UN calls for ceasefire as famine in Gaza spreads

All members of the United Nations Security Council, except the United States, have demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territories to halt the spread of the Gaza famine while Washington downplayed postwar discussions.

Famine dominated the Security Council agenda on Wednesday at its emergency meeting. Over half a million people are facing starvation and death, and there are urgent concerns that the number could exceed 640,000 by the end of September, according to Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya.

The same day, however, US President Donald Trump presided over a meeting on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and postwar plans with former British prime minister Tony Blair and former Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, where a senior White House official downplayed it as a "simple policy meeting", Reuters reported.