Israel-Hamas war: United Nations says conflict is ‘beyond catastrophic’ as more than a million left starving

A grim warning has emerged as Donald Trump warns the end of Israel if Kamala Harris becomes president. Follow updates.

The United Nations says the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “beyond catastrophic”, with more than a million Palestinians not receiving any food rations in August.

There had been a 35% drop in people getting daily cooked meals, further fuelling fears of famine in the region, the UN also said.

It comes as Donald Trump told a gathering of Republican Jews Israel will cease to exist if Kamala Harris becomes US president.
“I will work with you to make sure Israel is with us for thousands of years,” the Republican candidate said via video.

“If they win, Israel is gone … you can forget about Israel, that’s what’s going to happen.”

The former president said voting for him is the only way to save the Jewish state.

“They have to vote for Trump, if they don’t I think it’s gonna be a very terrible situation,” he said, adding he would “help Israel become great again.”

The 78-year-old Republican nominee said those who support Hamas will be kicked out of the United States under his rule.

“When I am president we will deport the foreign jihad sympathisers and Hamas supporters from within our midst,” he said, prompting the crowd to chant “Trump.”

“If you hate America, if you want to eliminate Israel, then we don’t want you in our country,” he says.

Donald Trump has made a pitch to Jewish voters warning Israel will cease under a Harris administration. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

He also stood by his decision to axe funding to Ramallah during his presidential term, saying the Palestinian Authority “is not our friend”.

“I defunded the Palestinian Authority and choked off the money to Hamas, and we actually defunded, we were paying them a fortune every year, the United State was paying a fortune, and I said ‘we’re not gonna pay it, they’re not our friends and not the friends of Israel.’”

It comes as Hamas called on the United States to “exert real pressure” on Israel to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there is no deal in the making.

“If the US administration and its President (Joe) Biden really want to reach a ceasefire and complete a prisoner exchange deal, they must abandon their blind bias towards the Zionist occupation,” Hamas’s Qatar-based lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said on Thursday local time, calling on the US to “exert real pressure on Netanyahu and his government”.

But Mr Netanyahu told US talk show Fox & Friends: “There is not a deal in the making … Unfortunately, it’s not close but we will do everything we can to get them to the point where they do make a deal and at the same time we prevent Iran from resupplying Gaza as this great terror enclave.”

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NETANYAHU MAP SPARKS WIDESPREAD CONDEMNATION

Benjamin Netanyahu has faced widespread condemnation after showing a map that excluded the occupied West Bank, suggesting it was part of Israel.

The Israeli prime minister fronted a news briefing on Monday local time and stood in front of a wall-sized digital map where the occupied West Bank had been erased.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said the use of the map was “a blatant acknowledgment of Israel’s colonial and racist agenda. The Ministry views this as a serious violation of international law, especially as Israel continues its war crimes against Palestinians aiming to deny their existence and their legitimate national rights.”

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands in front of a map that sparked widespread condemnation. Picture: AFP

Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot said that Mr Netanyahu’s erasure of the occupied West Bank from the map aims to “erase the Palestinian people and take the rest of our land!”. He added, “Imagine if a Palestinian politician did this.”

Benjamin Netanyahu points at Tel Aviv on a map during a press conference at the Government Press Office (GPO) in Jerusalem. Picture: AFP

Pressed on the matter by an Israeli reporter, Mr Netanyahu said: “I didn’t include the Dead Sea. It’s not shown on the map. I didn’t show the Jordan River. It’s not on this map. I didn’t show the Sea of Galilee.”

The reporter interjected: “Those are geographical features. This is a population of [Palestinians] who live there.”

Mr Netanyahu replied: “I didn’t get into that. I was talking about Gaza. There is a whole issue of how to achieve peace between us and the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. I didn’t get into that. That’s another press conference.”

Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference at the Government Press Office in Jerusalem. Picture: AFP

HAMAS THREATENS TO KILL ALL HOSTAGES

Hamas has given chilling orders to kill the remaining 60 Israeli hostages it holds in Gaza should Israeli troops close in, the terrorist group has revealed.

The brutal instructions come as Hamas released a new video of one of its murdered hostages, Ori Danino.

The horrific footage, which media outlets around the world have chosen not to publish, shows the late 25-year-old, one of the six hostages murdered in the hands of Hamas.

His body was found in a tunnel in Gaza alongside Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, and Almog Sarusi last weekend.

A demonstrator with a sign bearing pictures of the recently killed six hostages, during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages. Picture: AFP

A demonstrator during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks. Picture: AFP

In a statement issued Monday evening, Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida said the new policy of hostage executions was implemented following a “incident” in Nuseirat, CNN reports.

HAMAS LEADERS INDICTED

The US Department of Justice has indicted several senior Hamas leaders in connection with the October 7 massacre, charging documents unsealed on Tuesday revealed.

