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ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump praised Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir during a speech in Washington on Thursday. Speaking at the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pm-sharif-to-land-in-us-for-board-of-peace-inaugural-session" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">inaugural meeting</a> of the Board of Peace at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, the US President described Field Marshal Munir as &ldquo;a tough man, a good fighter, serious fighter,&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;I like good fighters actually.&rdquo; Trump said he intervened during a military confrontation between Pakistan and India, which he said could have cost &ldquo;25 million lives.&rdquo; He described the conflict as &ldquo;intense&rdquo;, stating that the &ldquo;war was raging [and] planes were being shot down.&rdquo; &ldquo;Prime Minister Sharif, I like this man, of Pakistan. There was some fighting going on when I got to know him and your Field Marshal, great general, great Field Marshal, great guy,&rdquo; Trump said. He recalled PM Sharif telling White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles that Trump had &ldquo;saved 25 million lives when he stopped the war between India and Pakistan.&rdquo; The US President said that 11 jets were shot down during the fighting. He also praised PM Sharif and the Field Marshal for their cooperation in preventing a larger conflict in the region. &ldquo;I think we will always be able to settle up with them. It&rsquo;s a lot of progress that&rsquo;s made even in the relationship. They are all great men, and I was very proud of it,&rdquo; Trump said. Separately, during a meeting with Pakistan&#39;s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio appreciated Pakistan&#39;s &quot;ongoing support&quot; for President Trump&#39;s peace plan. &quot;In our meeting, we discussed the importance of our strategic relationship on critical minerals development and counterterrorism,&quot; Rubio said in a post on X.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 719px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2024614315018310132&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=b20dfaf377288055659d21dac844e09f45427c2a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2024614315018310132"></iframe></div></div>US, others pledge billions Trump also reflected on his first year in office, saying he had &ldquo;settled eight wars and I think a ninth to come,&rdquo; and called the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/head-of-gaza-technocrat-committee-in-washington-for-board-of-peace-meeting" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Board of Peace</a> &ldquo;one of the most important and consequential things I think that I&rsquo;ll be involved in.&rdquo; While the US pledged $10 billion, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait have pledged more than $7 billion to relief efforts. &ldquo;We work together to ensure the brighter future of Gaza, the Middle East and the entire world,&rdquo; Trump said. He added that &ldquo;there is nothing more important than peace&rdquo; and that going to war is &ldquo;a hundred times&rdquo; more expensive than peace. Troops pledgedIndonesia, the world&#39;s largest Muslim-majority country, will take a deputy commander role in a nascent International Stabilization Force in Gaza and Morocco will contribute troops, the unit&#39;s American chief said Thursday, reported AFP. &quot;I have offered and Indonesia has accepted the position of deputy commander for the ISF,&quot; Major General Jasper Jeffers announced at the Board of Peace meeting attended, among other world leaders, by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. Indonesia has said it is ready to send up to 8,000 troops to Gaza if the force is confirmed. The force aims to have 20,000 soldiers and a new police force. Jeffers confirmed that Morocco had also agreed to send troops, marking the first commitment by an Arab country, along with Albania, Kazakhstan, and Kosovo.

Foreign Affairs

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of Board of Peace at the Donald Trump Institute of Peace, the US President described Field Marshal Munir as “a tough man, a good fighter, serious fighter,” adding, “I like good fighters actually.”

Board of Peace: Trump praises Pakistan’s PM, calls Field Marshal 'tough fighter'

WASHINGTON: A US immigration judge has blocked the deportation of a Palestinian graduate student who helped organize protests at Columbia University against Israel&#39;s war in Gaza, according to US media reports. Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested by immigration agents last year as he was attending an interview to become a US citizen. Mahdawi had been involved in a wave of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/uk-police-to-get-new-powers-after-latest-propalestinian-protest" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">demonstrations</a>&nbsp;that gripped several major US university campuses since Israel launched a massive military siege of the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian born in the occupied-West Bank, Mahdawi has been a legal US permanent resident since 2015 and graduated from the prestigious New York university in May. He has been free from federal custody since April. In an order made public on Tuesday, Judge Nina Froes said that President Donald Trump&#39;s administration did not provide sufficient evidence that Mahdawi could be legally removed from the United States, multiple media outlets reported. Froes reportedly questioned the authenticity of a copy of a document purportedly signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that said Mahdawi&#39;s activism &quot;could undermine the Middle East peace process by reinforcing antisemitic sentiment,&quot; according to the New York Times. Rubio has argued that federal law grants him the authority to summarily revoke visas and deport migrants who pose threats to US foreign policy. The Trump administration can still appeal the decision, which marked a setback in the Republican president&#39;s efforts to crack down on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/greta-thunberg-arrested-at-propalestinian-protest-in-london" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">pro-Palestinian</a>&nbsp;campus activists. The administration has also attempted to deport Mahmoud Khalil, another student activist who co-founded a Palestinian student group at Columbia, alongside Mahdawi. &quot;I am grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law and holding the line against the government&#39;s attempts to trample on due process,&quot; Mahdawi said in a statement released by his attorneys and published Tuesday by several media outlets. &quot;This decision is an important step towards upholding what fear tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice.&quot;

