100 Children Die of Malnutrition, Reports Gaza Health Ministry

Gaza (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Health Ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that in the besieged territory, the number of children who died of malnutrition has risen to 100. The overall famine death toll has reached at least 217, according to the ministry’s data.

In the past 24 hours, the ministry reported five deaths due to malnutrition, including two children. Israel states that there is no famine in Gaza and asserts that it has permitted a “gradual and controlled” entry of humanitarian aid into the area. 

The international community has criticised the Israeli government for its actions and has called for unrestricted aid delivery to the Palestinian population.

Will the UN meeting halt Israel’s planned Gaza City takeover?

The UN Security Council will convene an emergency meeting to discuss Israel’s planned takeover of Gaza City today, Sunday, August 10, 2025, at 3 p.m. New York time. The meeting was called by Denmark, France, Greece, the United Kingdom, and Slovenia, and will begin at 10 am (14:00 GMT) in New York. The UNSC report noted that all UNSC members, except for the United States, were in favour of calling the meeting. UN rapporteurs are expected to explain the ramifications of seizing Gaza’s main city.

The meeting was called in the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet approving a plan to take military control of Gaza City while the fighting continues.

How does Israel aim to take over Gaza City?

Israel’s plan for the takeover of Gaza City is a military operation aimed at fully occupying the densely populated northern city of the Gaza Strip, which is home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. The plan is to force the nearly million Palestinians living in Gaza City to displace from the northern part of the enclave by several hundred miles south into other populated areas in Gaza. 

This forced dislocation is taking place amid a broader humanitarian emergency that includes ongoing bombings, starvation, and forced relocation across Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ultimate aim of the military operation is to hand control over Gaza City to “Arab forces.” The question of which “Arab forces” and when they would take over remains vague.

Israel categorically denies any intentions to starve Gaza. It insists Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people in its October 7, 2023, attack and kidnapped 251 hostages to Gaza, could put an end to the crisis by capitulating. According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel’s ground and air war against Gaza has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians.