Israel Intensifies Airstrikes on Gaza City as UK and Allies Demand Action Against 'Unfolding Famine

Gaza City has faced relentless bombardment, with the Hamas-run civil defense agency reporting intense Israeli airstrikes targeting residential areas. Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman, stated that the neighborhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra have endured three days of bombs and drone strikes, causing "massive destruction to civilian homes" and leaving residents unable to recover the dead and injured trapped under rubble.

On Tuesday, August 12, 2025, the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, and Japan issued a joint statement declaring that "famine is unfolding in front of our eyes" in Gaza, urging immediate action to reverse starvation. The statement called for "immediate, permanent, and concrete steps" to facilitate aid entry and demanded an end to the use of lethal force near aid distribution sites and convoys, where the UN reports over 1,300 Palestinians have been killed, mostly by Israeli forces. Israel has denied claims of starvation, accusing UN agencies of failing to collect and distribute aid at the borders. The World Health Organization (WHO) appealed to Israel to allow the stocking of medical supplies to address the "catastrophic" health situation before a planned military takeover of Gaza City. WHO representative Rik Peeperkorn emphasized, "We hear about more humanitarian supplies being allowed in, but it’s not happening yet, or it’s happening at a way too low pace. We need to stock up hospitals with essential medicines and supplies, but we currently cannot." Israel’s war cabinet approved plans to occupy Gaza City on Monday, a decision condemned at an emergency UN Security Council meeting. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Tuesday that it was entering a "new state of combat." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined a three-step plan on Sunday to increase aid, including safe corridors and more airdrops, but did not provide a timeline for the occupation. He stated that Israeli forces aim to dismantle Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and al-Mawasi, an area designated as a humanitarian zone. Residents reported severe attacks. Majed al-Hosary from Zeitoun told AFP, “The attacks have been extremely intense for two days. With every strike, the ground shakes. There are martyrs under the rubble that no one can reach because the shelling hasn’t stopped.” Amr Salah, 25, told Reuters, “It sounded like the war was restarting. Tanks fired shells at houses, and planes carried out fire rings, with missiles landing on roads in eastern Gaza.” The Hamas-run health ministry reported 100 deaths in the past 24 hours, including 31 at aid sites and five from malnutrition. The war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack that killed over 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, has led to at least 61,599 Palestinian deaths, according to the ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable. International criticism is mounting. On Tuesday, The Elders, a group of former global leaders, labeled the war an “unfolding genocide” and blamed Israel for causing famine. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Irish President Mary Robinson, after visiting the Gaza border, said, “There is not only an unfolding, human-caused famine in Gaza. There is an unfolding genocide.” Israeli rights group B’Tselem echoed this, concluding that Israel is attempting to “destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip.” Israel rejects these claims, asserting it targets only terrorists, not civilians, and blames Hamas for Gaza’s suffering. On Sunday, the IDF killed five Al Jazeera journalists in a targeted airstrike on a media tent near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, prompting global condemnation. The IDF claimed correspondent Anas al-Sharif was a Hamas cell leader, an allegation Al Jazeera and media freedom groups dismissed as baseless, noting Israel provided little evidence. Al Jazeera’s managing editor stated the attack was an attempt to “silence reporting from inside Gaza.” The war has been the deadliest for journalists, with at least 186 killed since October 7, 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The UN and media groups have condemned the targeting of journalists as a war crime, with Al Jazeera calling it a “deliberate attack on press freedom.