Starvation mounts in Gaza as Israel eyes full takeover

Russia lodged a formal protest to Israel following an attack on a Russian diplomatic vehicle near the settlement of Givat Assaf near Jerusalem, according to a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry.

"On July 30, a vehicle of the Russian Federation's mission to the Palestinian National Authority, bearing diplomatic license plates and carrying personnel of the Russian diplomatic mission accredited by Israel's Foreign Ministry, was attacked near the illegal Israeli settlement of Givat Assaf, near Jerusalem, by a group of settlers," Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

The incident occurred "with the acquiescence of Israeli military personnel, who were present at the scene and did not attempt to stop the attackers' aggressive actions", she added.

Zakharova said the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv had submitted an official demarche to Israeli authorities.

U.S. President Donald Trump declined to say whether he supported or opposed a potential military takeover of Gaza by Israel and said his administration's focus was on increasing food access to the Palestinian enclave under assault from Washington's ally.

"As far as the rest of it, I really can't say. That's going to be pretty much up to Israel," Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met senior security officials on Tuesday, with media reporting he favored a complete military takeover of Gaza.

A top UN official warned Tuesday that expanding Israeli military operations inside Gaza risks "catastrophic consequences," as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly considered total occupation of the Palestinian territory.

A widening of the war "would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza," Miroslav Jenca, UN assistant secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told a Security Council meeting.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump discussed plans for Washington to significantly increase its role in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing two U.S. officials and an Israeli official.

The report said the discussions took place in a meeting between Witkoff and Trump on Monday at the White House, adding Israel supported the increased U.S. role.

Axios cited a U.S. official as saying the Trump administration will "take over" management of the humanitarian effort in Gaza because Israel is not handling it adequately. 

Gaza's civil defence agency said 68 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes on Tuesday, including 56 who were waiting near aid distribution sites inside the Palestinian territory.

Updating an earlier toll, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 56 people were killed by Israeli gunfire in three different incidents in north, central and southern Gaza, while another 12 were killed in three separate air strikes.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on dismissed accusations that Egypt is complicit in Israel's siege and starvation of Gaza as "bankruptcy" and "strange talk".

In a joint press conference with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong in Cairo, Sisi said that "more than 5,000 aid trucks are ready inside Egyptian territory to enter the Gaza Strip, whether from Egypt or other countries". He stressed that the main obstacle is "complete Israeli control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing", which is obstructing the entry of this aid.

"We are not besieging Gaza; these allegations are a form of bankruptcy," he added.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Tuesday Israel was pursuing "a war of starvation and genocide" in Gaza, and denied accusations Cairo prevented life-saving aid from entering the Palestinian territory.

"The war in Gaza is no longer merely a war to achieve political goals or release hostages," Sisi told a press conference in Cairo along with his Vietnamese counterpart.

Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, vowing to crush the Palestinian militant group and to free hostages.

To Sisi, "this war has long since surpassed any logic or justification, and has become a war of starvation and genocide".

"There is systematic genocide to eradicate the Palestinian cause," he said.

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah warned Tuesday that if Israel intensifies its military operations against his group, the Iran-backed armed faction will resume firing missiles toward Israel.

Naim Kassem’s comments came as Lebanon’s Cabinet was meeting to discuss Hezbollah’s disarmament. Beirut is under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead.

In a televised speech Tuesday, Kassem said Hezbollah rejects any timetable to hand over its weapons.

“Israel's interest is not to widen the aggression because if they expand, the resistance will defend, the army will defend and the people will defend,” Kassem said. “This defense will lead to the fall of missiles inside Israel.”

Kassem said Hezbollah rejects a government vote over its weapons, saying such a decision should be unanimously backed by all Lebanese.

"No one can deprive Lebanon of its force to protect its sovereignty,” Kassem said.

More countries must stand up to Israel and recognise a Palestinian state to stop "the genocidal activities", South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told AFP in an interview.

Pretoria has been leading calls against Israel's action in Gaza, bringing a case before the International Court of Justice in December 2023, arguing that its war in the territory amounted to genocide.