Columbia University campus (Columbia University) 

Americas

Mahdawi had been involved in a wave of demonstrations that gripped several major US university campuses since Israel launched a massive military siege of the Gaza Strip.

US judge blocks deportation of Columbia University Palestinian activist

PARIS: French authorities have issued warrants for two Franco-Israeli nationals for &quot;complicity in genocide&quot; over allegations that they tried to stop humanitarian aid from entering conflict-stricken Gaza, a legal source said on Monday. According to a lawyer for the NGOs that made a legal complaint last year, it is the first time that a country has considered the blocking of aid as possible &quot;complicity in genocide.&quot; The warrants were issued in July last year for Nili Kupfer-Naouri of the Israel is Forever group and Rachel Touitou of the Tsav 9 group, the source close to the investigation told AFP following a French media report. The warrants call for the two to appear before an investigating magistrate but not for their detention. The pair are accused of seeking to block aid trucks entering Gaza between January and November 2024 and in May last year at the Nitzana and Kerem Shalom frontier posts. Olivier Pardo, a lawyer for Kupfer-Naouri, said the &quot;pacifist&quot; actions sought to condemn the &quot;hijacking&quot; of humanitarian aid by Hamas and other groups that launched the October 7, 2023, attacks that set off the Gaza war. &quot;If peacefully demonstrating with an Israeli flag against a terrorist organization seizing humanitarian aid, diverting it, and reselling it at exorbitant prices to Gazans is a crime &mdash; then there is no need to look down on the mullahs, France is Iran!&rdquo; said Touitou, 34, on her social media account. In an interview with The News website, Kupfer-Naouri, 50, called the French investigation &quot;anti-semitic madness.&quot; Pardo said Kupfer-Naouri was in Israel but was ready to speak to French investigators there. The two activists are also suspected of &quot;public provocation for genocide&quot; by calling for aid to be prevented from reaching Gaza, the source said. Another source close to the investigation said warrants could be issued for about 10 other people. The complaints were made last year by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and the rights groups Al-Haq and Al-Mezan. Clemence Bectarte, a lawyer for the groups, said it was the first investigation of its kind in genocide law. Other legal complaints have also been made in France for &quot;war crimes&quot; over the deaths of Franco-Palestinian children in Gaza in an Israeli bombing raid and against two Franco-Israeli soldiers who took part in operations in the territory. Another complaint is over the Hamas attack that set off the war.

Middle East

Other legal complaints have also been made in France for 'war crimes' over the deaths of Franco-Palestinian children in Gaza in an Israeli bombing raid and against two Franco-Israeli soldiers who took part in operations in the territory.

France investigates two Franco-Israelis for 'complicity in genocide'

