Global Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis Escalate: Gaza killings and starvation deaths continue, West Bank settlement expansion threatens a Palestinian state, DR Congo peace efforts unravel, and Africa's landlocked countries seek alternative development pa

Strategic Insights -

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of 239 people, including 106 children, due to famine conditions orchestrated by Israel, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The killings continue amid growing aid sector discord, with some organizations willing to abide by Israel's diktats and others standing firm on humanitarian principles. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has murdered Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif and five other journalists in a targeted attack on their media tent in Gaza City, bringing the total number of killed journalists to 192.

Key Takeaways:

  • Israel is accused of orchestrating famine conditions in Gaza, leading to the deaths of 239 people, including 106 children.
  • The Israeli military has murdered Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif and five other journalists in a targeted attack on their media tent in Gaza City.
  • The total number of killed journalists in Gaza during the 22-month military campaign has reached 192.
  • Israel's new registration process for NGOs is creating fissures within the aid sector, with some organizations willing to comply and others refusing to be silenced.
  • West Bank settlement expansion plans, advocated by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, threaten to "bury" a Palestinian state by expanding settlements and cutting in half the West Bank.
  • The announcement comes as Western states pledge to recognize a Palestinian state, but critics argue it is too little, too late and potentially distracting from more effective actions.
  • The Israeli military and settler violence, home demolitions, forced displacements, and movement restrictions have dramatically escalated in the West Bank, overshadowed by events in Gaza.
  • In DR Congo, fighting has erupted between the Congolese army and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, threatening to unravel peace efforts and allow the rebels to occupy vast swathes of eastern DRC.
  • Refugees in Kenya's Kakuma and Dadaab camps are being forced to accept a new ration prioritisation system that they consider unfair and divisive.
  • In southern Europe, wildfires have killed several people and displaced thousands, as a heatwave scorches the region, breaking temperature records across Spain, France, and Italy.
  • Landlocked African countries, such as Rwanda and Ethiopia, are exploring new development paths by leveraging their central locations, becoming hubs of regional connectivity and facilitating crucial trade routes.

Statistics:

  • 239 people have died due to famine conditions in Gaza, including 106 children.
  • The total number of killed journalists in Gaza during the 22-month military campaign is 192.
  • 400,000 hectares have been burnt by wildfires across southern Europe so far in 2025, an 87% increase on the two-decade average.
  • At least 2,300 people died due to extreme heat across 12 European cities between 23 June and 2 July, with researchers attributing roughly 1,500 of those deaths to climate change.
  • Rwanda's Kigali Logistics Platform is a new supply chain linking Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi with the coastal economies of Kenya and Tanzania.

Sources:

  • "Gaza killings and starvation deaths continue amid growing aid sector discord" by The New Humanitarian.
  • "West Bank settlement expansion aims to 'bury' a Palestinian state" by The New Humanitarian.
  • "DR Congo peace efforts threaten to unravel" by The New Humanitarian.
  • "Rwanda's landlocked status is no 'bad hand', report suggests" by The New Humanitarian.
  • "Africa's heat problem" by The New Humanitarian.