As some of Israel's allies "are now also saying, no, this can't continue, it means that it is bringing us closer and closer to the Israel regime to stop the genocidal activities," Lamola said.

United Nations special rapporteurs called Tuesday for the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being "exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas".

An exceptionally-large group of the UN-mandated experts voiced grave concerns over the GHF's operations.

The private organisation began distributing food in Gaza Strip in May as Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade on the Palestinian territory that had exacerbated existing shortages.

"The GHF ... is an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law," the experts said in a joint statement.

"The entanglement of Israeli intelligence, US contractors and ambiguous non-governmental entities underlines the urgent need for robust international oversight and action under UN auspices.

"Calling it 'humanitarian' adds on to Israel's humanitarian camouflage and is an insult to the humanitarian enterprise and standards."

More than 1,000 scientists have signed a petition urging the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) to address Israel’s war on Gaza, calling on the institute to honour its founding principles, including the commitment to “have no concern with work for military requirements”.

The petition states: "As scientists, we firmly believe that international collaboration, the sharing of knowledge and the free movement of ideas are great drivers of human progress and peace. Middle Eastern scientists have remained steadfast in upholding these principles despite decades of regional tensions and conflict.”

The signatories emphasised that they “cannot tolerate that the current state of war imposed by the Israeli government on Palestinians, alongside the unacceptable toll of lives and affront to human dignity, also compromises the continued peaceful collaboration of Israeli and Palestinian scientists between themselves, and with the rest of the community.”

CERN is known for hosting the Large Hadron Collider- the world’s most powerful particle accelerator.

Over 1000 physicists and scientists have demanded @CERN to take action for Gaza.

Their statement here https://t.co/gdJa7E9iMI

At link below, the expert opinion by Prof Alessandra Annoni & I, in support, on CERN legal obligations in relation to the OPt
https://t.co/f2AO8dGvlr pic.twitter.com/rxrSoYGMaU

— Luigi Daniele (@luigidaniele10) August 5, 2025

The Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis has reported at least 22 deaths in a 24-hour span, as hundreds of patients overwhelmed the hospital amid continued Israeli bombardment and widespread displacement.

In a Facebook post, hospital officials said the emergency department received 587 patients, while 632 people were assessed through the facility’s rapid triage system.

Medical teams treated 197 injured individuals, and 512 children were seen in the paediatric emergency section. An additional 195 people received care in the hospital’s overflow tent, set up to cope with mounting demand.

Healthcare workers say they are operating under immense strain, citing severe shortages of medical supplies, overcrowded conditions, and limited access to specialist treatment.

The pressure continues to mount as Gaza’s health system nears total collapse under the weight of war.

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Tuesday he had asked the country's finance minister to look into the country's sovereign wealth fund having invested in an Israeli jet engine maker, even as the war in Gaza raged.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, also known as the oil fund as it is fuelled by vast revenue from the country's oil and gas exports, is the biggest in the world and with a value of some $1.9 trillion, with investments spanning the globe.

On Monday, Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten reported that the fund had invested in Israeli Bet Shemesh Engines Holdings, which manufactures parts for jet engines used in Israeli fighter jets.

"I get very concerned when I see this," Store told broadcaster NRK on Tuesday.

Store added that he had asked the finance minister to get in touch with the country's central bank, which manages the fund, "to find out what the situation is."

Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, confirmed on Tuesday that the fund had purchased a stake in the company in 2023 and that it had increased its holdings after the Israeli offensive in Gaza begun.

Tangen said the fund now owned over two percent of the company's shares.

Speaking to broadcaster TV2, the head of the ethics council evaluating whether companies live up to the fund's ethical guidelines, Svein Richard Brandtzaeg, said the council had not deemed the sale of aircraft engines to Israel covered by the ethical guidelines.

"We have therefore not investigated companies that maintain aircraft engines. We will now consider this. The fund has comprehensive ethical guidelines, but there is still room for discretion on the part of the council," he told TV2.

Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday afternoon told a press conference he still had confidence in Tangen, following calls that the fund head should resign.

Stoltenberg stressed that the central bank and the fund were "responsible for implementation and enforcement based on the overall guidelines," news agency NTB reported.