ISLAMABAD: Israel continued committing acts amounting to genocide against Palestinians in Gaza even after a ceasefire, operating with impunity within what Amnesty International described as a system of apartheid constituting crimes against humanity, the rights group said Thursday following the International Criminal Court&rsquo;s Assembly of States Parties.&nbsp;Amnesty published a legal analysis showing that Israeli authorities deliberately inflicted conditions of life designed to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians, without signaling any change in intent since the ceasefire was announced on October 9.&nbsp;&ldquo;It is against this backdrop of apartheid and unlawful occupation that Israel deliberately unleashed mass starvation, unprecedented bloodshed, apocalyptic levels of destruction, massive forced displacement and placed a deliberate stranglehold on humanitarian aid, all illustrations of the ongoing crime of genocide,&rdquo; Amnesty Secretary General Agn&egrave;s Callamard said.&nbsp;The organization reported that at least 370 people, including 140 children, were killed in Israeli attacks after the ceasefire. Overall, more than 70,000 Palestinians were killed and over 200,000 injured during the conflict, many sustaining life-changing injuries.&nbsp;Amnesty said Israel deliberately restricted critical aid, including medical supplies and infrastructure repair equipment, while civilians were subjected to repeated waves of forced displacement.&nbsp;Israeli officials ignored three binding International Court of Justice decisions and failed to investigate or prosecute those responsible for acts of genocide or hold accountable officials who made genocidal statements.&nbsp;&ldquo;The international community&#39;s willful inaction towards holding Israel accountable for its crimes under international law and the failure to press it into adhering to UN recommendations have entrenched Israel&#39;s unlawful occupation and apartheid and directly enabled Israel&#39;s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,&rdquo; Callamard added.&nbsp;In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Israeli military operations, including aerial attacks, killed at least 995 Palestinians, including 219 children, displaced tens of thousands, and caused extensive damage to homes, infrastructure, and agricultural land.&nbsp;Amnesty noted that state-backed settler attacks escalated over the last two years. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented over 1,600 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage since January 2025, disproportionately affecting Palestinian herding communities in Area C.&nbsp;&ldquo;Despite international condemnations and some restrictive measures adopted by third states against individual settlers and settler organizations, settler violence continued to increase due to Israeli government backing and virtually total impunity,&rdquo; Amnesty said.&nbsp;The UN Committee Against Torture described Israel&#39;s treatment of detainees as &ldquo;a de facto state policy of organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment, which had gravely intensified since October 7, 2023.&rdquo;&nbsp;Amnesty said Israeli forces were responsible for arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, and systematic torture of Palestinian detainees with impunity.&nbsp;The organization criticized recent peace initiatives, including the Trump peace plan, as &ldquo;fatally flawed&rdquo; for proposing solutions that sideline international law while implicitly rewarding Israel&rsquo;s unlawful occupation, illegal settlements, and system of apartheid.&nbsp;Amnesty warned that the current ceasefire further entrenched Israel&#39;s apartheid and unlawful occupation. The imposition of a security perimeter in Gaza risked permanent occupation, deprivation of fertile land, and territorial fragmentation underpinning apartheid.&nbsp;The group called for a justice roadmap to end Israel&rsquo;s genocide, apartheid, and occupation, while also addressing crimes under international law by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.&nbsp;The ICC had issued arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.&nbsp;&ldquo;There is no greater litmus test for this than in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. States must demonstrate their commitment to international justice by supporting institutions such as the ICC and protecting their ability to pursue accountability,&rdquo; Callamard said.&nbsp;Amnesty concluded that decades of international crimes could not be swept under the carpet with deals that ignore accountability. &ldquo;Truth, justice and reparations are the bedrocks of lasting peace,&rdquo; Callamard said.

Europe

Amnesty reported Israel continued committing genocide in Gaza post-ceasefire, restricting aid, displacing civilians, and ignoring accountability, calling for international justice, ICC cooperation, and an end to apartheid.

