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UN Chief Says ‘Incremental Progress’ toward Averting Gaza Famine

Destroyed buildings in Khan Younis after the Israeli military pulled out troops from the southern Gaza Strip, 30 April 2024. (EPA)
Destroyed buildings in Khan Younis after the Israeli military pulled out troops from the southern Gaza Strip, 30 April 2024. (EPA)
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UN Chief Says ‘Incremental Progress’ toward Averting Gaza Famine

Destroyed buildings in Khan Younis after the Israeli military pulled out troops from the southern Gaza Strip, 30 April 2024. (EPA)
Destroyed buildings in Khan Younis after the Israeli military pulled out troops from the southern Gaza Strip, 30 April 2024. (EPA)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said there has been incremental progress toward averting "an entirely preventable, human-made famine" in the northern Gaza Strip, but much more is urgently needed.

He specifically called on Israel to follow through on its promise to open two crossings into northern Gaza so aid can be delivered directly from Israel's Ashdod port and Jordan and to allow safe, rapid and unimpeded aid access throughout Gaza.

"A major obstacle to distributing aid across Gaza is the lack of security for humanitarians and the people we serve. Humanitarian convoys, facilities and personnel, and the people in need, must not be targets," he told reporters.

Israel pledged nearly a month ago to improve aid access after US President Joe Biden demanded steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying Washington could place conditions on support if Israel did not act.

"We must do everything possible to avert an entirely preventable, human-made famine," Guterres said. "We have seen incremental progress recently, but much more is urgently needed."

A UN-backed report published in March said famine was imminent and likely by May in northern Gaza, and could spread across the enclave of 2.3 million people by July.

"In northern Gaza, the most vulnerable – from sick children to people with disabilities – are already dying of hunger and disease," Guterres said.

He also appealed on Tuesday for states with influence over Israel "to do everything in their power" to prevent an Israeli assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced Gaza Palestinians are sheltering.

NO ALTERNATIVE TO LAND ACCESS

When asked what leverage the US could use over its ally Israel to boost aid access and avert a Rafah assault, Guterres said: "It is very important to put all possible pressure in order to avoid what would be an absolutely devastating tragedy."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he will discuss with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday measures that Israel still needs to take to increase the flow of aid into Gaza.

Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to go ahead with a long-promised assault, whatever the response by Hamas to the latest proposals for a halt to the fighting and a return of Israeli hostages.

"I strongly encourage the government of Israel and the Hamas leadership to reach now an agreement," Guterres said. "Without that, I fear the war, with all its consequences both in Gaza and across the region, will worsen exponentially."

The UN is in talks with the US about a floating pier it is constructing to allow maritime aid deliveries to Gaza from Cyprus. Guterres said: "We welcome aid delivery by air and sea, but there is no alternative to the massive use of land routes.

Israel's Deputy UN Ambassador Jonathan Miller said last week that Israel continued "to elevate and step up" its aid support and there had been substantial results with a "dramatic increase" in the volume of aid over the past several months.

Israel is retaliating against Hamas in Gaza over an Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel led by the armed group.

Israel says about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people were taken hostage in the assault, and Gaza health authorities say Israel has killed more than 34,000 people in its offensive in Gaza since then.

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Arab World

Barrack Presses Netanyahu to Accept a Turkish Role in Gaza

Photo of the meeting between the US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (Israeli Government). 
Photo of the meeting between the US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (Israeli Government). 
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Barrack Presses Netanyahu to Accept a Turkish Role in Gaza

Photo of the meeting between the US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (Israeli Government). 
Photo of the meeting between the US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (Israeli Government). 

Hebrew-language media reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Monday in Jerusalem with US envoy Tom Barrack, amid what were described as unusually blunt private messages from the administration of President Donald Trump ahead of a planned US–Israel summit later this month in Florida.

According to the reports, the talks focused on three files: Gaza, Syria and Netanyahu’s expected meeting with Trump.

On Gaza, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said Barrack sought to allay Netanyahu’s concerns about a Turkish role in any international force deployed to the enclave during a prospective second phase of a fragile ceasefire that began in October. Barrack, the paper reported, argued that Türkiye has the greatest leverage over Hamas and is best placed to persuade the group to disarm.

The newspaper said Barrack reminded Netanyahu that Ankara had endorsed the Trump administration’s ceasefire framework for Gaza and had pledged, on Hamas’s behalf, to provisions related to weapons handover. He reportedly said that Turkish participation would also encourage other hesitant countries to join an international force.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Barrack warned that excluding Türkiye would cause those states to step back, adding that Trump would not allow the initiative to fail. Netanyahu’s public statements questioning whether Hamas would ever relinquish its weapons — and his assertion that only Israel could enforce that outcome — were described by Barrack as “unacceptable” and as jeopardizing the plan.

Israel’s Channel 12 also reported that the White House delivered a “private and sharp” message to Netanyahu, asserting that the killing of a senior Hamas military figure, Raed Saad, constituted a breach of the ceasefire brokered with Trump’s mediation.

The channel cited growing tension between the Trump administration and Netanyahu’s government over moving to the deal’s second phase and over Israel’s broader regional policies.

Two US officials were quoted as saying that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, were “deeply frustrated” with Netanyahu’s conduct.

One senior US official was quoted as telling Israeli media that the message to Netanyahu was explicit: if he chose to damage his own credibility, that was his decision, “but we will not allow you to damage President Trump’s reputation after he mediated the Gaza agreement.”