The news agency added that Stoltenberg had also requested a new review of the fund's investments in Israel.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the army must "complete" the defeat of Hamas in Gaza to secure the release of hostages, ahead of an expected meeting with security chiefs on an updated war plan.

"It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said during a visit to an army training facility.

Israeli media reported that the premier was expected to sit down in Jerusalem later on Tuesday with the chief of staff and the defence minister, and that Netanyahu was considering ordering the total occupation of the Palestinian territory.

The timing of the meeting has not been officially confirmed.

"Netanyahu wants the Israeli army to conquer the entire Gaza Strip," said a report on public broadcaster Kan.

Netanyahu said Monday he would convene the cabinet later in the week to approve new instructions.

"Several cabinet members who spoke with the prime minister confirmed that he has decided to extend the fight to areas where hostages might be held," Kan reported.

The private daily Maariv declared: "The die is cast. We're en route for the total conquest of Gaza."

Gaza's civil defence agency said 26 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes on Tuesday, including 14 who were waiting near an aid distribution site inside the Palestinian territory.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people were killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid near the south Gaza city of Khan Younis.

Six more people were killed and 21 injured by Israeli fire in central Gaza while waiting for food near a distribution centre, according to Bassal.

The Israeli army said it was looking into the incidents.

Bassal said that five people were killed by a nightly air strike on a tent in Al-Mawasi in south Gaza, an area Israeli authorities designated as a safe zone early on in the war.

"It's said to be a green zone and it's safe, but it's not. They also say that the aid (distribution) is safe, but people die while obtaining aid," said Adham Younes, who lost a relative in the strike.

Lebanon's cabinet on Tuesday began a session to discuss restricting the possession of weapons to the state, official media reported, as Washington pressures Beirut to set a timetable on the thorny issue of disarming Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called Tuesday's cabinet session, which the official National News Agency said began at 3:00 pm (1200 GMT) headed by President Joseph Aoun.

Agenda items include discussions "on extending the state's sovereignty across all its territory exclusively through its own forces", and talks on the November ceasefire that ended the recent war with Israel.

A Lebanese official with knowledge of the talks told AFP that "Washington is pressuring Lebanon to make Hezbollah hand over its weapons according to a timetable, but without (the US) providing any guarantees".

Hezbollah "will not hand over its weapons without something in return -- the Americans know this well", the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Last month, US envoy Tom Barrack urged Lebanon to "act now" to impose a state monopoly on bearing arms.

Aoun last week said Lebanon was committed to removing "weapons from all armed groups including Hezbollah" and seeing them surrendered to Lebanon's army.

Lebanon is at "a crucial stage" and must choose "between collapse and stability", Aoun had said, linking international support for the crisis-hit country to disarming the group.

Lebanon's cabinet will meet on Tuesday to discuss Hezbollah's arsenal, after Washington ramped up pressure on ministers to publicly commit to disarming the Iran-backed group and amid fears Israel could intensify strikes if they fail to do so.

The session scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) at Lebanon's presidential palace is the first time that cabinet will discuss the fate of Hezbollah's weapons - unimaginable when the group was at the zenith of its power just two years ago.

Pressure from the U.S. and Hezbollah's domestic rivals for the group to relinquish its arms has spiked following last year's war with Israel, which killed Hezbollah's top leaders and thousands of fighters and destroyed much of its rocket arsenal.

In June, U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack proposed a roadmap to Lebanese officials to fully disarm Hezbollah, in exchange for Israel halting its strikes on Lebanon and withdrawing its troops from five points they still occupy in southern Lebanon.

That proposal included a condition that Lebanon's government pass a cabinet decision clearly pledging to disarm Hezbollah.

After Barrack made several trips to Lebanon to urge progress on the plan, Washington's patience began wearing thin, Reuters reported last week. It pressured Lebanon's ministers to swiftly make the public pledge so that talks could continue.

But Lebanese officials and diplomats say such an explicit vow could spark communal tensions in Lebanon, where Hezbollah and its arsenal retain significant support among the country's Shi'ite Muslim community.