Amnesty condemns Israel’s Gaza genocide, calls for international accountability

ISLAMABAD: Europe&#39;s biggest cultural event is in the spotlight. Five countries have pulled out of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 over a question the organizers can&#39;t answer: Why was Russia banned for invading Ukraine, but Israel is still in despite UN findings of genocide in Gaza? The European Broadcasting Union&#39;s response to Russia&#39;s invasion was immediate. The organization announced in February 2022 that &quot;no Russian act will participate&quot; in that year&#39;s contest, according to its official statement. The executive board&#39;s decision cited concern that Russian inclusion &quot;would bring the competition into disrepute&quot; given the &quot;unprecedented crisis in Ukraine.&quot; Fast forward to 2025, and the contrast is stark. Despite the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluding in its June 2025 report that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, Israel&#39;s broadcaster KAN competed in 2025 -- and is confirmed for 2026, according to EBU records. The International Court of Justice ruled in January 2024 that it was &quot;plausible&quot; that Israel&#39;s actions violate the Genocide Convention. UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese concluded in her October 2025 report &quot;Gaza Genocide: a collective crime&quot; that there were &quot;reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the following acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has been met.&quot; The walkout Five national broadcasters have withdrawn from Eurovision 2026 -- to be held in Vienna in May -- an unprecedented move in the contest&#39;s seven-decade history. Ireland&#39;s RTE said it would not participate if Israel competed, calling it &quot;unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis,&quot; according to its official statement. The Netherlands&#39; AVROTROS announced its withdrawal, with Managing Director Taco Zimmerman stating: &quot;Culture connects, but not at all costs. Universal values such as humanity and the free press have been seriously violated and are not negotiable for us.&quot; Slovenia&#39;s RTVSLO declared that its participation would be &quot;incompatible with the values&quot; of peace and equality, with board President Natalija Gorscak stating: &quot;Slovenia will not be there. Also on behalf of the [20,000] children who died in Gaza.&quot; The state broadcaster stated that the contest had become &quot;hostage to the political interests of the Israeli government.&rdquo; Spain and Iceland also withdrew, citing similar concerns about double standards and the impossibility of maintaining Eurovision as a neutral cultural event. The sponsorship question The broadcasters&#39; concerns about political interference extend beyond participation policy. Since 2020, cosmetics company Moroccanoil has served as a &quot;Presenting Partner&quot; and official sponsor of Eurovision, providing professional hairstylists for artists during the contest. According to the company&#39;s own terms and conditions on its official website, Moroccanoil is &quot;owned and operated by Moroccanoil Israel, Ltd or its affiliates or subsidiaries.&quot; A CNN investigation cited by Moroccan news outlet Hespress English reported that Moroccanoil manufactures 80% of its products at a facility in Israel, producing 150,000 bottles daily at a plant &quot;two hours north of Jerusalem.&quot; The sponsorship arrangement continued through 2025 and into 2026, even as withdrawing broadcasters criticized Israel&#39;s use of the contest for political purposes.&nbsp; Conversely, no comparable major sponsorship from Russian companies existed during Russia&#39;s participation, according to available EBU partnership records. &#39;Unprecedentedly complex&#39; At its general assembly, the EBU acknowledged that the contest &quot;is not immune to the pressures of global politics,&quot; according to its official statement. The organization expressed support for KAN&#39;s independence, noting the &quot;pressure it is repeatedly experiencing from the Israeli government,&quot; and announced plans to engage in dialogue with member broadcasters. But no such process was initiated for Russia; neither was any support expressed for the Russian public broadcaster&#39;s concerns about government pressure. What Eurovision says it stands for The contest&#39;s reach is broad. It reached 166 million viewers in 2025, achieving a 48% share of viewing, according to EBU data. Eurovision&#39;s website states: &quot;The Eurovision Song Contest&#39;s values are of universality and inclusivity and our proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music.&quot; When Russia was excluded, the EBU stated it was &quot;dedicated to protecting the values of a cultural competition which promotes international exchange and understanding, brings audiences together, celebrates diversity through music and unites Europe on one stage.&quot; The withdrawing broadcasters invoked those same values, arguing that permitting Israel&#39;s participation while Gaza faces what UN experts characterize as genocidal conditions violates the principles the EBU cited when excluding Russia. The question now facing Eurovision is whether its stated values are universal or applied&nbsp;selectively?

Russia's Ukraine invasion brought a quick Eurovision ban, but despite UN genocide findings in Gaza, Israel remains. 

Russia banned, Israel stays: Spotlight on Eurovision as 5 nations walk out over Gaza

