The Latest: Gaza death toll passes 60,000 as Israel and Trump feel pressure over famine alert
The Associated Press
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza passed 60,000 on Tuesday. The world’s leading authority on food crises said the “ worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in the territory of over 2 million people as starvation deaths rise. And the United Nations said far too little food and other aid was entering the enclave, while most of Tuesday’s dead were gunned down seeking aid.
Pressure grew on Israel’s closest ally, the United States, to act as Americans’ support for Israeli military action declines sharply. And the British prime minister says the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire.
Here’s the latest:
Malta to recognize a Palestinian state, leader says
Malta plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September, Prime Minister Robert Abela said in a social media post.
Malta’s decision was formally communicated to the United Nations during the U.N. conference under way in New York, Abela added.
“Our country’s position reflects our commitment to finding a solution in favor of lasting peace in the Middle East,” wrote Abela, who had previously said he intended to be the Maltese leader to recognize a Palestinian state.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has said Italy backs an eventual Palestinian state but that the time wasn’t right to recognize it. Meloni has backed Israel’s right to defend itself while providing humanitarian aid to Gaza and airlifting out wounded Palestinians for treatment in Italy.
The Holy See, for its part, recognized the Palestinian state officially in 2015 and has said such recognition was the best solution to ending the conflict.
Trump says he thinks Europe will help with Gaza aid
President Donald Trump says he thinks the European Union will put up more money to aid hungry Palestinians in Gaza.
“We want to take it one thing at a time. They need food, and they need people to be able to get them the food,” he told reporters.
The EU has been the world’s biggest supplier of aid to the Palestinians, when the aid is allowed to go through.
Trump also talked about setting up “food centers” under Israeli control, saying that “we think they can do a good job with it. They want to preside over the food centers to make sure the distribution is proper.” It was not clear how that would differ from the Israeli-backed American contractor that opened aid distribution centers in Gaza in May. Chaos has surrounded that system meant as an alternative to the U.N.-backed one.
Trump said he last spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two days ago.
UN conference supports two-state solution
A U.N. high-level conference has given “unwavering support’ to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and calls on Israel to commit to a Palestinian state.
The non-binding declaration adopted at a conference at the U.N. General Assembly sets out “a concrete time-bound action plan.” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes a two-state solution, and his government and close ally the United States boycotted the conference.
The declaration’s plan envisions the Palestinian Authority governing and controlling all Palestinian territory, with a transitional administrative committee established under its umbrella after a ceasefire in Gaza.
The plan also supports deployment of “a temporary international stabilization mission” operating under U.N. auspices to support the transfer of security to the Palestinian Authority.
UK foreign secretary defends conditions on Palestinian statehood
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has defended the U.K.’s decision on recognition of Palestinian statehood in September if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire and long-term peace process.
Lammy told reporters at the United Nations that “what we have attempted to do is affect the situation on the ground, and I sincerely hope that we see a dramatic improvement to the suffering that we see and a commitment to a ceasefire.”
The U.K. announcement came a day after President Donald Trump met with the British prime minister. Lammy was asked if Trump was given a heads-up.
While the U.S. and U.K. have the “most special” relationship, Lammy responded, “we have always been clear that no country has veto on solemn decisions that we make in the United Kingdom.”
Applause at UN conference for British statement
Britain’s foreign secretary has been applauded at a U.N. conference after announcing that the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps to long-term peace.
David Lammy spoke at a ministerial meeting on the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. He was immediately interrupted with loud and sustained applause in the U.N. General Assembly hall.
Lammy also said the rejection by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of a two-state solution “is wrong morally and it’s wrong strategically,” stressing that it harms the Israeli people by closing off the only path to peace.
France welcomes British announcement on Palestinian state
France has welcomed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement that the U.K will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps to long-term peace.
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron made a surprise diplomatic gamble by announcing that France will recognize Palestine in September.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot posted on social media that “Together, through this momentous decision and our joint efforts, we are ending the infinite cycle of violence and re-opening the prospect of peace in the region.”