A senior Hamas official has voiced support for the Freedom to Report initiative, a global campaign demanding unrestricted access for foreign journalists to the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on Telegram, Hamas’s Izzat al-Rishq said the group “welcomes and appreciates” the initiative launched by over 200 prominent international journalists, who are calling for immediate and uncensored media access to Gaza.

The campaign was started by war photographer André Liohn and includes a petition warning that the crisis in Gaza is not only a humanitarian blackout, but also an “information blackout” that threatens the public’s right to know and journalism’s role in holding power to account.

The petition criticises Israel’s media restrictions, describing them as tactics from “the very playbook of authoritarianism: control the narrative, silence independent voices, and sever the link between reality and public understanding.”

Al-Rishq said Israel’s refusal to allow international media into Gaza is a “clear violation of press freedom” and reflects “its fear of exposing its aggression and terrorism to the world.”

Since the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza, more than 200 journalists and media workers have been killed, according to press groups.

Gaza’s Government Media Office has issued a warning about the worsening humanitarian crisis in the territory, accusing Israel of deliberately limiting aid deliveries and contributing to growing instability.

In a statement on Monday, the office said that only 95 aid trucks entered Gaza- far below the minimum of 600 trucks per day required to meet basic humanitarian needs, as outlined by UNRWA.

The office also claimed that much of the limited aid was looted, blaming what it described as “security chaos being deliberately engineered by the Israeli occupation as part of a systematic policy of starvation and disorder.”

“We strongly condemn the ongoing starvation campaign, the closure of crossings, and the prevention of aid delivery,” the statement read. “We hold the occupation and its allies fully responsible for the deepening humanitarian disaster affecting over 2.4 million people.”

The office urged the international community to intervene immediately to reopen all crossings and ensure the safe, consistent delivery of essential supplies, including food, medicine, and infant formula, to civilians in Gaza.

At least 87 Palestinians have been killed and 644 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. Among the dead are 52 people who were reportedly seeking humanitarian aid.

The ministry also reported that eight people- including one child- died from starvation in the same period, bringing the hunger-related death toll to 188, including 94 children.

In addition, eight bodies were recovered from the rubble of earlier Israeli strikes.

Since the war began on October 7, 2023, Israeli military operations have killed 61,020 Palestinians and injured 150,671, according to the ministry.

The total number of aid seekers killed since May 27- when Israel launched its revised aid distribution system through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)- has now reached 1,568, with over 11,230 others injured.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that Israel must take "all necessary actions" to defeat Hamas, adding he would present Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a plan to achieve it.

"The defeat of Hamas in Gaza, along with creating the conditions for the return of the hostages, are the main objectives of the war in Gaza and we must take all necessary actions to achieve them," Katz said during a visit to an army position in Gaza, a day after Israeli media reported that the army could occupy the entire Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to convene the Security Cabinet on Tuesday to discuss plans for expanding Israel’s control over the Gaza Strip, according to a report by Haaretz citing a government source.

According to Haaretz, its source did not specify the exact scope of the proposed expansion, but indicated that the discussion will include operations in areas of Gaza where Israeli hostages are believed to be held.

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has warned that widespread starvation in Gaza is leaving many Palestinians too weak to walk to aid distribution points or carry supplies home.

According to the DRC, 70 percent of Palestinians are experiencing “extreme weakness caused by starvation,” based on a survey conducted between May 22 and July 27 in Deir el-Balah, Khan Younis, Gaza City, and North Gaza.

“The physical exhaustion is so profound that many cannot make the long journey on foot to distribution sites, nor carry heavy aid packages if they manage to receive assistance,” the organisation stated.

Among the 39 individuals interviewed, only 46 percent said they had access to clean drinking water twice a week. Just 28 percent reported receiving a hot meal from a communal kitchen once a week, while 31 percent said they had received no aid services at all in the previous month.

Interviewees also reported witnessing family members and others being deliberately shot and killed by Israeli soldiers while trying to access aid, in what the DRC described as a “militarised-backed distribution scheme.”

