International News
More Than 100 NGOs Raise Alarm Over ‘Mass starvation’ Spreading Across Gaza
More than 100 aid organisations and human rights groups warned on Wednesday that “mass starvation” was spreading in Gaza, as the United States said its top envoy was heading to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and aid corridor.
Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, where more than two million people are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials after 21 months of conflict.
But it denied blocking supplies, saying that 950 trucks’ worth of aid were in Gaza waiting for international agencies to collect and distribute.
“We have not identified starvation at this current point in time but we understand that action is required to stabilise the humanitarian situation,” an unnamed senior Israeli security official was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel.
On the ground, the Israeli military said it was operating in Gaza City and the north, and had hit dozens of “terror targets” across the Palestinian territory.
Gaza’s civil defence agency told AFP that Israeli strikes killed 17 people overnight, including a pregnant woman in Gaza City.
‘Wasting away’
The United Nations said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) started operations in late May — effectively sidelining the longstanding UN-led system.
A statement with 111 signatories, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, warned that “our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away”.
The groups called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms.
The United States said its envoy Steve Witkoff will head to Europe this week for talks on Gaza and may then visit the Middle East.
Witkoff comes with “a strong hope that we will come forward with another ceasefire as well as a humanitarian corridor for aid to flow, that both sides have in fact agreed to,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
Even after Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade in late May, Gaza’s population is still suffering extreme scarcities.
Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid.
GHF said the United Nations, which refuses to work with it, “has a capacity and operational problem” and called for “more collaboration” to deliver life-saving aid.
COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said nearly 4,500 trucks entered Gaza recently, with flour, baby food and high-calorie food for children.
But it said there had been “a significant decline in the collection of humanitarian aid” by international organisations in the past month.
“This collection bottleneck remains the main obstacle to maintaining a consistent flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip,” it added.
Aid agencies, though, said permissions from Israel were still limited and coordination to move trucks to where they are needed — and safely — was a major challenge.
‘Hope and heartbreak’
The humanitarian organisations said warehouses with tonnes of supplies were sitting untouched just outside the territory, and even inside, as they were blocked from delivering the goods.
“Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions,” the signatories said.
“It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage,” they added.
“The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access.”
The head of Gaza’s largest hospital said Tuesday that 21 children had died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory over the previous three days.
Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas negotiators in Doha since July 6 in search of an elusive truce, with expectations that Witkoff would join the talks as they entered their final stages.
More than two dozen Western governments called on Monday for an immediate end to the war, saying suffering in Gaza had “reached new depths”.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,219 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
AFP
Manuel Neuer has been called up to Germany’s World Cup squad – two years after his international retirement.
The 40-year-old was named as part of Julian Nagelsmann’s 26-man squad for the tournament this summer, having not featured for his country since Euro 2024.
Among the list include Premier League players Malick Thiaw and Nick Woltemade – both of Newcastle – Arsenal striker Kai Havertz, Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz and Brighton’s Pascal Gross.
Injured duo Serge Gnabry and Anton Stach and forwards Karim Adeyemi, Kevin Schade and Niclas Fullkrug are among those to miss out.
Germany’s World Cup squad in full
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Pascal Gross (Brighton), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart)
Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle)
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has opened up on the club’s decision to appoint Xabi Alonso as their new manager.
The Blues confirmed the Spaniard as their next head coach following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, with Alonso set to take charge ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Mikel had previously been vocal about Chelsea’s managerial philosophy, urging the club’s ownership to move away from short-term head coaches and interim appointments and instead bring in a proper manager with full control over the squad
Speaking on his most recent podcast, Mikel said:
“I am glad the owners listened to me, and listened to the fans.
“Forget about coaches, what we have always had are managers, and what we need is a manager who decides on the players he wants out and the players who can stay.
“We need a strong personality, and that is what we have got now in Alonso.
“That title has been changed from coach to manager, but I hope it’s not just words and he is actually allowed to manage the squad. But I am very happy with the appointment.”
Chelsea are still in the hunt for Europa League football, and a win over Sunderland on the final day of the Premier League season would go a long way in determining whether Alonso inherits a European stage to build on next season.
Enzo Maresca is believed to have signed a three-year deal to replace outgoing Man City manager Pep Guardiola, after it was revealed that the legendary head coach will be leaving the Etihad at the end of the season.
Speculation around Guardiola’s departure date has been rife as the season draws to a close, despite the Catalan having one year left on his contract.
According to report, Man City’s sponsors were among those to have been told that Guardiola will be calling time on a remarkable trophy-ladened spell on Sunday.
The report also shared that Maresca, Guardiola’s former assistant, was a front-runner for the vacant spot at the dugout, with Fabrizio Romano confirming on Tuesday morning that the ex-Chelsea manager will be taking over.
The Italian head coach has been out of work since his mutual departure from Stamford Bridge under strained circumstances on January 1.
But even before his acrimonious mid-season exit, Maresca has been viewed as a long-term successor to Guardiola following their stint working together at Man City.
The 46-year-old served as Guardiola’s assistant between 2022 and 2023 after previously coaching Man City’s youth sides, before departing to earn Championship promotion with Leicester.
Maresca then went on to win the Uefa Conference League and the Club World Cup with Chelsea during his 18-month spell in west London.
Guardiola is set to celebrate his time in English football with an open-top bus parade in Manchester after winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season, but until Monday night, the manager had been notably vague over his future plans.
But before news broke of his shock exit, Guardiola had been keen to tamp down any suggestions that he would be commemorated with any fanfare.
‘The club don’t have to do anything, honestly,’ Guardiola, who has yet to officially confirm his departure, said. ‘The important thing in our lives is that when you look back, you can look with a big smile and say “that was good”.
‘Bernardo (Silva) and John (Stones) can feel that. We spoke about it over the last few days. When you’re old, a grandfather, you can look at the memories. That is the most important thing in life.’
Tired of addressing his contractual situation, Guardiola added with a dose of sarcasm: ‘Whatever happens at the end of the season – and when I extend my contract for three more years – I can look back and say, “how nice has that been?”
‘That is the most important thing by far. Most of the people who lived this time here together can feel it.’
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