ISLAMABAD: Children across Gaza and the West Bank are experiencing unprecedented levels of abuse and psychological trauma, with protection services struggling to meet escalating needs amid critical funding shortages, according to two newly released humanitarian reports. According to the &quot;Protecting Children in Gaza Strip&quot; report, the scale of harm in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels. More than 64,000 children have been killed or injured in conflict-related violence since October 2023 The reported stated that the psychological impact is near-universal, with nearly all 1.1 million children requiring mental health and psychosocial support, the report states. Children are displaying signs of distress including nightmares, aggression, depression and suicidal thoughts. An estimated 11,000 children have sustained life-altering injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation. Family structures have collapsed, leaving 58,550 children who have lost one or both parents, according to the Gaza report, whilst 5,128 children have been identified as unaccompanied or separated from caregivers between January and October 2025. Education has virtually ceased, with 658,000 children out of school and 89% of schools sustaining major damage or destruction, as per the report. Desperate families are resorting to exploitative measures, with one in four sending children into hazardous work&mdash;some as young as six years old. West Bank crisis intensifies Meanwhile in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, children face a different but equally alarming protection crisis. The report &quot;Children in the West Bank: An Escalating Protection Crisis&quot; states that case management partners report rising cases of neglect and emotional abuse driven by poverty, displacement and family stress. More than 14,000 children were affected by home demolitions between January and April 2025, according to the West Bank report. Meanwhile 32,000 people, including thousands of children, were forcibly displaced in the northern West Bank at the start of the year. Children in detention represent a major concern, with the report showing they accounted for 20% of case management cases in the second quarter of 2025, with boys aged 13-17 most affected. According to the report, detained children are often denied access to families and lawyers and face high risks of physical and psychological violence. Children with disabilities remain particularly vulnerable across both regions. The Gaza report shows 23,969 children with disabilities received tailored support, whilst the West Bank report indicates 4,808 were reached with dedicated services. Funding crisis threatens response Despite significant achievements, such as 896,300 children and caregivers reached with specialized protection services in Gaza, according to the Gaza report, and 155,239 children reached in the West Bank as per the West Bank report, humanitarian efforts face severe constraints. Only 16% of the $121.2m requested for child protection in Gaza has been received, the Gaza report states. The West Bank requires $8.9m, with the West Bank report noting that funding shortfalls are limiting service sustainability.

Children in Gaza and the West Bank endure severe violence, psychological trauma, and disrupted education, while humanitarian protection services struggle due to critical funding gaps and escalating needs.

Gaza, West Bank children face escalating trauma amid funding shortages

ISLAMABAD: Egypt is training hundreds of Palestinian police officers with an eye towards integrating them into a post-war security force in Gaza, a Palestinian official told AFP. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced the plan to train 5,000 officers for Gaza during talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in August.&nbsp;A first group of more than 500 officers were trained in Cairo in March and since September the two-month courses have resumed to welcome hundreds more people, the Palestinian official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He said all members of the force will be from the Gaza Strip and paid by the Palestinian Authority, which is based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. &quot;I&#39;m very happy with the training. We want a permanent end to war and aggression, and we&#39;re eager to serve our country and fellow citizens,&quot; said a 26-year-old Palestinian police officer. He told AFP he hoped the security force would be &quot;independent, loyal only to Palestine and not subject to external alliances or objectives&quot;. &quot;We received outstanding operational training, with modern equipment for border surveillance,&quot; said a Palestinian lieutenant who also requested anonymity for security reasons, as did everyone interviewed by AFP. Israel&#39;s war on Gaza has killed at least 70,100 people, according to figures from the territory&#39;s health ministry that the UN considers reliable. &#39;Protecting the dream&#39; The training also highlighted the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and stressed the importance of &quot;protecting the dream of creating&quot; a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state. A senior security official from the Palestinian Authority confirmed that its president Mahmud Abbas had instructed Interior Minister Ziad Hab al-Reeh to coordinate with Egypt on the training. During talks sponsored by Egypt late last year, the Palestinian movements &mdash; including the two main ones, Hamas and Abbas&#39;s Fatah &mdash; agreed to a force of around 10,000 police officers. Egypt would train half of them while the other 5,000 would come from the police force in Gaza, which has been under Hamas control since 2007. Under the agreement, the security force would be supervised by a committee of technocrats approved by the Palestinian movements. A senior Hamas official confirmed to AFP that the movement supported &quot;the details regarding security and management of the Gaza Strip&quot; agreed during the talks. The subject was also addressed in US President Donald Trump&#39;s peace plan, which led to last month&#39;s fragile Gaza ceasefire, and was later endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution. Europe plays a part The plan notably authorises the creation of an international force that would be responsible for securing border areas and demilitarizing Gaza. The European Union also wants to train up to 3,000 Palestinian police officers in the Gaza Strip under a scheme similar to one it already runs in the West Bank, an EU official told AFP. The EU has financed a police training mission in the West Bank since 2006, with a budget of around $15 million. But many details remain up in the air. A Hamas official questioned to AFP the possibility of an agreement with Israel on the precise details of a police force in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s government opposes any role for Hamas or the Palestinian Authority in Gaza after the war ends. AFP journalists have regularly observed that Hamas maintains armed men in Gaza to ensure traffic flows and to mediate disputes between residents, effectively providing a form of law enforcement. Hamas has said it no longer wants to govern Gaza but added that it does not intend to disappear and remains a central part of Palestinian political life. On the thorny issue of disarmament, Hamas has said it is not opposed to handing over part of its arsenal, but only as part of a Palestinian political process.

