Israel Rejects Global Experts' Warning of Famine in Gaza

Palestinians line up for food during the ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in Rafah on January 9, 2024 (Hatem Ali/The AP)
Palestinians line up for food during the ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in Rafah on January 9, 2024 (Hatem Ali/The AP)
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Israel Rejects Global Experts' Warning of Famine in Gaza

Palestinians line up for food during the ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in Rafah on January 9, 2024 (Hatem Ali/The AP)
Palestinians line up for food during the ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in Rafah on January 9, 2024 (Hatem Ali/The AP)

Israel rejected on Saturday a group of global food security experts' warning of famine in parts of northern Gaza where it is waging war against Hamas.

"Unfortunately, the researchers continue to rely on partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests," the military said in a statement, Reuters reported.

The independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) said on Friday in a rare alert that there was a strong likelihood of imminent famine in parts of north Gaza with immediate action required from the warring parties to ease a catastrophic situation.

Israel's military said it had increased aid efforts including opening an additional crossing on Friday.

In the last two months, 39,000 trucks carrying more than 840,000 tons of food have entered Gaza, it said, and meetings were taking place daily with the UN which had 700 trucks of aid awaiting pickup and distribution.

With some critics decrying a starvation tactic in north Gaza, Israel's main ally the US has set a deadline within days for it to improve the humanitarian situation or face potential restrictions on military cooperation.



Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 31 in Lebanon

 Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli strikes, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli strikes, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 31 in Lebanon

 Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli strikes, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli strikes, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)

Massive explosions lit up Lebanon’s skies with flashes of orange, sending towering plumes of smoke into the air as Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs. The blasts damaged buildings and left shattered glass and debris scattered across nearby streets. No casualties were reported after many residents fled the targeted sites.

Some of the strikes landed close to central Beirut and near Christian neighborhoods and other targets where Israel had issued evacuation warnings, including in Tyre and Nabatiyeh province. Israeli airstrikes also hit the northeast Baalbek-Hermel region without warning.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that 26 people were killed in southern Lebanon, four in the eastern Baalbek-Hermel province and one in Choueifat, a neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs that was not subjected to evacuation warnings on Monday.

The deaths brought the total toll to 3,768 killed in Lebanon throughout 13 months of war between Israel and Hezbollah and nearly two months since Israel launched its ground invasion. Many of those killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah have been civilians, and health officials said some of the recovered bodies were so severely damaged that DNA testing would be required to confirm their identities.

Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the war has displaced 1.2 million people.