Demand Israel immediately lift its ban on foreign journalists. For more than two years, Israel has maintained a complete blockade on foreign press access to Gaza—the longest and most complete media ban of any modern conflict. Read more for action link.

A study published in the Journal Population Health Metrics found that life expectancy in Gaza “was 42.3 (39.4-45.0) in 2023 and 40.4 (37.5-43.0) in 2024, corresponding to life expectancy losses of 34.4 (31.7-37.3) and 36.4 (33.8-39.3) years, respectively, compared to a counterfactual scenario with no conflict-related deaths.”

We are facing a fluid and unpredictable situation. The ceasefire offers a “window of hope” and the lack of bombing and increase in humanitarian aid is a welcome relief to those who have survived the genocide.

We began compiling this week’s update prior to the announcement of the “Trump Peace Plan.” As we continue following its development, what we know currently is: the ground invasion of Gaza City appears to have halted. We hope this will develop into a just, dignified, and health-supporting resolution to the conflict, but currently that remains unachieved and in doubt.

Reportback from Doctors Against Genocide conference: JVP HAC cofounder Alice Rothchild attended the 9/20-21 DAG conference in Ann Arbor: “An intense, devastating look at the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank through the voices of people in the region and experts in the US.”

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Lancet: Authors from the Center for Humanitarian Health (CHH)–Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement discuss the critical need to stop Israel’s starvation of Gaza by restoring civilian aid and protecting health care.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel has produced a briefing on the unwillingness of the Israeli Medical Association to take any meaningful steps to protect Gazan health workers, prevent torture in Israeli detention or speak out on the destruction of the Gazan Health System.

8/7, Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, briefed the UN Security Council regarding the confirmed and expanding famine in Gaza. “Over half a million people currently face starvation, destitution and death. By the end of September, that number could exceed 640,000…Virtually no one in Gaza is untouched by hunger.

Center for Constitutional Rights has called on Kathy Jennings, the Delaware Attorney General, to respond to its demand that she investigates the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and seek to revoke its charter. See detailed letter to the AG. CCR said Jennings has an obligation to sue to revoke GHF’s corporate charter on grounds that the ostensible charity is complicit in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

8/11 briefing to the UN Security Council, OCHA’s  Ramesh Rajasingham voiced concern over the unending conflict and its atrocities. He condemned Israel’s decision to expand military operations: “Gaza lies in ruins. Almost everyone in Gaza has been forcibly displaced at some point over the past 2 years and at least once..”

The Lancet: Medical data collected from 6 Medecins Sans Frontieres supported health facilities in Gaza between 1/1 – 12/21, 2024, found that wound care accounted for 44.8% of all outpatient consultations; nearly 13 of these consultations were for children under 15 years of age.

British Medical Journal: Alex de Waal discusses the urgent need for immediate action to end the forced starvation of Palestinians in Gaza. Describing various historical famines, de Waal notes that “Israel stands out among contemporary cases of wartime starvation in that it is in a position to facilitate near instant humanitarian action, and has chosen not to do so.”

Israel, with US support, is starving Palestinians in Gaza. People are dropping dead from starvation, medical workers are fainting from hunger, babies are on life support and dying while aid sits in trucks, waiting to bring emergency food, water, and medical supplies to the people of Gaza.

Israeli forces continue air, land and sea bombardment, issued 2 additional displacement orders (86% of Gaza is now “off-limits”), reinstated bans on fishing and swimming, and expanded ground attacks.

The horror of Gaza’s children’s hospitals: One doctor’s experience of life and death in the warzone, by Tanya Haj-Hassan. A firsthand account of the systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system and its especially bad consequences for children, leading many to die from treatable wounds and illnesses.

The Israeli military has killed at least 410 people trying to get food at Israeli-run aid sites in Gaza in the past month. This constitutes “a likely war crime” that violates international standards on aid distribution, according to the United Nations.

Since 3/18/25, Israeli forces have escalated bombardment from the air, land and sea across Gaza and expanded ground operations, striking a school, tents sheltering displaced civilians, crowds waiting for humanitarian aid. This has resulted in hundreds of casualties, (5,833 killed and 20,198 injured), continued destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement.

British Medical Journal: Bob Kitchen, Vice President of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), discusses the need for immediate action on the part of the international community to prevent famine in Gaza.

A discussion piece in Global Health Action details how the current health crisis in Gaza is likely to intensify as summer temperatures rise and the risk for heat-related health conditions increases, particularly among vulnerable populations. The authors write that “climate-adaptive public health measures should be treated as essential components of humanitarian aid.”