Overview

• The foreign ministers of Germany, France, and the UK issued a joint statement urging Israel to lift its aid blockade on Gaza, calling the situation 'intolerable.'
• UN agencies report that Gaza faces its worst humanitarian crisis of the 16-month conflict, with risks of starvation, disease, and death escalating rapidly.
• Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz defended the blockade, describing aid restrictions as a 'central tool of pressure' against Hamas.
• The European statement criticized recent Israeli airstrikes on civilian infrastructure, including significant damage to Gaza’s al-Durra Children’s Hospital.
• France and the UK are limiting arms transfers to Israel, signaling growing international pressure over the humanitarian impact of the conflict.