All members of UN Security Council except US say Gaza famine is ‘manmade crisis’
Donald Trump and Tony Blair held talks at the White House about the future of Gaza, while the overwhelming majority of the United Nations Security Council issued a joint statement that the famine there was a "manmade crisis".
All members of the United Nations Security Council – except the US – have said the famine in Gaza was a “manmade crisis”.
In a joint statement, the 14 council members warned the use of starvation as a weapon of war is banned under international humanitarian law.
They called for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, a substantive surge of aid throughout Gaza, and for Israel to immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions on aid delivery.
Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread, a global hunger monitor determined last week.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system said 514,000 people, nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza, are experiencing famine. It warned the figure is due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Israel asked the monitor to retract its assessment on Wednesday, dismissing the findings as false and biased.
It said the IPC had based its survey on partial data largely provided by Hamas, which did not take into account a recent influx of food.
The trio and top White House officials discussed all aspects of Gaza, including escalating food aid deliveries, the hostage crisis, and – notably – post-war plans, a senior administration official told Reuters.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump held a policy meeting on the war with former British prime minister Tony Blair and his ex-Middle East envoy Jared Kushner.
