope interrupted his Vatican address twice by applause as he called for a ceasefire before thousands in the auditorium.

“I beg for a permanent ceasefire to be reached, the safe entry of humanitarian aid to be facilitated and humanitarian law to be fully respected,” Leo said.

Pope Leo XIV calls for permanent ceasefire in Gaza

The pontiff referenced international law and its “prohibition of collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population” during his appeal for suspended hostilities.

Save the Children’s head, Inger Ashing, told the UN Security Council in New York that starving children in Gaza have become too weak to cry.

“When there is not enough food, children become acutely malnourished, and then they die slowly and painfully. This, in simple terms, is what famine is,” Ashing said.

She described how the body first consumes its own fat before consuming muscles and vital organs. “Yet our clinics are almost silent. Now, children do not have the strength to speak or even cry out in agony. They lie there, emaciated, quite literally wasting away,” Ashing said.

Israeli forces advance on Gaza City despite humanitarian crisis

Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza City’s outskirts overnight, destroying houses and displacing residents despite international ceasefire calls. Tanks shelled the Ebad al-Rahman neighbourhood on the northern outskirts, causing injuries as Israeli forces cleared paths for an expected offensive.

Israeli strikes and fire killed at least 76 people throughout Gaza in the previous 24 hours, Gaza health authorities said.

The Israeli military said it was operating in Jabaliya and Gaza City’s outskirts to “dismantle terror infrastructure sites and eliminate terrorists”.

It claimed to have killed senior Hamas member Mahmoud al-Aswad, described as the militia’s head of intelligence for west Gaza.

Israel has said it will launch its Gaza City offensive regardless of ceasefire agreements, describing the city as Hamas’s last stronghold. The city now holds approximately 1 million people—half of Gaza’s population—who have fled from other areas during the 22-month conflict.

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Wednesday that “evacuating Gaza City is inevitable”. Israel has asked humanitarian organisations in northern and southern Gaza to prepare for an influx of displaced people and has sent additional tents to the territory.

Local church leaders said they would not evacuate and that people sheltering in churches were too weak and malnourished to move.

“For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds,” the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a joint statement.

Israel has yet to respond to a US-backed ceasefire proposal that Hamas agreed to last week. The proposal reportedly mirrors an earlier US proposal Israel had previously accepted.

Qatar, a ceasefire talks mediator, issued a rare rebuke of Israel on Tuesday, saying Israel “does not want to reach an agreement”.

US President Donald Trump was reportedly planning to lead a White House meeting on Wednesday to discuss Gaza’s post-war future. His special envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington expected the war to be settled by year’s end.

The war has killed at least 62,895 Palestinians over 22 months, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel launched its military campaign after Hamas-led militants killed approximately 1,200 people on 7 October 2023.

Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.

(information from The Guardian)