Eleven more die from malnutrition in Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says

18 minutes ago Share Save Emir Nader BBC News in Jerusalem Cachella Smith BBC News in London Share Save

EPA Gazans carry aid packages from a food distribution point in Zikim in the northern Gaza Strip

A further 11 deaths resulting from malnutrition have been reported in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. That brings the total number of malnutrition-related deaths to 212, including 98 children. At least 38 people have also been killed and 491 injured as a result of Israeli military activity over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said. Deaths continue to rise amid reports that a deadline of 7 October 2025 has been set for residents to evacuate Gaza City following the announcement of a controversial Israeli plan to take control of the area.

The new plan, approved by the Israeli security cabinet and detailed on Friday, lists five "principles" for ending the war in Gaza, with one being "taking security control of the territory". Reports in Israeli media say the plan initially focuses on taking full control of Gaza City, relocating its estimated one million residents further south. The plan has been met with criticism from world leaders as well as fierce opposition from some within Israel, including from military officials and the families of hostages still being held in Gaza who fear for their safety. Israel has rejected criticism, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying condemnation would "not weaken our resolve". The US has been less critical - with Donald Trump saying earlier in the week that it was "pretty much up to Israel" whether to fully occupy the Gaza Strip.

Israeli media reports that the government has set a two-month deadline before a military siege of Gaza City to begin on 7 October 2025, the two-year anniversary of the beginning of the war. Within those two months, Israel plans to forcibly displace the estimated one million Palestinians living in Gaza City, roughly half the number of people living in the entirety of the territory. Gaza City is the capital of the Gaza Strip. Its pre-war population was estimated at around 600,000 people, but that number has grown significantly throughout the war as Israel's military campaign has pushed Palestinians into the city. Many living there now have already been displaced multiple times through the war and are living in tents or the ruins of buildings that have been partially destroyed by Israeli air strikes. Israeli media reports that the military would move the population towards al-Mawasi, a vast tent encampment in the south of Gaza, already home to thousands of Palestinians suffering from an absence of basic facilities and sanitation. The plan is being widely condemned by humanitarian agencies and indeed many of Israel's allies for its potential to add untold human suffering onto the shoulders of an already exhausted and beleaguered people. The move to take control of Gaza City will further complicate Palestinians' ability to meet their basic needs for survival. Famine is already playing out throughout the Gaza Strip, with a UN-backed global food security experts saying the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out". The UN's humanitarian agency said on Friday that the amount of aid entering Gaza continues to be "far below the minimum required to meet people's immense needs". Israel has denied there is starvation in Gaza and accused UN agencies of not picking up aid at the borders and delivering it. The UN's humanitarian agency said it continues to see impediments and delays as it tries to collect aid from Israeli-controlled border zones.

Challenges in distributing aid persist as deaths of people trying to get food continue to be reported. Gaza's health ministry said on Saturday that 21 people had been killed trying to get aid in the last 24 hours. The UN reported earlier this month that 1,373 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since late May, when a new US and Israeli-backed organisation Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) set up aid distribution sites. The UN said most were killed by the Israeli military, with 859 killed near GHF sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys. The GHF denies the UN's figure. Israel has accused Hamas of instigating chaos near the aid centres and says its forces do not intentionally open fire on civilians. Israel does not allow the BBC and other news organisations to report independently from Gaza, making it difficult to verify.

North Korea dismantles propaganda speakers at border

2 hours ago Share Save Alex Kleiderman BBC News Share Save

AFP via Getty Images

South Korea's military says North Korea has begun removing some of the loudspeakers used to broadcast propaganda across the border between the two countries. North Korea's move appears to be a positive reaction to the overtures from newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who had campaigned on improving inter-Korean ties. South Korea dismantled some of its own loudspeakers earlier this week. It had halted broadcasts along the demilitarised zone shortly after Lee took office in June - prompting a similar response from its neighbour. South Korean broadcasts had often featured K-pop songs and news reports while the North played unsettling noises, such as howling animals.

In a statement on Saturday, South Korea's military said it had "detected North Korean troops dismantling propaganda loudspeakers in some parts along the front line from this morning". It added: "It remains to be confirmed whether the devices have been removed across all regions, and the military will continue to monitor related activities." The speaker broadcasts had been suspended on previous occasions. But after a six-year pause, they resumed in June 2024 in response to Pyongyang's campaign of sending rubbish-filled balloons to the South. Residents living along the border had complained that their lives have been blighted by noise coming from both sides, sometimes in the middle of the night. Seoul claimed the broadcasts could be heard as much as 10km (six miles) across the border in the day and up to 24km (15 miles) at night. But speaking after South Korea suspended its broadcasts in June, organisations advocating to improve the human rights of North Koreans criticised the move.

KIM JAE-HWAN/AFP via Getty Images South Korea began taking down some of its own speakers this week