As a result, many residents referred to the assistance as “blood aid” or “aid soaked in blood,” the organisation added.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has announced that one of its long-time volunteers was fatally shot by Israeli forces while searching for food amid worsening hunger conditions in Gaza.

In a statement posted on X, the PRCS identified the victim as 28-year-old Abdel Majeed Adnan Salamah, a dedicated volunteer in Khan Younis for the past seven years. The organisation said he had been working alongside ambulance crews since the start of the war, often risking his life to rescue the wounded.

“Two days ago, he went in search of food in what is referred to as the ‘US-Israeli aid zone’ west of Rafah,” the statement read. “There, Israeli forces targeted him and other starving civilians. He never returned. Abdel Majeed was killed while simply trying to survive.”

The PRCS also noted that its teams are themselves experiencing extreme hunger across Gaza. Despite this, they continue their emergency work, remaining committed to easing the suffering of others.

The organisation reiterated its urgent call for the immediate opening of all border crossings, describing the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid as “a matter of life and death.”

The announcement follows an Israeli airstrike that hit PRCS headquarters in Gaza several days ago, killing one staff member and injuring three others, according to the group.

Abdel Majeed Adnan Salamah, 28, had been a dedicated volunteer with the Palestine Red Crescent in Khan Younis for the past seven years.
🚑 Since the start of the war, Abdel Majeed worked tirelessly with PRCS ambulance teams, risking his life to rescue the wounded and injured.… pic.twitter.com/YLDYdJ9yQ6

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) August 5, 2025

Al Jazeera Arabic reported on Tuesday that at least nine Palestinians were killed in early morning Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, citing medical sources.

In Khan Younis, southern Gaza, Israeli forces bombed a tent, killing at least five people, according to staff at Nasser Hospital.

Elsewhere, Al-Awda Hospital confirmed that two Palestinians were killed by Israeli artillery fire north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

In another incident, two more Palestinians were killed and several others injured when Israeli forces struck an apartment northwest of Gaza City, according to al-Shifa Hospital staff.

ITV pulling zero punches in this incredible footage - "This landscape of destruction looks otherworldy, but it's not, it's this world - What is happening may come to define one of its darkest eras, one that casts a stain on humanity, which will endure for generations" #Gaza pic.twitter.com/GQvtPm3QMe

— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) August 4, 2025

Israel will partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on humanitarian aid, the defence ministry civil affairs agency for the Palestinian territories said Tuesday.

"As part of formulating the mechanism, a limited number of local merchants were approved by the defence establishment, subject to several criteria and strict security screening," COGAT said.

The COGAT statement said private sector deliveries would be paid for by monitored bank transfers and be subject to inspections by the Israeli military before entering Gaza, "to prevent the involvement of the Hamas terrorist organisation."

Permitted goods under the new mechanism will include food staples, fruit, vegetables, baby formula and hygiene products, COGAT said.

The Houthi movement has claimed a new strike on Israel's main international airport, saying it was an act of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.   

The group's military spokesman, Yahya al-Sarea, said in a statement on Tuesday morning that the rebel forces had fired a "Palestine 2" hypersonic ballistic missile at Ben Gurion Airport, noting that it had "successfully achieved its goal".

Repeating the language of previous statements, he added that the attack had "caused millions of Zionists to flee to shelters, bringing the airport to a standstill".

The Israeli military said on X late yesterday that it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen after air sirens sounded in several areas in Israel.

The Houthis also claimed an attack on the airport on 1 August.

Hamas has called on the UN Security Council, which will hold a session today to discuss the conditions of the Israeli captives held in Gaza, to pressure Israel to stop the "genocidal war" in Gaza.

Hamas called on the UNSC "to issue clear and binding resolutions to the occupation to halt its genocidal war, including massacres, violations, starvation and the destruction of civilian life in Gaza," in a Telegram post, quoting senior group official Osama Hamdan.

Hamdan urged the UNSC to oblige Israel to withdraw from Gaza, open border crossings to humanitarian aid and stop its violations against prisoners in Israeli jails.

He also condemned what he "the US-backed occupation's policy of distributing aid as part of a plan to engineer starvation and chaos".