By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda Updated at 1620 EAT on Friday 30 May 2025

The UN’s humanitarian chief says that people in Gaza are being subjected to forced starvation by Israel.

Asked if his assessment of forced starvation amounted to a war crime, he says: “Yeah, it is. It is classified as a war crime. Obviously, these are issues for the courts to take the judgement on, and ultimately for history to take a judgement on.”

Fletcher also expresses regret for recently saying that 14,000 babies could die within 48 hours in Gaza if aid was not allowed in – a claim the UN later drew back – and acknowledged a need to be “precise” with language.

Israel began to allow limited aid into Gaza last week, after an almost three-month blockade had halted the delivery of supplies such as food, medicine, fuel and shelter.

It resumed its military offensive two weeks after imposing the blockade, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.

Israel said the steps were intended to put pressure on the armed group to release the 58 hostages still held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

We’ve been analysing two videos from social media of Palestinians running south on Salah al-Din Road near al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

In one video, people run and duck for cover from what sounds like whistles of gunfire. One man carries a sack, presumably of aid, on his shoulder.

The source of the gunfire is unclear. In the other video, two men with leg wounds are seen being loaded onto vehicles.

There are claims on Palestinian social media that people were fired on when approaching an aid distribution point near Netzarim.

The video of people running for cover was filmed about 1.6km (one mile) from a site run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and about 3.5km from the Netzarim Corridor, while the video of the wounded was filmed a further 600m (2,000ft) south.

Shadows show the sun is in the northeast, so both videos were filmed in the morning

Hamas has been demanding that the US guarantees that any temporary ceasefire it signs up to will lead to a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

The group also wants a return to the aid mechanism that was in place during the last ceasefire, with the UN overseeing that.

Ceasefire deals are also rarely guaranteed by one individual but the implementation of this one seems to largely rest on the personal commitment of US President Trump.

Neither side wants to be blamed for the failure of this latest push to bring Israeli hostages home, end the suffering of Gazans, and achieve a sustainable ceasefire.

So the warring sides, as well as mediators Qatar and Egypt, are still trying to close the gaps but it’s clear they still remain very wide.

The below images show the scene outside of a food kitchen in Gaza earlier today.

They come from the European Pressphoto Agency, which says they show internally displaced Palestinians gathering at a charity kitchen in Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

As we’ve been reporting, the UN and humanitarian organisations have long been warning of food shortages and calling for more aid to be allowed in.

A UN body has accused Israel of blocking the vast majority of aid from entering Gaza, and letting almost no ready-to-eat food into the territory, according to the Reuters news agency.

Gaza is the “hungriest place on Earth”, says Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Laerke tells reporters that only 600 out of 900 aid trucks had been given permission to get to Israel’s border with Gaza – with both bureaucratic and security obstacles making it nearly impossible to safely get aid to people.

100% of the population of Gaza is at risk of famine,” he says.

More now on that statement from Hamas official Basem Naim.

He says Hamas has received an “official response” from Israel to the proposal put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

That Israeli response, Naim says, fails to meet any of the just and legitimate demands of our people, among them an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.

But, he adds, Hamas leadership is currently undertaking a thorough and responsible review of the new proposal.

A Hamas official says the group is undertaking a thorough review of the US ceasefire proposal, but it fails to meet any of the just and legitimate demands of our people.

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