GAZA CITY | August 29, 2025
Israel intensified bombardments around Gaza City on Thursday as its military prepared to take control of the area, deepening international concern over civilian suffering and food shortages, according to United Nations officials and humanitarian agencies.
A UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis last week confirmed famine conditions in Gaza, where nearly 90% of the 2.1 million residents—about two million people—have been displaced at least once since the conflict began, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the scale of devastation, declaring Gaza “piled with rubble, piled with bodies and piled with examples of what may be serious violations of international law.”
On Thursday, plumes of smoke rose above Gaza City after heavy strikes on the city’s outskirts, video footage showed. Local accounts described overnight explosions and mounting casualties. One displaced resident told AFP she and her family were injured by shrapnel while sheltering outside a hospital.
Meanwhile, Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), warned that Gaza had reached a “breaking point,” calling for conditions that would allow aid groups to re-establish a network of about 200 food distribution points and restore community kitchens and bakeries.
Israel has rejected aspects of the famine designation and maintains that its operations target Hamas positions, while aid agencies warn further expansion of military action could worsen the humanitarian crisis.
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