Palestinians chase airdrops into the sea
Scores of Palestinians in the Gaza town of Zawaida swam into the sea to retrieve what they could from airdrops of aid.
Kamel Qoraan returned to shore with a soaked bag of tea powder, saying that airdropping aid is “humiliating” and calling for the opening of border crossings for trucks. The United Nations and partners say trucks deliver far more aid.
Associated Press reporters in Gaza said much of the airdropped aid has fallen in so-called red zones that Israel has ordered people to evacuate from.
Some people seemed relieved to get anything. One boy smiled as he clutched a small sack of flour. One man had a can of beans. Momen Abu Etayya said his son urged him to chase the airdrops, and dashed into the sea. “I was only able to bring him three biscuits,” he said.
U.K. to recognize Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to ceasefire
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps toward long-term peace.
Starmer told ministers at a rare summertime Cabinet meeting that Britain will recognize a state of Palestine before the United Nations General Assembly, “unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two state solution.”
EU humanitarian team not allowed into Gaza, official says
A team from the European Union’s humanitarian aid agency was “not authorized” by Israel to join a convoy heading into Gaza, according to a senior European Commission official. The official was not authorized to be publicly named according to EU policy.
The EU “didn’t receive any convincing explanation” from Israel’s military or foreign service, the official said. There was no immediate Israeli comment.
The EU has sought to monitor delivery of food and fuel in Gaza under a new aid agreement with Israel. It says at least 160 trucks should enter Gaza daily along with 200,000 liters of fuel, and more border crossings should open.
But the EU does not have adequate evidence Israel has fulfilled its end of the bargain, the official said.
— Sam McNeil in Brussels
WFP says half of what it wants to get into Gaza is reaching
The U.N. World Food Program says only about half of the aid it has requested to enter Gaza is reaching the territory after Israel eased restrictions on entry over the weekend.
WFP wants 100 trucks per day entering the territory of over 2 million people as deaths from starvation increase.
Ross Smith, the U.N. agency’s director of emergencies, says they lack “follow-through on the ground” such as faster clearance and approval for aid trucks. He says that “we need sustained effort at scale for weeks at a time.”
Draft says ministers to make ‘unwavering commitment’ to two-state solution
A draft document for a U.N. conference says foreign ministers will make an “unwavering commitment” to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The document obtained by The Associated Press would stress “the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.”
It also will invite all countries that have not recognized the state of Palestine to do so, and “urge countries who have not done so yet to establish normal relations with Israel.” The draft was circulated for comment by conference co-chair France ahead of the conference’s final day on Tuesday.
— Edith M. Lederer
Top UN official says famine alert in Gaza is ‘undeniable’
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres says the new alert on Gaza from the world’s leading international authority on food crises “confirms what we have feared: Gaza is on the brink of famine.”
“The facts are in — and they are undeniable,” Guterres said in a statement. “Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. This is not a warning. It is a reality unfolding before our eyes.” He again called for the free and unimpeded flow of food, water, medicine and fuel into the strip, saying that the “trickle of aid must become an ocean.”
Germany joins airdrop effort in Gaza
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says two of his country’s military aircraft are on their way to Jordan to join the airdrops of aid to Gaza.
Merz said after meeting Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday that the two Airbus A400M planes can join airdrops by the weekend, possibly as early as Wednesday.
Abdullah acknowledged that airdrops are “a drop in the ocean,” though “it does send a signal and pressure on Israel that we are trying the best that we can.” He insisted that “truck traffic needs to be started as quickly as possible.”
France to join airdrops for Gaza
A French diplomatic official says France will carry out airdrops of humanitarian aid to Gaza in the coming days. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.
The official stressed that the airdrops are not intended to replace larger-scale relief efforts. France is also working to establish overland deliveries, which it described as “by far the most effective solution for delivering massive, unimpeded humanitarian relief.”
— Thomas Adamson in Paris