The charge is the Justice Department’s first criminal move towards holding criminals liable for the horror attack in Israel, CNN reports.

Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Al-Masri, Marwan Issa, Khaled Meshaal, and Ali Baraka are the six defendants facing seven accusations total.

The charges include terrorism, conspiracy to kill US citizens, and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction that will cause death.

US ISSUES URGENT TRUCE PLEA

A top US official has revealed they are working “over the coming days” in order to “push for a final agreement” for peace between Israel and Hamas.

“There are dozens of hostages still remaining in Gaza, still waiting for a deal that will bring them home. It is time to finalise that deal,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

“The people of Israel cannot afford to wait any longer. The Palestinian people, who are also suffering the terrible effects of this war, cannot afford to wait any longer. The world cannot afford to wait any longer,” Mr Miller said.

Demonstrators light flares and wave national flags during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks. Picture: AFP

Mr Miller confirmed America was working with mediators Egypt and Qatar to overcome key sticking points including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that Israeli troops remain at the border between Gaza and Egypt.

Demonstrators hold placards as a man sits with his mouth bound during an anti-government protest directed at Mr Netanyahu. Picture: AFP

Head of the political wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar. Picture: AFP

HOSTAGES WILL RETURN ‘INSIDE COFFINS’: HAMAS

Terror group Hamas’s armed wing said that the Israeli hostages would return to Israel “inside coffins” if military pressure continues, warning that “new instructions” had been given to the militants guarding the captives if Israeli troops approached.

“(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s insistence on liberating the prisoners through military pressure instead of concluding a deal will mean that they will return to their families inside coffins,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement.

“New instructions were issued to the mujahideen assigned to guard the prisoners regarding dealing with them if the occupation army approached their place of detention,” he said, after

Demonstrators gather for an anti-government protest calling for action to release the hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

A protester holds a sign beside a bonfire on second day of demonstrations demanding a Gaza deal in Tel Aviv, Israel. Picture: Getty Images

HAMAS TAUNTS FAMILIES OF DEAD HOSTAGES

Hamas released new footage of the six hostages found dead in a Gaza tunnel last week, warning the heartbreaking clips were only a teaser to their “last messages”.

It is not clear when the footage was taken but the hostages are believed to have been shot dead at close range two to three days before their bodies were found on Saturday.

Six hostages found dead in a Gaza tunnel appear in video released by Hamas believed to have been taken a few days before they were shot dead.

BIDEN TO MEET HOSTAGE NEGOTIATORS

In Washington, President Joe Biden met US negotiators working alongside Qatar and Egypt to try to secure a truce deal that would free the remaining hostages in Gaza in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

A White House statement said he expressed “his devastation and outrage” at the killings of the six hostages.

Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, parents of Hersh Goldberg Polin who is among the six hostages who have been confirmed dead, after their bodies were found in a Gaza tunnel. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

Murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin was US-Israeli and one of the six killed in the last 48 hours. Picture: Hostages Families Forum Headquarters / AFP

Vice President and the Democratic candidate for November’s US presidential election Kamala Harris said “Hamas leaders will pay”, but added it was “long past time for a ceasefire and hostage deal”.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Biden had said negotiators were “very close” to a final proposal to be presented to Israel and Hamas.

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy makes a statement on arms sales to Israel. Picture: AFP/PRU

ISRAELI COURT ORDERS END TO STRIKE

An Israeli labour court has ordered a halt to a strike called by the country’s largest union to support a deal that would secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.

“We are issuing a nationwide order to forbid the strike that was launched, stating that the strike must stop today” effective immediately, the court said in its ruling seen by AFP, citing the “politically motivated” nature of the strike.

A strike called by Israel’s largest labour union shuttered parts of the country to pressure the government into reaching a Gaza deal to free hostages, though several sectors were unaffected.

Police officers detain a protester as families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip since October hold a rally calling for their release in Tel Aviv. Picture: AFP

Policemen scuffle with protesters as families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

A policeman scuffles with protesters as families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip since October hold a rally calling for their release in Tel Aviv. Picture: AFP

Protests brought Tel Aviv to a standstill but a court order is forbidding a nationwide strike. Picture: AFP

A policeman scuffles with a protester as families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

Murdered hostage Alex ‘Sasha’ Lubnov was head bartender at the Supernova music festival. Only his parents have accepted a condolence call from PM Netanyahu. Picture: AFP

(Clockwork from top-L) Almog Sarusi, Alex Lubnov, Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi and Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Picture: Hostages Families Forum  Headquarters / AFP

BODIES OF DEAD HOSTAGES RECOVERED

The remains of six hostages were recovered “from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area” and returned to Israel where they were formally identified, the military said.

It said the dead hostages were Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino, who were all seized by Palestinian militants during Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing war.

– with AFP