US officials were also cited as expressing rising concern over settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and what they termed Israeli “provocations” that undermine Washington’s efforts to expand the Abraham Accords. The United States, one official said, was not asking Israel to compromise its security, but to avoid steps perceived in the Arab world as inflammatory.

On Syria, Israeli assessments quoted in the press said Barrack outlined US “red lines,” stressing Trump’s desire to see stability there and warning that frequent Israeli operations could risk destabilizing the country. Reports added that Washington favors reaching a security understanding and wants to avoid actions it views as undermining the Syrian leadership.

Regarding Lebanon, Trump was said to support continued pressure on Hezbollah through limited operations, while opposing a broader escalation.

Despite recent criticism by Netanyahu of Barrack — including remarks questioning his impartiality — the envoy’s visit went ahead. Columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth that US officials increasingly believe Netanyahu is not serious about advancing Trump’s peace plan and is intent on prolonging the war, language he said has sparked intense anger inside the White House.

Israeli analysts suggested Netanyahu is unlikely to reject all US requests outright, instead seeking partial accommodation to ensure a successful meeting with Trump on December 29. Yet, in a show of independence, Israeli forces reportedly carried out an airstrike in Syria shortly before Barrack arrived.

Netanyahu also announced a trilateral summit with Greece and Cyprus, a move widely interpreted in Israel as a political signal directed at Türkiye.

At the close of the meeting, Barrack was quoted as saying the talks were a “constructive dialogue aimed at achieving regional peace and stability.”

 

 

Arab World

Sudan Once again Tops International Rescue Committee Crises Watchlist

FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo
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Sudan Once again Tops International Rescue Committee Crises Watchlist

FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

Sudan has once again topped a watchlist of global humanitarian crises released by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) aid organization, as warring sides press on with a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.

It is the third time in a row Sudan has headed the list, which was published on Tuesday. It highlights the 20 countries most at risk of new or worsened humanitarian emergencies.

"What the IRC is seeing on the ground is not a tragic accident. The world is not simply failing to respond to crisis; actions and words are producing, prolonging, and rewarding it," IRC CEO David Miliband said in a statement.

"The scale of the crisis in Sudan, ranking first on this year’s Watchlist for the third year in a row and now the largest humanitarian crisis ever recorded, is a signature of this disorder."

War erupted in April 2023 from a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, and triggered the world's largest displacement crisis. More than 12 million people have already been displaced by the ongoing war in Sudan, where humanitarian workers lack resources to help those fleeing, many of whom have been raped, robbed or bereaved by the violence.

Sudan is followed by the Palestinian territories, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Haiti, according to the list.

The IRC said although these countries are home to just 12% of the global population, they account for 89% of those in humanitarian need. It added that the countries are projected to host more than half of the world's extreme poor by 2029.

The remaining countries on the list are Myanmar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.

Arab World

Torrential Rains and Flash Floods Kill 37 in Moroccan City of Safi

People inspect the damage caused by flash floods in Safi, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abderrazak Gouach)
People inspect the damage caused by flash floods in Safi, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abderrazak Gouach)
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Torrential Rains and Flash Floods Kill 37 in Moroccan City of Safi

People inspect the damage caused by flash floods in Safi, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abderrazak Gouach)
People inspect the damage caused by flash floods in Safi, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abderrazak Gouach)

Floods triggered by torrential rains have killed at least 37 people in the Moroccan coastal city of Safi, the Interior Ministry said Monday.

Authorities said heavy rain and flash floods overnight inundated about 70 homes and businesses and swept away 10 vehicles. The Interior Ministry reported 14 people hospitalized.

Local outlets reported that schools announced three days of closures. Rains also caused flooding and damage elsewhere throughout Morocco, including the northern city of Tetouan and the mountain town of Tinghir.

Safi, a city on Morocco’s Atlantic shore more than 320 kilometers (200 miles) from the capital, Rabat, is a major hub for the country’s critical fishing and mining industries. Both employ thousands to catch, mine and process the commodities for export. The city, with a population of more than 300,000 people, is home to a major phosphate processing plant.

Videos shared on social media showed cars stranded and partially submerged as floodwaters surged through Safi’s streets.

Climate change has made weather patterns more unpredictable in Morocco. North Africa has been plagued by several years of drought, hardening soils and making mountains, deserts and plains more susceptible to flooding. Last year, floods in normally arid mountains and desert areas killed nearly two dozen people in Morocco and Algeria.

This week's floods came after 22 people were killed in a two-building collapse in the Moroccan city of Fez. Morocco has invested in disaster risk initiatives although local governments often do not enforce building codes and drainage systems can be lacking in some cities. Infrastructural inequities were a focus of youth-led protests that swept the country earlier this year.

"This is a disaster, I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime," Khalil Sidki, 67, a Safi resident and member of the local branch of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, told The Associated Press.

He said the flooding caught people by surprise in a commercial area. In reaction, many shopkeepers locked themselves inside their stores, but as water levels climbed up to 4 meters (13 feet), shops were submerged, killing those trapped inside, he said. Another Safi resident described similar scenes.

Moroccan authorities launched an investigation into the cause of the flooding. Safi received 46 millimeters (less than 2 inches) of rainfall over 24 hours — a level Houcine Youabid from Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology described as “normal” for the region. He said infrastructure issues could have combined with the rainfall to contribute to the flooding.

Parts of the North African nation experienced heavy rain and snow over the weekend, and authorities issued alerts for similar conditions throughout the coming days.