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As Gaza's children starve, hope of a ceasefire dies, quenched alongside

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25th July, 2025 15:18 IST

Expressing deep concern for journalists in Gaza who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families, four international media outlets issued a joint appeal on Thursday, 24 July, urging Israel to ‘allow’ them to move in and out of Gaza.

Israel, which controls the entry points, has not allowed international media teams into Gaza. Several hundred journalists have actually been killed by drones, sniper fire, bombings and in firing incidents by the Israeli military during the last 22 months. Those who have survived are not being allowed to leave.

The joint statement angered both journalists and activists as they saw it as a public relations stunt. After pleading with Israel to allow journalists to leave, the statement ends by stating, “it is essential that adequate food supplies reach the people there”.

The concluding remark was widely seen as an afterthought.

There is an acknowledgment even in media circles that the outlets did not do enough to report on the horrors of a live-streamed genocide. Most of the outlets have refused to condemn Israel’s atrocities and buried reports and investigations that came out of Gaza.

The statement provoked some savage comments.

“This is a PR stunt. Your intentionally biased reporting has misled the public about the Gaza genocide for 22 months. Remember BBC, your biased coverage is the reason why Israel is emboldened to continue its genocide every single day,” read one, while others wondered why the media outlets were not directly asking Israeli officials and their supporters to explain their conduct.

“Why don’t you take legal action against the perpetrators of the torture and murder of your journalists? Or would that be antisemitic,” was yet another comment dripping with sarcasm.

“I have never felt so shaken. Children are dying of hunger. Falling one after another, like petals of a dying flower. Under our watch. How do you sleep, Presidents, Foreign Ministers, political leaders, diplomats, civil servants — doing nothing to stop Israel’s starvation campaign? PS: Talking politics while dodging genocide perfectly meets the definition of doing nothing,” posted on X the UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

Meanwhile, more than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups are warning of mass starvation in Gaza and pressing for governments to take action. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam are among the signatories of a joint statement that says their colleagues and the people they serve are "wasting away".

Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into the territory, rejected the organisations' statement and accused them of "serving the propaganda of Hamas".

Meanwhile, political leaders continue to make grand gestures and tall promises but offer little hope of a permanent ceasefire. President of France Emmanuel Macron has repeated that he will recognise 'the State of Palestine' (under the Palestinian National Authority) at the UN General Assembly in September 2025. UK prime minister Keir Starmer issued a statement asking all sides ‘to engage in good faith to bring about an immediate ceasefire’.

Reckless decision: Rubio attacks France’s recognition of Palestine state

A ceasefire, however, appeared nowhere in the horizon on Friday, 25 July as the US pulled out of talks in Doha. US envoy Steve Witkoff in a statement declared, "We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza… We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza. It is a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way.”

While Hamas is insisting on an end to the war and for Israeli forces to leave Gaza, the US and Israel want Hamas to surrender and disband its fighting units.

A perceptive observer quipped, “US and “Israel” offer two choices in “negotiations” with Hamas: (a) Surrender or we’ll wipe you out (b) Surrender and we’ll wipe you out”. Hamas sees no choice but to keep fighting under such circumstances, said Ali Abunimah, author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine.

And even Israelis on the streets of Tel Aviv, laden with bags of grain, seemed to agree.

Dozens of children in Gaza have starved to death in a month as hunger surges

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