Egypt is training Palestinian police officers for a post-war Gaza security force, supported by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, with EU involvement in training plans.

Egypt trains hundreds of Palestinians for future Gaza police force

ISLAMABAD: More than&nbsp;641,000&nbsp;people in Gaza are expected to face catastrophic food insecurity in 2025, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).As per the report published recently, the increase in hunger is due to ongoing Israeli blockade, economic instability, and climate shocks. This has pushed the region to one of the highest levels of food insecurity globally.Across 68 countries where WFP operates, 318 million people are projected to experience acute food insecurity in 2025, down from 343 million in 2024. However, this decrease reflects gaps in data from several countries, rather than a real reduction in hunger levels.In total, 41.1 million people in 51 countries are expected to face emergency or worse levels of acute food insecurity in 2025, including 38.7 million people in emergency conditions based on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC/CH) data, and 2.4 million people in severe conditions according to the CARI system. The report warned that these populations needed immediate assistance to prevent widespread malnutrition and death.Among those facing the most extreme hunger, Gaza is one of the hardest-hit areas. Along with Sudan (375,000 people), South Sudan (83,000), Yemen (41,000), Haiti (8,400 until June 2025), and Mali (2,600), Gaza remains in the grip of a catastrophic food security crisis.&nbsp;<table style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; width: 67%; margin-right: calc(33%);"><thead><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 15.7363%;">Region/Country</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 23.3314%;">Acute Food Insecurity (People)</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 25.8435%;">Catastrophic Food Insecurity (People)</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 35.0555%;">Other Notes</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 15.7363%;">Global Total</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 23.3314%;">318 million (68 countries)</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 25.8435%;">41.1 million (51 countries)</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 35.0555%;">Emergency or worse (IPC/CH Phase 4+)</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 15.7363%;">Gaza/Palestine</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 23.3314%;">N/A</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 25.8435%;">641,000</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 35.0555%;">Catastrophic levels in Gaza</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 15.7363%;">Sudan</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 23.3314%;">N/A</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 25.8435%;">375,000</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 35.0555%;">Catastrophic levels</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 15.7363%;">South Sudan</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 23.3314%;">N/A</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 25.8435%;">83,000</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 35.0555%;">Catastrophic levels</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 15.7363%;">Yemen</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 23.3314%;">N/A</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 25.8435%;">41,000</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 35.0555%;">Catastrophic levels</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 15.7363%;">Haiti</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 23.3314%;">N/A</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 25.8435%;">8,400 (until June 2025)</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 35.0555%;">Catastrophic levels</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 15.7363%;">Mali</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 23.3314%;">N/A</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 25.8435%;">2,600</td><td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0.75pt; width: 35.0555%;">Catastrophic levels</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;In 2024, 343 million people in 74 countries were acutely food insecure, a sharp increase of 196 million since early 2020. The Global Report on Food Crises estimated that 295.3 million people were in food crisis or worse in 53 countries last year.&nbsp;

Africa

Report says hunger is rising due to Israel’s blockade, economic instability and climate shocks, while WFP projects 318 million people facing acute food insecurity in 2025.

