WEEKLY UPDATE - 05.23.2025

Famine Continues as Dozens of Children and Elderly Die of Malnutrition in Gaza

Palestinian Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan said that 29 children and elderly died due to complications from malnutrition in recent days in Gaza. Disturbing images of emaciated children have spread on social media in recent weeks amplifying calls to resume deliveries of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Pope Leo XIV called the situation “increasingly worrying and painful” while calling for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. On Tuesday Britain, France, and Canada warned Israel of “concrete actions” and called Israel’s handling of aid “wholly inadequate.” Earlier in the week UN humanitarian chief claimed that 14,000 babies were at risk of death if aid did not reach Gaza within “48 hours.” However, on Thursday the UN clarified Fletchers claim saying that it was based on a March report that estimated 14,100 children between the ages of six-months to five-years old were at risk of “acute malnutrition” in the next calendar year. Fletcher’s statement prompted outrage on social media and contributed to a campaign for the immediate resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

On Sunday evening, Israeli PM Netanyahu said that Israel would allow for the delivery of food to Gaza in the face of US pressure despite objections from members of his government. Far right minister, Itamar Ben Gvir said that “any humanitarian aid that enters the Strip . . will fuel Hamas” and called the government’s decision to resume aid a “grave mistake.” The center-left Israeli politician Yair Golan criticized Israel’s policies toward Gaza while speaking on a public radio station sparking outrage from the right. Golan said, “a sane country doesn’t kill babies as a hobby and doesn’t set for itself the goals of expelling a population.”

On Wednesday evening, Israel allowed ninety trucks carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza. The trucks carried flour, baby formula, and other medical supplies. The UN said that the delays in delivery were due to security concerns along the route. The UN added that the shipments were not enough to meet the vast needs in Gaza. As bakeries began to resume operations, large numbers of Palestinians queued for bread.

In Other News

• The Israeli High Court ruled that PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s firing of Shin Bet head Ronen Barr was “unlawful” due to the PM’s conflict of interest in the matter. At the time of his firing, Shin Bet was investigating two of Netanyahu’s aides for their involvement in the Qatargate scandal.

• The IDF carried out another air strike in Lebanon on Thursday that it said targeted and killed a Hezbollah operative in the town of Toul. Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam condemned Israel’s continued airstrikes calling attention to ceasefire agreement reached in November.

• Elias Rodriguez, a Chicago resident with a history of left-wing activism, gunned down two Israeli embassy employees at a Jewish museum in Washington, DC on Wednesday night. According to reporting, Rodriguez said that his actions were “for Gaza” and shouted “free Palestine.”

• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza during a call with British PM Keir Starmer. Sisi praised Starmer for his governments stance toward the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

• Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied rumors that he was seeking to change the constitution in order to run for another term. In previous statements, Erdogan has said that he would like to run for another term which would require a change to the constitution.

• The US and Iran are gearing up for another round of talks this weekend in Rome regarding Iran’s nuclear program. During a call this week, President Trump expressed his desire for a diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran’s nuclear program to Israeli PM Netanyahu. Israeli journalist Barak Ravid reported that Israel was preparing a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in case talks between Washington and Tehran breakdown. Iran said that it would hold the US responsible for an Israeli strike.

• In Syria an armed gang raided the governor’s offices in the province of Suwayda in an attempt to force the governor to release some prisoners arrested for car theft.

• The Moroccan government announced that it plans to spend $670 million over the next year to help replenish its livestock herds that have been thinned during the recent prolonged drought. The six-year drought has contributed to growing unemployment in the agricultural sector and the loss of 38 percent of the country’s cattle and sheep herds.

Recommended:

• “On Reading Herzl in Beirut” Diwan

• “Reading Tripoli’s Tea Leaves” Diwan

• “What Trump Got Right in the Middle East” The Atlantic

• “Jesus in Islam: an interview with Dr. Gabriel Said Reynolds” Religion for Breakfast (video)

• “With a New Fair in Qatar, Art Basel Branches out in the Middle East” New York Times