Leading international media outlets — AFP, AP, Reuters, and the BBC — on Thursday jointly urged Israeli authorities to allow journalists to freely enter and exit the Gaza Strip, citing grave concerns over the welfare of media workers trapped in the besieged enclave.
“We are desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families,” the organisations said in a joint statement. “We once again urge the Israeli authorities to allow journalists in and out of Gaza.”
Meanwhile, the Gazan health ministry has reported two more deaths from famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to at least 113 since the war began.
Ceasefire efforts
Hamas has confirmed it has submitted a response to Israel’s latest proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, according to AFP.
“Hamas has just submitted its response and that of the Palestinian factions to the ceasefire proposal to the mediators,” the group said in a statement posted on Telegram.
The response includes proposed amendments to several key clauses, including those related to the entry of humanitarian aid, the provision of maps detailing areas from which Israeli forces should withdraw, and guarantees aimed at securing a permanent end to the war, AFP reported, citing a Palestinian source familiar with the talks in Doha.
Israel is examining Hamas’s response to a proposed ceasefire in Gaza, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, according to Reuters.
The mediators have relayed Hamas’s response to the Israeli negotiation team; it is currently being evaluated.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 24, 2025
Negotiators from both sides have been engaged in indirect talks in Doha with mediation from regional and international actors, attempting to reach a truce agreement that would include the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
However, the talks have dragged on without progress, with each side accusing the other of refusing to compromise on core demands.
In a separate statement, Hamas condemned a symbolic vote passed earlier on Tuesday in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, which expressed support for the annexation of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Hamas called the measure “null and void, and [said it] will not change the identity of the Palestinian territory.”
“This measure constitutes a challenge to international laws and resolutions and an extension of the widespread violations committed by the occupation government in the occupied West Bank, including land theft and settlement expansion, alongside campaigns of killing, arrests, and oppression against our Palestinian people,” the group said in a Telegram post.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967. The occupation has involved the forced displacement of Palestinians and the establishment of hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlements, which the United Nations and other international bodies consider a violation of international law.
Dutch flag Israel as a threat; Canada slams Gaza aid attacks
The Netherlands has, for the first time, included Israel in its list of foreign states posing a threat to national security, TRT Global reported, citing a recent assessment released by the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV).
The document, titled Assessment of Threats from State Actors, highlights concerns over Israeli efforts to manipulate Dutch public opinion and influence political decision-making through disinformation campaigns.
Meanwhile, Canada has condemned Israeli military operations targeting civilians and aid workers in Gaza, calling for the immediate resumption of United Nations-led humanitarian assistance.
“Israeli military operations against WHO staff and facilities, World Food Programme aid convoys, & the ongoing killing of Palestinians seeking urgently needed food and water are unacceptable,” Canada’s foreign ministry said Wednesday in a post on X.
1/3 Israeli military operations against WHO staff and facilities, World Food Programme aid convoys, & the ongoing killing of Palestinians seeking urgently needed food and water are unacceptable. Civilians, incl. aid workers, must be protected.
— Foreign Policy CAN (@CanadaFP) July 23, 2025
“Hunger in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels … Canada calls for the immediate resumption at scale of UN-led aid,” the statement added.
Starvation-related deaths mount to 111
At least 10 Palestinians died of forced starvation in the past 24 hours, raising Gaza’s hunger-related death toll to 111, including at least 80 children, according to the territory’s health ministry.
More than 100 humanitarian organisations have urged governments to open all land crossings, restore access to food, water, medical supplies, shelter, and fuel, and support a UN-led humanitarian mechanism alongside an immediate and lasting ceasefire, Wafa reported.
Almost 101 people died because of #starvation, including 80 children’
Palestine Red Crescent Society Spokesperson Nebal Farsakh warns ‘situation only getting worse’ in #Gaza
‘Unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe’ pic.twitter.com/1aYeDKOMWt— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) July 22, 2025
“Aid workers are now standing in food lines, risking gunfire, just to feed their families,” the statement said, blaming Israel’s blockade as agencies warn of rapid physical deterioration among staff amid critically low supplies.
Israel’s war on Gaza
The Israeli army has launched a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing at least 58,667 Palestinians, including 17,400 children. More than 139,974 people have been injured, and over 14,222 are missing and presumed dead.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
A proposed 60-day ceasefire deal includes a pause in hostilities, increased humanitarian aid, and negotiations on the release of captives.