Over 640,000 Gazans facing acute hunger crisis, WFP report warns

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza are facing serious health risks after heavy weekend rainfall caused sewage to inundate temporary shelters, an aid agency has warned. In a report published last week, Save the Children said more than 13,000 families have been affected by the flooding, leaving children sleeping without proper cover, drenched in contaminated water while wearing only summer clothing. The territory&rsquo;s sanitation infrastructure, already weakened by two years of Israeli bombardment, cannot cope with rainfall. Wastewater has mixed with floodwater, sweeping through encampments and further endangering residents. Rain last Friday caused chaos at displacement sites, according to the charity&rsquo;s media manager in Gaza, who recounted witnessing residents discover their shelters submerged at daybreak. &quot;We&#39;ve had two years of living in tents, and they are already worn out; they cannot withstand the wind or the rain,&quot; she said. One scene particularly struck her: a mother clutching her six-month-old infant while frantically searching for safe refuge. Floodwaters have soaked bedding, clothing, and even food supplies. Many children lack footwear or alternative garments. Shelter cluster data indicates roughly 700,000 children, over two-thirds of Gaza&rsquo;s young population, face similar risks, living in structures significantly degraded over 24 months of bombardment and repeated displacement. Aid delivery hampered by restrictions Although 19,000 tents and 276,000 tarpaulins have entered Gaza since a peace agreement four weeks ago, Israeli authorities continue to block construction materials, including timber and tools, citing potential military use. The shelter cluster reports that more than 63,400 tents, 803,600 tarpaulins, and 278,000 bedding kits remain at crossing points awaiting clearance. Without repair equipment, families cannot restore damaged shelters. With over four-fifths of structures affected by bombardment, residents continue living in whatever tent remnants survive, stitching together fabric scraps and blankets to cover gaps.&nbsp; Fear of unexploded munitions, responsible for previous child deaths, and potential new strikes deter many from returning home. Even as market availability of some items has improved, essential winter supplies, including blankets, mattresses, and fresh clothing, remain scarce. Children are left in shorts and T-shirts despite dropping temperatures, while families prioritize food with limited resources. Combined with existing malnutrition and illness, cold weather poses a serious threat to vulnerable children. Gaza&rsquo;s Government Media Office reports that at least 14 children, including newborns, have died from hypothermia over the past two winters. Save the Children&rsquo;s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe described the situation: &ldquo;Children and families have woken up submerged in sewage water. For the third winter now since the start of intense Israeli bombardment in October 2023, they are desperate not just for a lasting ceasefire but for secure, safe, and warm places to sleep.&rdquo; He added that the makeshift shelters, reduced to fragments of material, &ldquo;cannot protect occupants from harsh weather or prevent disease.&rdquo; &ldquo;We have already seen at least 14 children die due to hypothermia over the past two winters,&rdquo; he said. The charity also reported that it has been unable to bring its own stockpiles into Gaza since March, with materials continuing to wait at border crossings blockaded by Israel.

The deterioration of the territory's sanitation infrastructure over two years of Israel bombardment means drainage systems can no longer cope with rainfall. This has caused wastewater to mix with floodwater and sweep through encampments.

Thousands of Gaza children at disease risk after sewage floods tents

JERUSALEM: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US- and Israeli-backed private organization that provided aid for Palestinians in Gaza but was criticized by the UN, said on Monday it was ending its mission.&nbsp;&quot;The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) today announced the successful completion of its emergency mission in Gaza after delivering more than 187 million free meals directly to civilians living in Gaza,&quot; the group said in a statement.&nbsp;GHF was tasked with managing aid distribution points in the Gaza Strip in May, effectively supplanting the UN after Israel placed tight restrictions on international aid agencies.&nbsp;Those agencies were highly critical of the GHF, which managed four distribution centres in the Gaza Strip, while the UN system it replaced had 400.&nbsp;In August, a UN-mandated expert panel alleged that under the GHF aid was &quot;exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas&quot; and United Nations special rapporteurs called for it to be disbanded.&nbsp;Hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid from GHF distribution sites, according to the UN human rights office.&nbsp;The foundation said in its statement on Monday that it had been in talks with other international humanitarian organisations and with the Civil-Military Coordination Centre, a task force set up by the US and its allies in southern Israel to monitor the truce in Gaza.&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s clear they will be adopting and expanding the model GHF piloted,&quot; the group&#39;s executive director, John Acree, said, according to the statement.&nbsp;The US State Department thanked GHF for its humanitarian work and its contribution to reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.&nbsp;&quot;GHF&#39;s model, in which Hamas could no longer loot and profit from stealing aid, played a huge role in getting Hamas to the table and achieving a ceasefire. We thank them for all that they provided to Gazans,&quot; Tommy Pigott, a spokesman for the US State Department, wrote on X.&nbsp;In reaction to the announcement of GHF&#39;s closure, a spokesman for Hamas said the organisation should be held accountable for the harm it caused to Palestinians.&nbsp;&quot;We call upon all international human rights organisations to ensure that it does not escape accountability after causing the death and injury of thousands of Gazans and covering up the starvation policy practised by the (Israeli) government,&quot; Hazem Qassem wrote on his Telegram channel.&nbsp;A US-brokered ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel came into effect on Oct. 10.&nbsp;It is the first phase in what international mediators hope will be a process to end the war and kickstart reconstruction in Gaza.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation ended its controversial mission after delivering millions of meals in Gaza. Critics, including UN experts, accused it of aiding military agendas and causing harm, while the US praised its role in securing a ceasefire.

Articles tagged with "Gaza Genocide"