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August 2025,\u00a0<\/strong>Volume XLVIII, Bulletin No. VIII<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n On 22 August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee\u00a0(FRC) confirmed in a new analysis<\/a><\/em> that Famine (IPC Phase 5) is currently occurring in Gaza Governorate. The FRC projects Famine (IPC Phase 5) thresholds to be crossed in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis Governorates in the coming weeks. In a statement, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said<\/a><\/em> that \u201cthis is not a mystery \u2014 it is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself\u201d. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a joint statement<\/em><\/a> stressing that famine must be stopped at all costs. \u201cAn immediate ceasefire and end to the conflict is critical to allow unimpeded, large-scale humanitarian response that can save lives,\u201d reads the statement.<\/p>\n Speaking at a UN press briefing in Geneva, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said<\/a><\/em> \u201cIt is a famine. The Gaza Famine. It is a famine that we could have prevented, if we had been allowed.\u201d Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, posted<\/a><\/em> on his official X account \u201cMonths of warnings have fallen on deaf ears. Famine is now confirmed in Gaza City.\u201d UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ramiz Alakbarov, highlighted<\/a><\/em> that \u201cthis catastrophe is entirely human-made\u201d. Meanwhile, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk stated<\/a><\/em> that the famine \u201cis the direct result of actions taken by the Israeli Government.\u201d In a statement, the\u00a0Â鶹APP Population Fund (UNFPA) stressed<\/a><\/em> that \u201cfor pregnant and breastfeeding women and their newborns, it is a possible death sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n On 27 August, the Bureau of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People issued a statement condemning<\/em><\/a>, in the strongest terms, \u201cthis deliberate use of deprivation and starvation by Israel, the occupying Power, as a weapon against the Palestinian people\u201d. The same day, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting<\/em><\/a> on the same issue. Ramiz Alakbarov<\/em><\/a>, Â鶹APP Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, and Joyce Msuya<\/em><\/a>, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefed the Council on the IPC Famine Review Committee\u00a0report. Following the meeting, fourteen members of the UN Security Council \u2014 Algeria, China, Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, and the United Kingdom \u2014 issued a joint press statement<\/em><\/a> expressing \u201cprofound alarm and distress\u201d at the latest IPC report on Gaza which \u201cclearly and unequivocally\u201d confirms famine in the Strip. \u201cThe use of starvation as a weapon of war is clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law. Famine in Gaza must be stopped immediately,\u201d the joint statement said.<\/p>\n Consult the UNISPAL database for more detailed information on this issue:<\/em><\/p>\n On 20 August, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres condemned<\/a><\/em> the decision of the Israeli Higher Planning Committee to grant approval for more than 3,400 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank. In a press release<\/em><\/a>, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory stated that final approval by the Israeli Government of the \u201cso-called El settlement plan in occupied East Jerusalem represents another grave and unlawful step to consolidate annexation of the occupied West Bank, in violation of international law, which prohibits the acquisition of territory by force.\u201d In addition, on 28 August, the Bureau of the UN Palestinian Rights Committee rejected<\/a><\/em> and condemned the plan, calling it a \u201cblatant land grab\u201d which \u201cconstitutes a grave breach of international law and is a direct challenge to decades of international consensus.\u201d<\/p>\n More details: <\/em><\/p>\n On 11 August, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, condemned<\/a><\/em> the killing of six journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed Al-Khaldi in Gaza City, Palestine on 10 August. Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, posted<\/a> on his official X account: \u201cThe Israeli Army continues to silence voices reporting atrocities from Gaza.\u201d The \u201cdeliberate killing\u201d of four Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza was an attempt to \u201csilence reporting on the ongoing genocide and starvation campaign in the besieged enclave\u201d,\u00a0 UN Experts Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967; and Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said in a statement, condemning the \u201ctargeted attacks in the strongest possible terms\u201d.<\/p>\n On 25 August, two Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza killed<\/a><\/em> five journalists – Mariam Abu Daqqa, Mohammed Salama, Moaz Abu Taha, Hussam al-Masri, and Ahmed Abu Aziz. UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres condemned<\/a><\/em> the strikes and reiterated that medical personnel and journalists must be able to perform their essential duties without interference, intimidation, or harm. UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said<\/a><\/em> that at least 247 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the 7 October 2023. In an X post<\/a>,<\/em> the UN Palestinian Rights Committee highlighted that Mariam Abu Daqqa\u2019s work was spotlighted at the Committee\u2019s 2024 exhibit<\/a><\/em> \u201cGaza, Palestine: A Crisis of Humanity, A Cry for Justice\u201d at UN Headquarters in New York.<\/p>\n More details:<\/em><\/p>\n On 8 August, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres expressed<\/a><\/em> grave alarm over the decision of the Israeli Government to \u201ctake control of Gaza City\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cThis decision marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians, and could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages\u201d, reads the statement. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk also issued<\/a><\/em> a statement calling for an immediate halt of the Israeli Government\u2019s as \u201cit runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n Israel decision \u201crisks igniting another horrific chapter in this conflict, with potential consequences beyond Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory\u201d, UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jen\u010da said<\/a> during an emergency Security Council session on 10 August, as delegates warned that this escalation will uproot a million people and exacerbate an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Before the emergency meeting, in a joint statement Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia and the United Kingdom condemned<\/a><\/em> the Government of Israel\u2019s decision to further expand its military operations in Gaza\u201d, calling on Israel to \u201curgently reverse this decision and not to implement it.\u201d<\/p>\n More details:<\/em><\/p>\n On 1 August, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban, issued a Contents<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\n<\/a>I. Famine Confirmed for First Time in Gaza<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/a>II. Israeli Settlements in the E1 Area in the Occupied West Bank<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/a>III. 11 Journalists Killed in Gaza<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/a>IV. Israeli Government\u2019s Decision to \u201cTake Control of Gaza City\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/a>V. Gaza Humanitarian Situation Updates<\/strong><\/h2>\n